Friday NHL Opening Odds
(The Spread) – A total of four games are scheduled in the NHL for Friday night including a battle between a couple of in-state rivals in the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. Continue reading for opening lines, odds and totals for January 21, 2011.
It will be a matchup between two teams heading in opposite directions Friday night at 7:30PM EST when the last-place Florida Panthers host the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida has lost two consecutive contests, while visiting Tampa Bay is on a two-game winning streak.
Oddsmakers and online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Florida a -125 favorite in the game and the over-under has been set at 5.5.
Despite an underwhelming overall record of 21-20-4, the Panthers have proven to be a tough nut to crack at home as they are 11-8-4 on their own surface. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is currently the owners of the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 28-15-5. The Lightning are 14-11-3 in road contests.
According to the latest trends, Florida is 8-6 over the past three seasons versus Tampa Bay. Leading the Lightning in action is the young phenom Steven Stamkos, who has 37 goals and 28 assists in 48 games. Martin St. Louis has added 19 goals and 38 assists in the same amount of games. Florida is paced offensively by Stephen Weiss as he has accounted for 13 goals and 20 assists.
Florida is coming into Friday’s game off the heels of two heartbreaking home defeats, losing to Atlanta Monday and Columbus Wednesday by identical 3-2 overtime scores. Tampa Bay faced the same two opponents this week, topping Columbus 3-2 Tuesday and Atlanta 3-2 Thursday.
Elsewhere, Montreal goes to Ottawa for a 7:30PM EST start. The Canadiens are a -125 favorite and the over-under is 5. The Dallas Stars play a 9:00PM EST game at the Calgary Flames. Calgary is a -120 favorite with an over-under sitting at 5.5.
For a complete list of opening odds for Friday night in the NHL, see below.
51 Tampa Bay Lightning +105 (5.5)
52 Florida Panthers -125
55 Montreal Canadiens -125 (5)
56 Ottawa Senators +105
57 Dallas Stars +100 (5.5)
58 Calgary Flames -120
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