Jets vs Panthers Odds & Picks: Florida Still Fighting for Presidents’ Trophy

The Florida Panthers (52-15-6) are large home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for Friday’s matchup with the Winnipeg Jets (35-28-11) as they pursue the Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the team with the regular season’s best record. The Jets vs Panthers prediction has the top-ranked hosts as growing chalk while riding an eight-game winning streak vs the 16th-ranked visitors who have won two straight. Florida trails the Colorado Avalanche by two points for the top mark.

Jets vs Panthers Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Panthers were up as high as -257 favorites in early betting with much more to play for than their opponent. Florida owns one of the best home records in the NHL as well at 31-6 with Winnipeg a middling 16-13-8 on the road. The Jets had lost four games in a row – with three coming at home – before winning consecutive games in their last two, and both of those came on the road as favorites.

This will be a much tougher task for the Jets against arguably the best team in the league before visiting three more playoff teams to close out a grueling six-game trip. Winnipeg still has an outside shot at making the postseason but sits seven points back of the second wild-card spot in the West with eight games remaining.

Get the best Jets vs Panthers odds and lines available from our recommended sportsbooks for your favorite picks of the night.

Winnipeg Capable Of Playing Spoiler Role Down The Stretch

Time is running out on the Jets to make the postseason, as they unfortunately play in one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL, topped by the Colorado Avalanche, who are on the brink of clinching first place in the Western Conference.

The Jets cannot catch the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues for second and third in the Central, and the conference’s two wild-card spots are currently occupied by Central teams as well (Nashville and Dallas).

That said, Winnipeg will have an opportunity to affect the playoff positioning for many Eastern teams on this current trip as underdogs here and at the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes in the last three games before heading home.

Florida Focused On Finishing First Overall To Earn Home Ice

The Panthers have their sights set on getting home-ice advantage throughout the entire postseason, but at the very least in the East where they currently lead the Hurricanes by six points with two games in hand after Thursday’s action.

No Eastern Conference team has a better home mark, and their plus-89 goal differential also is the best in the NHL (the Avalanche are at plus-83 following a 9-3 rout of the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday).

Florida’s finish will be the key, as five of the team’s final eight games are away from home. The Jets vs Panthers prediction has the hosts winning this one easily before hitting the road.

Jets vs Panthers Pick & Insights

Jets: Keys To Victory

Winnipeg may be hard pressed to score four goals, but the team has won 26 of 27 games when tallying that many since October 19. The Jets have scored four goals in each of their last two wins, and the only time they did not win when they had that many was against the Avalanche in a 5-4 overtime loss last Friday at home. Their opponent this time has given up four goals or more four times in its last nine games, so it is definitely possible.

Panthers: Keys To Victory

Florida has been an offensive juggernaut as the lone team in the league to total more than 300 goals so far. During its current winning streak, the team has scored four goals or more seven times but has also allowed three goals or more four times. This club is never out of a game either, rallying from four-goal deficits against both the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs in a span of four days earlier this month. If you are taking the hosts with your Jets vs Panthers pick, then you have no fear of them losing in this spot no matter what kind of deficit they might face.

Odds Shark’s Computer Jets vs Panthers Prediction: Panthers -260

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