Flyers seek to halt skid vs. Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in tonight's Eastern Conference clash at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers are in the midst of an 0-2-1 stretch, marking the club's lengthiest skid since it went 0-3-2 from March 31-April 8 of last season. Philadelphia has just four wins over its last 11 contests (4-4-3) and is now just two points ahead of New Jersey and Pittsburgh for second in the Atlantic Division and the fourth seed in the East.

Philadelphia's offense was frustrated time and time again in Tuesday's 1-0 home loss to the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 45-of-45 shots through overtime for the Isles and then stopped both Flyers participants in the shootout. Frans Nielsen and John Tavares both tallied in the shootout to make Nabokov's amazing performance stand up for the win.

After stopping all 18 shots in regulation and overtime, Flyers netminder Ilya Bryzgalov was beat by Nielsen on a fake to the backhand that was lifted high. After Danny Briere missed for Philadelphia, Tavares blew a wrister by Bryzgalov and Nabokov sealed the win when he made a right pad save on Wayne Simmonds' backhand offering.

Bryzgalov posted his second shutout of the season and 25th of his career in the losing effort.

"We didn't score tonight," said Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette. "There was traffic there at times, but not always. You are cycling the puck and you need bodies to cycle the puck. You can't do it with one man. There were opportunities where we did have guys, it just didn't go."

The Flyers, who trail the New York Rangers by four points for first in the Atlantic, are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand tonight and are 12-8-5 as the host this year. Philly will complete the residency when they welcome the Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Toronto enters tonight as the seventh seed in the East and is trailing Philadelphia by just five points in the East standings. The Maple Leafs had won three straight and posted a six-game point streak (5-0-1) before dropping a regulation decision Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Bryan Little scored the eventual game-winning goal midway through the second period to lift the Jets to a 2-1 win over the Leafs.

Phil Kessel tallied in his third consecutive game for Toronto, giving him 30 goals on the season -- six shy of his career-best total with Boston in 2008-09. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 27-of-29 shots in the loss.

"They did a good job in their zone, but we didn't direct enough pucks towards the net. We were trying to make an extra play, extra pass, things like that," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.

Toronto killed off two penalties on Tuesday and has now gone 16 straight games without allowing a power-play goal, the longest such streak in the league since the Chicago Blackhawks went 19 consecutive games without surrendering a power-play tally in 1969-70.

The Leafs are 12-12-2 on the road this year compared to a 16-8-4 record at home. After tonight's test, Toronto will return home to host the rival Canadiens on Saturday before heading back out on a three-game trip.

The Flyers have taken two straight and six of seven overall in the series against Toronto and the Leafs have lost six of seven in Philadelphia.

Tonight's test marks the second time brothers Luke and Brayden Schenn will play against each other. Luke is a defenseman for the Leafs and Brayden is a forward for the Flyers.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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