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03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just completed a successful road trip, the Montreal Canadiens will play for the first time at the Bell Centre in nearly a month when the playoff hopefuls host the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening.
Montreal began its post-Olympic break schedule with a four-game trek and went 3-1-0 during the swing, with the lone loss coming to Western Conference front- runner San Jose last Thursday. That surge has moved the Canadiens into seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point better than rival Boston and two back of sixth-seeded Philadelphia.
The Habs concluded the trip with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory at Anaheim on Sunday, with Tomas Plekanec netting the game-winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
Montreal trailed 3-1 entering the third period before drawing even on goals by Brian Gionta and Andrei Markov, the latter coming with only 11 seconds remaining in regulation. The Canadiens also had their backs to the wall in the shootout, with Gionta keeping the team alive with a controversial score in the third round.
With Montreal down 1-0 in the deciding phase, Gionta fired a wrist shot in between the blocker pad and stick of Jonas Hiller. The Anaheim netminder drifted backward toward the net and looked to find the puck, inadvertently knocking it into the net for a goal.
The officials held up the goal upon review and after James Wisniewski could not score for the Ducks in the fourth round, Plekanec fired a wrister past Hiller's glove for the clincher.
"I thought Hiller had it," said Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer of Gionta's tally. "Then once he goes to relax and thinks the play is over, it drops out."
Montreal will be hoping for some more good fortune as it takes the Bell Centre ice for the first time since a 6-2 loss to Philadelphia on February 13. The Canadiens begin a three-game homestand and will also face Edmonton and Boston on the residency.
Tampa Bay currently sits four points out of a playoff spot and in 11th place in the East, but was able to put an untimely five-game skid to an end with Saturday's 6-2 rout of visiting Atlanta. Steven Stamkos led the way with a pair of goals and an assist to keep his franchise-record point streak intact, while Martin St. Louis scored once and notched a pair of helpers in the much- needed win.
Stamkos' second goal was his 40th of the season, which trails only superstars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for tops in the NHL, and the 2008 No. 1 overall draft choice has racked up 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) over a 16- game tear. Steve Downie, who assisted on Stamkos' first marker of the night, has a point in 10 straight contests and has amassed five goals and eight assists during that span.
Teddy Purcell, acquired by Tampa from Los Angeles at Wednesday's trade deadline, added a goal and an assist in his second game as a member of the Lightning. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki came through with 29 saves to improve to 17-0-0 lifetime against Atlanta.
"I thought it was a good team win out there," said Stamkos. "Nitty was great back there, the defense did a good job of moving the puck up and our forwards were tenacious."
Niittymaki was also sharp in Tampa Bay's most recent encounter with the Canadiens, stopping all 33 shots he faced in a 3-0 triumph at the St. Pete Times Forum on January 27. The Lightning also downed the Habs by a 3-1 count in Montreal back on November 7, giving the team a 2-0-1 record in its last three visits to the Bell Centre.
<< Flyers try to continue mastery of Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will be attempting to extend their
current home winning streak in tonight's matchup with a New York Islanders
team they've dominated over the past few seasons from the Wachovia Center.
The Flyers ha
<< Blazers welcome Kings to Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to bounce back from one of
their worst defensive performances of the season tonight when they take on the
Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden.
Carmelo Anthony posted 30 points on Sunday to
<< 2010 Big Ten Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th Annual Big Ten Conference
Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 11th from Conseco Fieldhouse in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Purdue is the defending tournament champion, having
topped Ohio State in l
<< Red Wings host Flames in matchup of playoff hopefuls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings will both be
aiming for a third straight victory when they meet in the Motor City tonight
for a battle between playoff hopefuls at Joe Louis Arena.
In addition to winning two straig
Canucks visit Avs in clash between Northwest's top two teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of all the games the Vancouver Canucks have played on their
NHL-record 14-game road trip, tonight's contest with the Colorado Avalanche
could be the most important.
Northwest Division-leading Vancouver will try to extend i
Ailing Senators start up road trip in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the Ottawa Senators head to Western Canada, they hope
they left a crippling flu bug behind them. The team will try to snap a three-
game overall slide and pick up a sixth straight win over the Edmonton Oilers,
who look to
Ducks hope to end slide in matchup with slumping Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks know that their current seven-game
homestand might represent their best chance to get back into the playoff
picture. However, after a less-than-stellar start to the residency, they
should be happy to see the
Yankee Stadium bowl game to be called Pinstripe Bowl >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new college football bowl game to be held at
Yankee Stadium starting in 2010 will be called the Pinstripe Bowl, with New
Era as the title sponsor.
Last September, the Yankees announced the bowl game th
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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