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03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Washington Capitals have already secured a playoff spot, the Florida Panthers have been making a late push for the postseason with their play as of late.
The resurgent Panthers aim for their first victory this season over the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals, who'll be without superstar Alex Ovechkin, when the Southeast Division members collide tonight at the BankAtlantic Center.
Florida's playoff chances took a serious hit after the team lost its final six games prior to the Olympic break, with five of those defeats coming in regulation. The Panthers also dropped their first outing upon returning from the NHL's shutdown for the Vancouver Games, but have won four of five tests since to climb back into the race.
The Panthers still have an uphill climb, however, as the club currently trails Boston by six points for the eighth and final postseason seed in the East as it begins a critical four-game homestand.
Florida returns home after a 2-1-0 road trip capped by Saturday's impressive come-from-behind win over the San Jose Sharks, who stand atop the Western Conference at the moment. After rallying from an early two-goal deficit to force overtime, the Panthers claimed a 3-2 decision when Bryan Allen scored 2:46 into the extra session.
Shawn Matthias scored off a rebound of an Allen shot five minutes into the third period to tie the contest at 2-2, then won a faceoff in overtime and sent the puck back to Allen for a wrister that snuck past a screened Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to complete the comeback.
"We've got a young team, so hopefully this is a huge confidence builder for us," said Florida head coach Peter DeBoer. "After the first period I thought this was going to be a long night, but we found a way to come back and I'm proud of the guys."
Tomas Vokoun did his part as well in the thrilling win, with the veteran netminder stopping 37-of-39 shots on the afternoon.
Florida hopes Saturday's triumph can serve as a springboard as it attempts to end its lack of recent success against the powerful Capitals. Washington has racked up 26 goals in winning all five previous meetings between the divisional foes this season, and they've gone 5-1-0 in their past six visits to the BankAtlantic Center.
The high-scoring Caps have gone 5-1-1 since the break and clinched their third straight Southeast Division title last week. The team also put forth a furious rally its last time out, erasing a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 overtime verdict over Central Division-leader Chicago Sunday at the United Center.
Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr all scored within a 2:16 span in the third period to force extra time, and Backstrom beat Blackhawks netminder Antti Niemi on an odd-man rush 3:10 into overtime to lift Washington to the improbable win.
Jose Theodore finished with 20 saves for the Capitals, whose 101 points are five better than San Jose for tops in the NHL.
"We were aware of [Chicago's] starts. They just do a really good job at the beginning of the game," Laich said. "Once it got to 3-0, Jose shut the door to give us a chance."
Washington prevailed despite not having Ovechkin available for the majority of the contest after the reigning league MVP was given a game misconduct for shoving Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell into the end boards from behind at the 12:16 mark of the first period. The hard hit was deemed excessive by the NHL office, resulting in a two-game suspension for the league's leading scorer.
The Capitals began a four-game road trip with Sunday's win and own a 20-10-5 record as the visitor for the season.
<< Playoff-hopeful Suns welcome Wolves to the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoffs are likely a foregone conclusion for the
Phoenix Suns, who resume a season-long seven-game homestand tonight against
the Western Conference's worst team, the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns improved
<< Sens try to regain swagger against Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators have found it hard to recapture their
earlier success upon returning from the Olympic break. The playoff hopefuls
hope a visit from the Eastern Conference's last-place team will help end those
struggles.
<< Habs aim for sixth straight win versus playoff-hopeful Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Montreal Canadiens will shoot for a sixth
straight victory tonight when they visit the New York Rangers in a battle
between Original Six clubs at Madison Square Garden.
The Canadiens and Rangers are both figh
<< Thrashers try to end skid in clash with Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers could be in much worse shape than
they are when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff race. Still, the
club will not be able to improve their postseason chances until they end a
lengthy losing strea
Avs hope to continue dominance of Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Strong play on the road this season has kept the St. Louis
Blues in contention for a postseason berth. The club hasn't been able to
achieve the same success at home, however, and it's had all kinds of trouble
when facing the
Oilers hoping to end longtime suffering in Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last thing that the Edmonton Oilers need at this point
in the season is a trip to Minnesota. The road-weary club will try to snap its
12-game slide in the Twin Cities, where the Wild shoot for a third straight
victory ton
Sharks to pay a visit to slumping Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars will meet three times
before the end of March. That isn't likely to help Dallas' playoff chances.
The first of those three scheduled meetings takes place tonight, as Western
Conference-
Isles try to end road woes in tough test with Canucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to extend their seven-game
home winning streak when they take on a New York Islanders club that will be
looking to avoid a ninth straight setback on the road tonight at GM Place.
Vancouver ha
Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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