Red-hot Preds visit Flyers

Hockey Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Nashville Predators should feel pretty good about their matchup tonight with the Philadelphia Flyers, especially if the game goes into a shootout.

The Predators aim to win six straight for the first time this season against a Flyers team that continued its struggles going beyond 65 minutes.

Nashville is on its third five-game win streak of the 2011-12 season, but came out a bit flat in Tuesday's game at Minnesota following the All-Star layoff. The Predators trailed the game by three goals early in the third, but potted the game's final four goals to roar back for a 5-4 win. The Preds scored their last three goals over the game's final 3:21.

Patric Hornqvist scored Nashville's second goal of the third and Mike Fisher knotted the game just 21 seconds later. Fisher added his second tally of night and the game-winner with 20.8 ticks left in regulation.

Brandon Yip also scored in the third and Matt Halischuk lit the lamp for the Predators, who are aiming to win six straight for the first time since March 17-26 of last year. Pekka Rinne made 21 saves to extend his club-record win streak to 10 straight games, though he did allow more than two goals for the first time over that run.

"They had a quick start," said Rinne, who hasn't lost since Jan. 5. "I thought that we weren't really ready in the beginning of the game, but as the game went along we picked it up and got it going."

Nashville, which has won 13 of 15, is second in the Central Division, three points behind conference-leading Detroit. It ends a three-game road trip this evening and has won six of its last seven as the guest.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, is looking to take advantage of a home-friendly portion of its schedule. Tuesday's contest with Winnipeg began a span of eight of 10 at home with a pair of tough road games versus the Rangers and Red Wings mixed in. However, the Flyers dropped a 2-1 shootout to the Jets, falling to 11-7-4 at home compared to 18-7-2 on the road.

"I think this is a big stretch for us and even though we got one point, it's disappointing," said Philadelphia winger Scott Hartnell. "We need to start playing well with stretches at home and this is a big month where we have a lot of home games in this month and it's definitely going to take some big efforts by individuals and collectively as a group and some good goaltending, just like it takes every time you're on the road."

The Flyers may also need to find a way to win in the shootout. They are 1-4 in shootouts this season and 20-38 all-time, while each of their past three games have gone past 65 minutes. Philadelphia is 1-2 over that time.

Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has lost all three of his games in the tiebreaker this year and had allowed five goals on five shots faced before stopping the initial two skaters he saw on Tuesday. However, he was beaten five-hole by Bryan Little in Tuesday's third round and the Flyers came up empty on their three chances.

Philly has scored just five times on 15 shootout attempts this year.

"We score a lot of goals," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "We're one of the highest-scoring teams in the league [so] I'm not sure I have an answer [for the shootout struggles]. I think we have talented players."

Bryzgalov made 23 saves through overtime versus the Jets and Brayden Schenn had Philadelphia's lone goal.

The Flyers, who sit fourth overall in the East and five back of the Rangers for the top spot in the conference and Atlantic Division, remain without Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk due to concussions, while defenseman Chris Pronger is expected to miss the rest of the season due to severe post- concussion syndrome.

The Predators have won four of their last six versus the Flyers, including a 4-2 home win on Jan. 14. Fisher and Martin Erat had a goal and an assist each, while Rinne made 36 saves.

Philadelphia has won two straight and three of its last four at home versus Nashville.

Basketvall Hockey Betting News

<< Devils take on Habs in Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils opened up their second half by picking up a big two points over one of the top teams in the conference. The Canadiens, meanwhile, failed to build off their win against the top team in the NHL right before the All-S

<< Bulls resume long trek in MSG against Knicks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have been struggling with consistency lately and look to gain a measure of balance tonight in a showdown with the New York Knicks from Madison Square Garden. The Bulls, who are in the midst of a nine-game

<< Jazz and Warriors meet in the Bay Area
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State hopes to wrap up a six-game homestand in winning fashion tonight when it plays host to a Utah Jazz team aiming to bounce back from a tough loss. After losing the first two games of their current residency, the

<< Furman to visit Clemson, host five games in 2012
Greenville, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A visit to Clemson and a Homecoming game against Georgia Southern highlight the 2012 Furman football schedule announced on Thursday. Furman will play at Clemson on Sept. 15. The Paladins are Clemson's oldest

<< Bruins try to solve visiting Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Try as they may, the Boston Bruins haven't been able to solve the Carolina Hurricanes this season. They'll get one more chance tonight as the two teams clash in Boston. The Bruins and Hurricanes sit at opposite ends of the

St. Louis, Bolts try to stay hot vs. Jets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Martin St. Louis heating up to serve as a scoring compliment to Steven Stamkos, the Lightning seem poised to make a run at a playoff spot. Tampa Bay continues that quest tonight and looks to reestablish its dominance

Western Conference powerhouses collide in Vancouver >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two seeds in the Western Conference will collide tonight in British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Detroit Red Wings for a battle at Rogers Arena. The Red Wings are tied with the New York Rangers fo

Baffert holds the aces in Robert B. Lewis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not only does Bob Baffert have the favorite in this Saturday's Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, but the silver-haired trainer also has what could be the future Kentucky Derby champion entered in the Grade II event.

Spurs entertain Hornets in Alamo City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs will resume a three-game homestand tonight versus the New Orleans Hornets at the AT&T Center. The Spurs have been nearly unstoppable at home and have opened 11-1 in the Alamo City for the sixth ti

Tressel headed back to Akron in non-coaching role >>
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel has been hired at the University of Akron in an administrative role. Tressel, who received a graduate degree from Akron in 1977, will not work in the athletic

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.