Flyers head back home to take on Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers return to the Wachovia Center for an important four-game homestand that begins with tonight's encounter with the road-challenged Toronto Maple Leafs.

Philadelphia just completed a stretch of four consecutive road games with a 2-1-1 record, although the playoff contenders did end the trek with a pair of losses. After being routed by Florida in a 7-4 defeat on Wednesday, the Flyers couldn't hold onto a third-period lead in Friday's 3-2 overtime setback at Buffalo.

The Flyers had grabbed a 2-1 advantage on the Sabres when Mike Richards scored unassisted off a Buffalo turnover with 8:58 left in regulation, but the hosts tied the score on an Adam Mair goal nearly three minutes later. The Sabres emerged victorious when Tim Connolly knocked home a rebound of Toni Lydman's shot from the point midway through the extra session.

We definitely could have won this game. We played well," said Philadelphia goaltender Michael Leighton. "Things just didn't bounce our way."

Leighton finished with 32 saves for Philadelphia, which also received a goal from Simon Gagne in the loss.

Coming back to the Wachovia Center, where the Flyers have won three in a row and nine of their last 11 outings, may help Philadelphia get back on track. So could a matchup with the lowly Maple Leafs, who sit in the Eastern Conference basement with 52 points and are a woeful 9-18-7 away from home this season.

Toronto did come through with a road victory on Saturday, however, after besting rival Ottawa in a shootout by a 2-1 count. That ended a string of four straight losses for the Maple Leafs, including a 3-2 shootout setback Thursday in Boston in the opener of this current three-game trip.

Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin each scored for Toronto in the deciding phase of Saturday's triumph, with goaltender Jonas Gustavsson stoning both Ottawa skaters he faced to help his team stop a seven-game road losing streak.

Gustavsson was also sharp in regulation and overtime, turning aside 22 of 23 shots prior to the shootout. Kessel, Toronto's leader with 22 goals this season, accounted for the Leafs' only tally in regulation.

"It was a hard fought game out there," said Kessel afterward. "A lot of hits, a lot of fights out there. We played well and got the two points and that's the most important thing."

Toronto did not come away unscathed, however, as forwards John Mitchell and Fredrik Sjostrom were both forced to exit Saturday's contest with upper-body injuries and may not be available tonight.

Jean-Sebastian Giguere, who has posted a solid 2.31 goals against average and two shutouts in six games since coming to the Leafs in a trade with Anaheim last month, will likely be between the pipes for Toronto this evening. He'll be facing a Philadelphia squad that's racked up a whopping 14 goals in its last two matchups with Toronto held at the Wachovia Center, including a 6-2 win on January 6.

The Maple Leafs have lost in each of their past three trips to Philadelphia, but did deal the Flyers a 4-0 loss in Ontario on January 14. Vesa Toskala, now a member of the Calgary Flames, had 38 saves for Toronto in that one.

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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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