Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers
Hockey Betting Lines
02/08/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to
Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid
setting a franchise record for consecutive road losses.
Phoenix had a season-best six-game win streak broken with Saturday's 4-0 loss
at Dallas, with Stars goaltender Marty Turco making 34 saves to help shut down
the Coyotes' slumping offense.
The Coyotes had scored only one regulation goal in back-to-back shootout
victories over Nashville and Chicago coming into Saturday's test, receiving
excellent outings from netminders Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason LaBarbera in both
games. Bryzgalov, who shut out the Predators with 25 saves on Tuesday, wasn't
as sharp this time around, though, as the veteran Russian managed to stop only
31-of-35 shots.
"Our whole group look tired [Saturday] without a doubt," said Phoenix head
coach Dave Tippett, whose club completed a four-game road trip. "It's been a
long week on the road and we've played some very hard games. We knew what we
were up against [Saturday] and we didn't come out on top."
Coming back home should help the Coyotes recharge. The team has compiled an
outstanding 21-8-2 record at Jobing.com Arena so far this season and has won
15 of its last 20 matchups (15-3-2) as the host, including three in a row.
Facing the lowly Oilers also figures to be to Phoenix's benefit, considering
Edmonton has generated a league-worst 42 points and enters tonight's clash
having lost nine straight road games, all in regulation. That skid matches a
team record established twice previously, most recently from February 25-April
5, 2007.
The Oilers' latest two road setbacks have occurred on this current five-game
swing. After dropping a 4-2 decision in Minnesota on Thursday, Edmonton was
blanked by Colorado's Craig Anderson for the third time this season in
Saturday's 3-0 defeat to the Avalanche.
"He has played well against the Oilers," remarked Edmonton forward Mike Comrie
about Anderson. "I don't know if it's a case of him playing well or if it's a
combination of us not getting the quality chances we need."
The Oilers have only mustered three goals over their last three games and may
not have the services of one of their top scorers tonight. Forward Sam Gagner,
who ranks second among Edmonton players in goals (14) and points (35), was
forced to exit Saturday's contest with a sore knee. The 20-year-old had
notched eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) over an eight-game stretch that
preceded this weekend's loss.
Edmonton should be stronger in the back end for this evening's tilt, however,
with defensemen Ladislav Smid and Steve Staios set to return from concussions
that had sidelined both players recently. Smid has missed the Oilers' last
eight games, while Staios has been out since January 16 with his injury.
The pair are expected to lend further support to goaltender Jeff Deslauriers,
who made 39 saves in a losing cause on Saturday.
These teams split two meetings earlier this season, both of which were held in
Edmonton, but the Oilers are 8-1-1 against Phoenix since the start of the
2007-08 campaign. Edmonton has also left victorious in four of its past five
visits to Glendale.
<< Streaking Kings try to continue mastery of rival Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will be aiming to extend a franchise-
record winning streak tonight. If recent history is any indication, the
Anaheim Ducks may not be posing much of a problem towards achieving that feat.
The Kings s
<< Devils, Flyers ready to renew rivalry
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will seek his first goal in a New Jersey
Devils uniform when his new team visits the rival Philadelphia Flyers tonight
at Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series between Atlantic
Division foes.
<< Avs resume homestand with visit from Blues
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to forge a tie atop the
Northwest Division standings tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues
for a battle at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche have 70 points and are two behind idle Vancouv
<< Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves
tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San
Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak
<< Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their
run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola
Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
Bolton's Cahill could miss remainder of season >>
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set
to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm.
The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the
weekend draw with Ful
Stoke's Fuller arrested >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have confirmed that
striker Ricardo Fuller was arrested on suspicion of assault following an
incident at a nightclub.
The 30-year-old Jamaica international was detained in
Wigan releases Edman from contract >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan have released defender Erik Edman from
his contract.
Edman, 31, was out of contract at the DW Stadium at the end of the current
season but the two parties have reached a mutual agreement to term
Dikgacoi faces six weeks out with ankle injury >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that
midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi will be absent for six weeks with ankle ligament
damage.
The South Africa international limped out of Saturday's draw with Bolton
City waits on Bellamy injury news >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City are waiting to discover
how long Craig Bellamy faces on the sidelines after the striker suffered a
knee injury during the 2-1 defeat at Hull City.
The 30-year-old Wales internation
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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