Thrashers and Panthers continue season series in Sunrise

Hockey Betting Lines

01/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers will continue what has so far been an exciting season series, as the club's meet for the fourth time this season tonight and for the third time at BankAtlantic Center.

Both the Thrashers and Panthers come into this game just outside of the playoff picture. Atlanta is tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, one back of the eighth spot, while Florida is a point behind Atlanta in the standings.

That should add excitement to a series that has already featured three one- goal games. The Thrashers drew first blood with a 4-3 home win on November 30 on Maxim Afinogenov's game-winner with 5.5 seconds left in regulation before Rich Peverley gave Atlanta a 2-1 shootout win at Florida on December 5 with a fourth-round tally.

The Panthers finally cracked the win column in the series on December 16 at home, as they blew a 3-0 lead to the Thrashers before escaping with a 4-3 triumph on Michael Frolik's go-ahead tally with 1:21 left in regulation.

The series opener in Atlanta was also one that Florida netminder Tomas Vokoun has likely been unable to forget after he was injured by teammate Keith Ballard, who accidentally hit his own netminder in the head with his stick after swinging it in frustration following an Atlanta goal.

Vokoun suffered an ear laceration, but missed just two games. He made 47 saves in Saturday's 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay that gave the Panthers a home-and- home sweep of the Lightning and improved them to 3-0-1 in their last four games.

"We got off to a good start...and after that [Vokoun] stood on his head and was really the first star," said Cory Stillman, who notched his first multi- goal game of the season to go along with an assist.

Rostislav Olesz also had two goals and five of his 13 tallies this season have now come in his last four games. Bryan Allen added a goal as well.

Stephen Weiss, who leads the Panthers with 19 goals and is second with 42 points this year, was limited on Saturday due to a lower-body injury but is expected to play in this contest. He has three goals and two assists versus the Thrashers this year.

Atlanta seeks back-to-back road victories tonight after snapping an eight-game slide as the guest with Saturday's 5-3 victory at Carolina. Ilya Kovalchuk had the go-ahead goal in the third period and Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves, including a stop on Eric Staal's penalty shot in the second period with the game tied.

"Good goaltending is making big saves at the right time," said Thrashers head coach John Anderson.

Kovalchuk, Zach Bogosian, Jim Slater, Rich Peverley and Nik Antropov all registered a goal and an assist each for the Thrashers, who won on the road for the first time since December 14 and are now 3-1-1 since an 0-7-2 stretch.

Kovalchuk lit the lamp for a third straight game and has also scored in 12 of his past 18 contests. He is fifth in the NHL with 28 goals and has three tallies and an assist versus Florida this season.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

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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