Rangers and Thrashers both try to end slides in Atlanta

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of four-game losing streaks have made a possible road to the postseason a bit harder for the Rangers and Thrashers. Only one team will be able to reverse its misfortunes tonight.

Atlanta will try to sweep the season series and record a sixth straight victory over New York this evening at Philips Arena, where the Rangers try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season.

The Thrashers come into this meeting with 66 points, one back of the ninth- place Rangers in the Eastern standings and six back of the Bruins for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.

Atlanta, though, has dropped four straight in regulation while New York is 0-2-2 over its last four games. The Thrashers do come in with a bit of a mental edge, as they have won five straight over the Rangers, four of those in a shootout, and all three meetings this season. Atlanta has also defeated New York in two straight and five of the last six played at Philips Arena.

Tonight is the final meeting of the regular season this year between the clubs and also marks the first time the Thrashers take on the Rangers without Ilya Kovalchuk, who had a goal, three assists and a shootout winner for Atlanta in the series before getting traded to New Jersey back on February 4.

The Thrashers, who last swept a season series with the Rangers in 2002-03, kick off a five-game homestand tonight after dropping a 2-1 decision in Columbus on Thursday. The setback by Atlanta allowed idle Washington to clinch the Southeast Division for a third straight season.

Johnny Oduya got Atlanta on the board with 2:21 left in the game, while Johan Hedberg made 19 saves.

"When it's not going for you, it's not going for you," Atlanta coach John Anderson said. "We got a little bit of a bounce with one of the goals for us but we are not getting any breaks right now. We only allowed 21 shots on goal. It is a difficult loss."

The game saw the season debut of Atlanta defenseman Chris Chelios, who was called up from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. The 48-year-old has now played in the NHL for 26 consecutive seasons since his debut with Montreal in the 1983-84 season.

The Rangers are coming off a regulation loss to the Devils on Wednesday, losing a 6-3 test in Newark. Vinny Prospal, Erik Christensen and Brandon Prust all scored for the Rangers, but Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals on 17 shots before being relieved by Alex Auld late in the second period. Auld made nine saves the rest of the way.

"It was a tough [game]. I felt we played pretty good, just a couple sequences where the puck didn't bounce our way," Lundqvist said.

The Rangers, who have lost a season-high five in a row twice this year, also lost for the seventh time in their last 10 road games.

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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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