Senators resume western swing with stop in Calgary

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just picked up their first win since the Winter Olympics break, the Ottawa Senators will now try to pick up their first victory in Calgary since 2003 when they visit the Flames tonight at Pengrowth Saddledome.

The Senators dropped their first three games when the NHL returned from its two-week hiatus during the Olympics, scoring just three goals over that slide. However, they broke out on Tuesday in a 4-1 triumph over the Oilers.

Chris Kelly had a goal and an assist while Mike Fisher, Matt Cullen and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who pulled into a temporary first-place tie with Buffalo in the Northeast Division. However, the Sabres moved two points up on Ottawa with a victory over Dallas on Wednesday night.

"As soon as they got up 1-0, I thought we really buckled down and started pressuring even more," Senators coach Cory Clouston said. "Our patience paid off."

Daniel Alfredsson posted three assists and Brian Elliott made 18 saves in the victory, as the Senators kicked off a three-game tour through Western Canada by winning for the eighth time in their last 11 road games.

Ottawa defenseman Filip Kuba missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury and did not travel with the team out West.

Elliott made 27 saves in a 3-2 home victory over the Flames on February 9, with Jason Spezza's second-period goal proving to be the difference. The win snapped Ottawa's five-game losing streak to Calgary, and the Sens picked up their first win in the series since February 21, 2004.

The Senators have still lost three straight at Calgary, where they haven't won since January 9, 2003. They dropped a 6-3 test in their most recent visit to Pengrowth Saddledome last season, as the Flames' Rene Bourque notched his first career hat trick.

Bourque was also front and center of the Flames' most recent victory, a 4-2 triumph over Detroit that pushed Calgary a point ahead of the Red Wings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bourque assisted on Jarome Iginla's game-tying goal 5:45 into the third period and then netted the game-winner 91 seconds later. Chris Higgins later sealed things with an empty-net goal, while Daymond Langkow also scored in Calgary's third straight win.

"He's been playing great," Matt Stajan told Calgary's Web site of Bourque. "He's a fast guy and we've been able to do some give-and-go plays, work the corners a bit, and it's opened up some space in the offensive zone to find Jarome or find our point man."

Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves to help the Flames post their longest winning streak since a five-game run from December 28-January 5.

Iginla has four goals and three assists over his last three games and leads the club with 31 goals and 33 helpers. He had a pair of assists in February's loss to the Senators, giving him six goals and five helpers in 18 career games against them.

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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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