Sharks, Flames clash in San Jose
Hockey Betting Lines
02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Staring at a two-week long road trip, the San Jose Sharks would love to pick up four big points before leaving the friendly confines of HP Pavilion.
They'll look to accomplish step one of that plan this evening and extend a five-game series winning streak over the visiting Calgary Flames.
The Sharks will welcome the Flames and Blackhawks to town over the next three nights before embarking on a nine-game road trip that runs from Feb. 12 through Feb. 26. San Jose has won five of its past six at home and is 17-8-2 as the host compared to a 12-7-4 mark on the road.
The Sharks return home after dropping a 5-3 decision to the hosting Coyotes on Saturday. Patrick Marleau scored to make it a one-goal game with 32 seconds left in regulation, but Phoenix potted an empty-net goal in the final second to restore the two-goal edge.
Marleau also had an assist and both Jamie McGinn and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who had a three-game win streak snapped. Antti Niemi finished with 19 saves and Ryan Clowe logged three assists, while Couture has four goals and nine points over a six-game point streak.
"We weren't very good," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "We weren't very good on pursuit, we weren't very good on coverage and we didn't create very much, so give them credit. They were well prepared and they established ice better than we did."
San Jose now holds just a two-point edge over Los Angeles for first place in the Pacific Division and began its recently-ended win streak with a 1-0 win over the hosting Flames on Jan. 24. Niemi posted a 25-save shutout in that one.
The Sharks also recorded a home win over the Flames seven days earlier and have won six of seven and eight of the past 11 encounters overall. That includes four straight wins as the host.
The Flames hope to pick up their first win at San Jose since Dec. 5, 2009 this evening and inch closer to the eighth-place Wild in the Western standings. Calgary trails Minnesota by three points and is coming off Monday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Ducks.
Aiming for his 300th career win, Miikka Kiprusoff made 31 saves through overtime, but allowed three scores in the eight-round shootout. The final one came against fellow Finn and former teammate Niklas Hagman.
Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla both scored in regulation for the Flames, with Iginla reaching the 20-goal mark for a 13th straight season when he tied the game on a power-play marker at the 6:15 mark of the third.
Iginla, though, did fail to convert on a 2-on-1 rush with Tanguay in overtime, firing high over the crossbar. The Flames were not credited with a shot in the overtime session and have lost three of their last four. They also fell to 2-0-2 in their past four on the road.
"The game was more of a roller coaster ride. We battled back to get a point," Flames head coach Brent Sutter said. "In the shootout, you have good goalies making great saves and good players making great moves. They were fortunate to get one more past our goalie."
Kiprusoff is likely to get the call again tonight as he goes for his milestone win. He is 13-12-3 with a 2.79 goals-against average in 28 career starts versus the Sharks.
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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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