Pens welcome Bolts to Steel City

Hockey Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins tied a season-high for goals in a game on Saturday and will try to carry some of that offense into tonight's contest when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Consol Energy Center.

The Penguins hosted Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon and posted an 8-5 victory over the Jets. It was the second time this year that Pittsburgh had scored eight goals, as it also defeated Buffalo by an 8-3 count back on Dec. 17.

Evgeni Malkin padded his lead atop the NHL scoring race, as he registered a goal and four assists in Saturday's high-scoring affair against the Jets. The Russian superstar has 67 points on the year and leads Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and Tampa's Steven Stamkos by five points for the league lead.

Kris Letang added two goals and an assist and Jordan Staal scored in his first game back from a knee injury for the Penguins, who had gone 1-2-1 over their previous four games. Chris Kunitz added a goal and three assists, while Marc- Andre Fleury made 20 saves in the win.

"We wanted to play a little bit of a better game," said Staal, who played for the first time since Jan. 6. "We obviously did a great job offensively to stay ahead of them but we have to play better defensively if we want to keep winning."

With 67 points, Pittsburgh is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, where it is two points behind Philadelphia and one ahead of New Jersey.

Tonight's tilt marks the middle portion of a three-game homestand for the Pens, who are 16-7-2 as the host this season. Pittsburgh will complete the residency Wednesday against Anaheim.

Tampa Bay is eight points out of a playoff spot in the East and was able to record two points in Saturday's road victory over Buffalo. Although the Lightning have won just two of three games so far in February, they are 7-1-2 over their last 10 trips to the ice.

Stamkos lit the lamp and added an assist while Mathieu Garon stopped 26 shots for Tampa in its 2-1 regulation win over the Sabres. Steve Downie also scored for Tampa Bay.

Stamkos scored the game-winner with 6:44 left in the third, when he beat Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller after a 2-on-1 pass from Teddy Purcell.

"I just tried to get the shot off as quick as I could," Stamkos said. "Miller gets over there quick, so it was nice to get that two-goal lead obviously. They scored one late but it was nice to hold them off at the end."

Tampa hopes to get a boost from a returning player tonight, as forward Ryan Malone is questionable with an upper-body injury that has caused him to sit out the last seven games. Malone has 10 goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season and is questionable for tonight.

This evening's test marks the end of a three-game road trip for the Lightning, who are just 9-16-4 as the guest this season.

Tampa and the Pens met twice earlier this year in Florida and split those encounters. Pittsburgh has taken three of five overall in the series and the Lightning have dropped two in a row and four of their last five in the Steel City.

Eltienpo Hockey Betting News


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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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