Aiming to extend win streak, Flyers visit Canadiens

Hockey Betting Lines

12/18/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Philadelphia Flyers will shoot for their sixth consecutive victory when they visit the sliding Montreal Canadiens for tonight's battle at the Bell Centre.

The Flyers can match their longest winning streak of the season after also taking six games in a row from November 15-26. Philadelphia has also earned at least a point in 16 of its last 17 contests, going 13-1-3 over that stretch.

The most recent triumph for the Flyers came in Tuesday's home decision over Colorado. Simon Gagne and Mike Richards recorded a goal and two assists each as Philadelphia topped the Avalanche, 5-2, at the Wachovia Center.

Mike Knuble, Jeff Carter and Joffrey Lupul also tallied for the Flyers, who are second in the Atlantic Division with 40 points on the season.

Antero Niittymaki, in place of the flu-ridden Martin Biron, made 29 saves for the win and improved to 6-1-2 on the season. Biron did not make the trip for this evening's contest and Scott Munroe will back up Niittymaki once again.

Richards has the second-longest current point streak in the NHL, having reached the scoresheet in eight straight contests. He has seven goals and eight helpers during the run and is tied with Gagne for the team lead in points this year with 37.

Carter also extended his point streak to five games and has four goals and four assists over that stretch.

Philadelphia has won four of its last five road tests and is 7-3-3 as the visiting club this year.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, were handed a 3-2 setback in Carolina on Tuesday as Eric Staal scored twice and Joe Corvo netted the game-winner in the second period.

Alex Kovalev ended a 19-game goal drought with a short-handed tally and Guillaume Latendresse scored on a penalty shot for the Canadiens, who have dropped three straight and four of five overall.

Kovalev has been a huge disappointment for Montreal so far this year as he has just six goals and 23 points in 30 games. Last season, the Russian veteran led the Habs in both goals (35) and points (84).

Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves in the loss as he started his fourth straight game in place of Carey Price, Montreal's No. 1 goaltender. Price was at first sidelined due to the flu, but is now out with a lower-body injury and is questionable for tonight's game.

Montreal is 9-4-3 as the host this year, but has lost two straight and three of its last four in Quebec. Tonight marks the start of a three-game homestand for the Habs.

Philly and Montreal have split a pair of meetings this year with each team winning a test on the opposition's ice. Montreal has still taken eight of 10 overall in the series and five of seven at the Bell Centre.

The Flyers and Canadiens also met in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals and Philly won that series in five games.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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