Panthers aim for rare win against Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers were able to stop their longest losing streak of the season with victories in their last two games. Now the team will turn its attention towards ending a long winless drought against the Minnesota Wild when the clubs face off this evening at the Xcel Energy Center.

Florida put an 0-6-1 skid to an end with Wednesday's 7-4 decision over Philadelphia at the BankAtlantic Center, then followed up with a 4-1 home win over Carolina on Saturday behind a 31-save performance from goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

Michael Frolik and Kamil Kreps gave Vokoun all the support he would need by scoring within a span of 1:11 in the first period, and Kreps added an empty- net tally in the closing minutes to seal the win.

"We scored seven goals in the game before and were able to get two quick goals in this game," said Frolik. "It's good because it helps us grab the momentum in the game and carry it through. It was a big win for us."

The Panthers hope their recent success can extend to the road, a place where the team hasn't won since January 14. Florida is 0-5-1 in its last six outings as the visitor and scored a mere seven goals over that poor stretch.

Florida has an even longer winless drought against the Wild, having dropped the last seven meetings in this series. Minnesota is 7-1 with a tie over its nine all-time encounters with the Panthers and has outscored Florida 31-13 over the course of those games.

The Panthers' lone victory over the Wild took place in Florida on February 7, 2001. They are 0-3 with a tie in their four previous trips to St. Paul.

Minnesota will be trying to halt a string of back-to-back losses, including Sunday's disappointing 5-2 home setback to fellow Northwest Division member Calgary. Goaltender Nicklas Backstrom, who had yielded only two goals in his last four matchups with the Flames, stopped only 19-of-23 shots in a shaky performance between the pipes.

"I thought we had some breakdowns where we gave them some chances," Wild coach Todd Richards said. "We were already chasing right there, 19 seconds into the game," referring to a quick goal by Calgary's Rene Bourque in the game's initial stages.

One bright spot in Sunday's defeat was Guillaume Latendresse, who scored both Minnesota goals. The Quebec native has lit the lamp seven times in his last nine contests and recorded 21 goals in 30 games since being acquired by the Wild from Montreal in a November 23 trade.

Minnesota is a solid 21-9-2 at the Xcel Energy Center for the season but has struggled there as of late, having dropped three of its last four tests on home ice.

Both clubs enter tonight's tilt seven points out of a playoff spot in their respective conferences. Florida stands 12th in the East with 62 points, while Minnesota's 67 points is good for only 13th place in the West.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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