Ducks hope to end slide in matchup with slumping Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks know that their current seven-game homestand might represent their best chance to get back into the playoff picture. However, after a less-than-stellar start to the residency, they should be happy to see the Columbus Blue Jackets coming to town.

Anaheim aims to snap a three-game losing streak while also handing Columbus a sixth setback in a row tonight at Honda Center.

The Ducks have lost their first three games since the Olympic break (0-2-1), including two straight at home. They saw their franchise-record 11-game home win streak end last Wednesday versus Colorado, and after a road loss to Phoenix on Saturday, Anaheim was upended by Montreal, 4-3, in a shootout at Honda Center on Sunday.

Corey Perry, Lubomir Visnovsky and Scott Niedermayer all scored in the first period to stake the Ducks to an early lead, but the Habs netted the next three goals and forced extra time by scoring twice in the game's final 1:50. Anaheim allowed the game-tying goal with 10.7 ticks left.

"With the way we played early in the game, we should have been able to get these two points [Saturday]," Niedermayer said. "They just hung around and waited for a couple of mistakes. They took advantage of it. It's pretty disappointing right now."

The Ducks nearly prevailed in the shootout, as goaltender Jonas Hiller appeared to have stopped Montreal's Brian Gionta in the third round with his team leading the session. However, Hiller drifted back towards the net on the stop and inadvertently knocked the puck into his own goal.

The officials reviewed the tally, as the whistle had not been blown, and confirmed the call on the ice. After James Wisniewski could not score for the Ducks in the fourth round, Tomas Plekanec fired a wrister past Hiller's glove for the game-winner.

Hiller stopped 40 shots in a hard-luck defeat that has the Ducks six points back of a playoff spot.

Anaheim lost its first two meetings with the Blue Jackets this year, but notched a 3-1 win in Columbus when the teams last met on December 12 to earn its seventh win in its last 10 versus the Blue Jackets. The Ducks, though, have dropped two straight and five of their last eight at home to Columbus.

The Blue Jackets don't have much momentum heading into this one. They have lost five straight, their longest skid since a season-high nine-game slide from December 10-26, and are coming off last night's 6-0 loss at Los Angeles in which they were outshot 35-11. Columbus managed only three shots in the first period and another two in the second.

"That was embarrassing," said the Blue Jackets' R.J. Umberger afterward. "We didn't play smart. We are our own worst enemies out there."

Steve Mason was tagged for four goals on 13 shots and did not survive the first period. Mathieu Garon stopped 20-of-22 shots the rest of the way.

To make matters worse, leading scorer Rick Nash left Monday's loss with a lower-body injury and his status for tonight is unknown. He leads the team with 28 goals and 57 points. Fellow forward Kristian Huselius is unlikely for tonight due to hand injury.

Columbus fell to 3-3-2 since replacing Ken Hitchcock on February 3 with interim head coach Claude Noel and is 13 points out of a playoff spot.

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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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