Flyers seek to halt skid vs. Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in tonight's Eastern Conference clash at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers are in the midst of an 0-2-1 stretch, marking the club's lengthiest skid since it went 0-3-2 from March 31-April 8 of last season. Philadelphia has just four wins over its last 11 contests (4-4-3) and is now just two points ahead of New Jersey and Pittsburgh for second in the Atlantic Division and the fourth seed in the East.

Philadelphia's offense was frustrated time and time again in Tuesday's 1-0 home loss to the New York Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 45-of-45 shots through overtime for the Isles and then stopped both Flyers participants in the shootout. Frans Nielsen and John Tavares both tallied in the shootout to make Nabokov's amazing performance stand up for the win.

After stopping all 18 shots in regulation and overtime, Flyers netminder Ilya Bryzgalov was beat by Nielsen on a fake to the backhand that was lifted high. After Danny Briere missed for Philadelphia, Tavares blew a wrister by Bryzgalov and Nabokov sealed the win when he made a right pad save on Wayne Simmonds' backhand offering.

Bryzgalov posted his second shutout of the season and 25th of his career in the losing effort.

"We didn't score tonight," said Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette. "There was traffic there at times, but not always. You are cycling the puck and you need bodies to cycle the puck. You can't do it with one man. There were opportunities where we did have guys, it just didn't go."

The Flyers, who trail the New York Rangers by four points for first in the Atlantic, are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand tonight and are 12-8-5 as the host this year. Philly will complete the residency when they welcome the Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Toronto enters tonight as the seventh seed in the East and is trailing Philadelphia by just five points in the East standings. The Maple Leafs had won three straight and posted a six-game point streak (5-0-1) before dropping a regulation decision Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Bryan Little scored the eventual game-winning goal midway through the second period to lift the Jets to a 2-1 win over the Leafs.

Phil Kessel tallied in his third consecutive game for Toronto, giving him 30 goals on the season -- six shy of his career-best total with Boston in 2008-09. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 27-of-29 shots in the loss.

"They did a good job in their zone, but we didn't direct enough pucks towards the net. We were trying to make an extra play, extra pass, things like that," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.

Toronto killed off two penalties on Tuesday and has now gone 16 straight games without allowing a power-play goal, the longest such streak in the league since the Chicago Blackhawks went 19 consecutive games without surrendering a power-play tally in 1969-70.

The Leafs are 12-12-2 on the road this year compared to a 16-8-4 record at home. After tonight's test, Toronto will return home to host the rival Canadiens on Saturday before heading back out on a three-game trip.

The Flyers have taken two straight and six of seven overall in the series against Toronto and the Leafs have lost six of seven in Philadelphia.

Tonight's test marks the second time brothers Luke and Brayden Schenn will play against each other. Luke is a defenseman for the Leafs and Brayden is a forward for the Flyers.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

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.

NFL Betting

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