Sabres hope to move past Islanders

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Buffalo Sabres want to get into the playoff mix, they are going to have to beat teams like the New York Islanders. However, that is not something they have been able to do on a consistent basis as of late.

The Sabres hope to avoid a fourth straight loss to the Islanders this evening and jump past the Long Island-based club in the Eastern Conference standings.

Buffalo is currently sitting 13th overall in the East, 10 points behind eighth-place Toronto. The Sabres can make a move up the ladder this evening as they sit only one point behind the Islanders and Lightning, who are tied for 11th. Tampa Bay is hosting Florida this evening.

Buffalo had a two-game win streak snapped on Wednesday in frustrating fashion as it dropped a 1-0 shootout decision to the New York Rangers. Ryan Miller made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and 24th of his career, but yielded two goals in the five-round shootout.

New York's Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 Sabres shots sent his way and four of five skaters in the deciding frame, with only Jason Pominville besting the All-Star goaltender.

"It was a good game and we played some tight defense," said Miller. "But it's really hard to beat that guy (Lundqvist) over on the other side and he showed why tonight."

Buffalo now hits the road and has won its past two as the guest following a club-record 12 straight regulation losses as the visiting team. It is now 10-15-0 away from home this season.

The Sabres are expected to have Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford in the lineup as both players had been battling the flu. Ennis missed time on Thursday, while Stafford was held out of Wednesday's loss.

Thomas Vanek, though, is still out with an upper-body ailment suffered no Tuesday in Montreal.

The Sabres have been bested in a pair of meetings already this year with the Islanders as part of their three-game series slide and have also lost six of seven and eight of the last 11 encounters. Buffalo has dropped five of six and seven of its past 10 trips to New York.

The Islanders will look to extend that trend tonight and get back to .500 on the season. They moved to 21-22-7 following last night's 2-1 overtime win in Ottawa.

Matt Martin had the regulation tally and defenseman Mark Eaton capped his 600th career game with the overtime winner for his first goal since Nov. 28, 2009 while with Pittsburgh.

"It's nice to see a guy like Mark Eaton score. He's done a lot of great things for us this year, a lot of the little things that don't get a lot of the press," said Islanders forward John Tavares. "It's great to see him score a nice one there and it's a big win for us."

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 23 shots for the Islanders, who have won their first two games following the All-Star break and will play four of their next five at home. They are 11-11-4 as the host this season.

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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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