Surging Flyers host Bruins in Winter Classic rematch

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to continue their surge in the right direction when they host the Boston Bruins tonight at Wachovia Center.

The Flyers are 7-1-1 in their last nine games and have greatly improved their playoff chances since they last played the Bruins outdoors in the Winter Classic.

After losing the New Year's Day game at Fenway Park in overtime, Philadelphia has posted a 16-8-1 record and is now sixth in the Eastern Conference with 74 points.

Meanwhile, Boston has lost 17 out of 25 games since the Winter Classic, going 8-12-5 over that stretch. As a result, Boston comes into tonight as the eighth seed in the East and four points behind the Flyers.

Philadelphia beat the Bruins twice this year before the loss on Jan 1. and tonight's meeting caps the four-game season series. The Flyers have won four of six overall against Boston, but the Bruins have taken six of eight and seven of their last 10 games in Philly.

The Flyers have won two straight games and are coming off Tuesday's comeback win over the visiting New York Islanders. Philadelphia trailed 2-0 in the second period before scoring the games final three goals.

The 3-2 decision marked the 15th straight win over the Isles for the Flyers, giving Philadelphia the longest active stretch of victories by one team over any single opponent in the league.

Simon Gagne was credited with the game-winning power-play goal with 6:06 remaining in regulation to lift the Flyers to victory on Tuesday.

Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter also scored for the Flyers, while Michael Leighton turned aside 23 shots for Philadelphia.

"I thought halfway through the second period, once the guys came back to the bench, we got back into a rhythm," head coach Peter Laviolette told the Flyers official Web site.

Mike Richards added an assist in the win and the Flyers captain has registered a point in six straight games, posting three goals and six helpers over that span.

Philadelphia has won five straight and 11 of its last 13 home games. The Flyers, who are 20-11-2 at Wachovia this year, will cap a four-game homestand Saturday against Chicago.

The Bruins, who are 15-11-6 as the guest this year, are making the fourth stop on seven-game road trip and are 1-1-1 on the swing so far.

Boston was dealt an overtime loss Tuesday in Toronto as Nikolai Kulemin scored with 49.7 seconds left in OT to claim a 4-3 decision.

Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm and Mark Recchi got the goals for Boston, which has lost two straight. Tim Thomas made several big stops but wound up on the wrong end of a 26-save effort.

"We know we're in the (playoff) race right now, you can't give up those points," said Bergeron.

Tuesday's test was the first game for Boston since it lost star forward Marc Savard to a concussion. Savard, who has 33 points in 41 games this year, suffered a Grade Two concussion after taking a shoulder to the head from Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke on Sunday.

Savard, the Bruins' leading scorer in each of the previous three seasons, is sidelined indefinitely and could possibly miss the rest of the year. Cooke was not penalized on the play and it was announced Wednesday that he will not be suspended by the league.

In other injury news for Boston, top defenseman Zdeno Chara is questionable for tonight after missing the last game with a lower-body issue. Fellow blueliner Andrew Ference is also questionable after sitting out the last four tests with a groin injury.

Supercazino Hockey Betting News

<< Blues visit Islanders at Nassau Coliseum
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to get back on track tonight when they visit the New York Islanders for an interconference clash at Nassau Coliseum. The Blues pushed their winning streak to a season-high five games by posting

<< Hawks hope to snap funk in DC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to avoid a third straight loss when they wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday night against the Southeast Division-rival Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. Atlanta is winless so far

<< Lightning hope to get on track versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will aim for just their second win in eight games when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada Centre. The Lightning are only five points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conf

<< Blazers hit the road to Golden State
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to keep their playoff aspirations alive, the Portland Trail Blazers will hit the road for back-to-back games starting with tonight's showdown against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena. Portland is e

<< Golf Tidbits: Where has Stuart Appleby's game gone?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the top-ranked Australian in the world, Stuart Appleby has plummeted in the world rankings as his winless streak stretches into its fourth season. Appleby owns eight PGA Tour titles, including three s

Red Wings, Wild meet for key battle in Motown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams fighting for a playoff berth in the Western Conference get together tonight at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, where the hometown Red Wings take on the Minnesota Wild in a key late-season showdown. The reigning

Penguins aim for fifth straight win in clash with hosting 'Canes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to stay perfect since returning from the Olympic break when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center. The Penguins are 4-0 since the league came back from the Winter Games.

Howard, Magic put streak on line vs. Bulls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard and the surging Orlando Magic shoot for their seventh straight win tonight in the conclusion of a three-game homestand versus the Chicago Bulls at Amway Arena. Orlando is riding a six-game

Senators resume western swing with stop in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just picked up their first win since the Winter Olympics break, the Ottawa Senators will now try to pick up their first victory in Calgary since 2003 when they visit the Flames tonight at Pengrowth Saddledome. The

Sharks continue homestand with battle against Predators >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having rallied in the third period in each of its last two victories, the San Jose Sharks wrap their season series with the Nashville Predators this evening at HP Pavilion. Even though it is getting later in the season, th

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.