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02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to tie the NHL record for consecutive home wins when they shoot for their 20th straight victory at Joe Louis Arena tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.
It's fitting that the Red Wings will go for the record against the Flyers. Philadelphia matched the NHL record for most home wins in a row when it won 20 straight at the Spectrum during the 1975-76 season, equaling the mark first set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins.
Detroit has extended its club record for consecutive home victories by going 2-0 at the start of a six-game homestand. The wins over Edmonton and Anaheim have boosted the Red Wings' record in the Motor City this year to 22-2-1 and Detroit hasn't lost in front of its home crowd since Nov. 3 against Calgary.
Philadelphia had lost eight straight in Detroit before posting a 3-2 regulation win at the Joe last season on Jan. 2. The Flyers have lost 14 of their last 16 regular-season games in Motown, but Philly has taken two straight and three of four overall in this series.
The Red Wings needed a shootout to post consecutive home win No. 19 on Friday, as Todd Bertuzzi supplied the decisive goal in the third round of the shootout to lift Detroit to a 2-1 victory over the Ducks.
Following an exciting overtime, Bertuzzi skated in on Jonas Hiller very slowly and beat the Anaheim goaltender with a backhander. Joey MacDonald then denied Bobby Ryan to assure the win for Detroit, which leads the Central Division, Western Conference and NHL with 76 points.
"We know it's a grind and not easy, but when you're playing well, especially at home, you just keep going with it and try not to think too much about it," said Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
MacDonald made 29 saves for the Red Wings, as he continues to do a solid job filling in as Detroit's primary starter while Jimmy Howard is sidelined with a broken finger. MacDonald has started the last three games for Detroit and has stopped 64-of-69 shots while posting a 2-1 record in those outings. Howard suffered his finger injury on Feb. 2 and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks of action.
In other injury news for the Red Wings, forward Danny Cleary sat out on Friday with a lower-body injury and will miss tonight's game as well as Tuesday's test against Dallas.
Although the Flyers have an 18-8-2 record on the road this year, they won't have much of a chance to halt Detroit's home streak if they don't stop their recent funk. Philadelphia is still fourth in the Eastern Conference with 69 points, but Peter Laviolette's club has lost four of its last five games.
Philadelphia was slammed by the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon, as Ryan Callahan posted his second career hat trick in a 5-2 win for the Blueshirts. The victory pushed New York's lead atop the Atlantic Division to six over the Flyers as the Rangers improved to 5-0 against Philadelphia this season.
The story of the game was the power play. The Rangers went 3-for-7 with the man advantage, while Philly was 0-for-4. The Flyers only trailed 3-2 heading into the third before letting the game get away from them.
Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist for the Flyers and Claude Giroux also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 21-of-26 shots in defeat.
"It doesn't feel good. Obviously we played them five times and lost to them five times so it is not a good feeling in here right now," Simmonds said.
Bobrovsky has started the last two games while No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov has dealt with a bout of the flu. Bryzgalov traveled with the team to Detroit and will likely get the start tonight.
<< Pens welcome Bolts to Steel City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins tied a season-high for goals in a
game on Saturday and will try to carry some of that offense into tonight's
contest when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins host
<< Kings end road trip in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to end a rough road trip on
a positive note when they visit the rival Dallas Stars for today's Pacific
Division battle at American Airlines Center.
The Kings are 1-3-1 so far on a six-game sw
<< Ducks try to bounce back in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to rebound from a loss tonight,
when they play the second test of an eight-game road trip against the Columbus
Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The Ducks became the 19th straight opponent to los
<< Isles, Panthers clash at the Coliseum
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Florida Panthers will try to post their
first three-game winning streak since early December when they visit the New
York Islanders for today's clash at Nassau Coliseum.
Florida, which leads Washington by t
Host Czechs whip Italians 4-1 in Davis Cup >>
Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Czech Republic advanced
to the Davis Cup quarterfinals with an easy 4-1 victory over Italy this week.
The Czechs had already clinched the best-of-five tie with a doubles victory in
Ostra
Liverpool's Suarez makes a bad situation worse >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City's continued rise to prominence, Chelsea's
sudden decline and Tottenham's blistering form have each been major storylines
in the 2011-12 English Premier League season.
Yet racism has emerged as the hot-butto
Argentina tops Germany 4-1 to reach Davis Cup quarters >>
Bamberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina settled for a 4-1 victory over
host Germany in a best-of-five opening-round Davis Cup matchup.
The 2011 runner-up Argentines will host Croatia in a quarterfinal in April.
Argentina clinched
Blues activate McDonald >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues activated forward Andy
McDonald from injured reserve on Sunday.
McDonald has been out of action since suffering a concussion at the end of the
second period on October 13 in Dallas. He
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BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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