Coyotes visit Tampa with shot at sixth straight win

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A flurry of recent moves have paid instant dividends for the Phoenix Coyotes, who'll be trying to run their current winning streak to six games in this evening's matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning from the St. Pete Times Forum.

Since making a startling seven deals prior to the March 3 trade deadline, the Coyotes have ripped off five consecutive wins to further solidify their chances for a first playoff appearance since 2001-02. The tear has given Phoenix 89 points for the season, good for fourth place in the Western Conference and just seven behind top-seeded San Jose for the Pacific Division lead.

With a victory tonight, Phoenix would match a club record for wins in a single season set in 1984-85, when the franchise was located in Winnipeg.

Lee Stempniak has played a major part in the Coyotes' surge, scoring six goals in five games since being acquired from Toronto earlier this month. Fellow forward Wojtek Wolski (2 goals, 1 assist, plus-three rating) and veteran defenseman Derek Morris (plus-four rating), brought in from Colorado and Boston, respectively, in deadline swaps, have made a noticeable impact as well for a Phoenix squad that has outscored the opposition by an 18-6 margin over its present streak.

The Coyotes received a big lift out of one of their holdovers in their most recent win, with reserve goaltender Jason LaBarbara making 39 saves in Sunday's 3-2 shootout decision over Atlanta. Adrian Aucoin came up with the game-winning goal in the fourth round of the deciding phase.

"I thought we were sluggish for most of the game, but the biggest thing is we found a way to get two points and a win," said LaBarbera, who also turned aside 3-of-4 Thrasher skaters in the shootout. "The guys played great in front of me."

Stempniak, named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday, had one of Phoenix's two regulation goals and has notched eight points (6 goals, 2 assists) during a six-game scoring streak.

LaBarbera will likely yield tonight to regular backstop Ilya Bryzgalov, another who's been sensational for Phoenix down the stretch. The 29-year-old has surrendered just four goals and posted two shutouts over his last four starts and is coming off a 29-save performance in a 4-0 victory over Carolina in Saturday's opener of a four-game road trip.

While the Coyotes have been red-hot as of late, Tampa enters tonight's clash having dropped eight of its last 10 tilts following Sunday's 2-1 home setback to defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh. Despite their rough stretch, the Lightning stand just four points back of Boston for the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Steven Stamkos has helped Tampa Bay remain in postseason contention, although the second-year center has been kept off the scoresheet in two straight outings following a franchise-record 18-game point streak. The 20-year-old ranks third in the NHL with 42 goals this season, trailing only superstars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in that category.

Ryan Malone, who stands third among Lightning players with 21 goals, sat out for the second time in three games in Sunday's loss and is day-to-day with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Vincent Lecavalier scored the lone Tampa goal against the Penguins, with Antero Niittymaki stopping 37-of-39 shots on the night. The Finnish netminder had been working on a shutout until Pittsburgh put up a pair of goals within a three-minute span in the third period.

"It looked like we had things under control, and then we take back-to-back penalties," said Bolts forward Martin St. Louis of the Penguins' rally. "You give them an opening and it's over because they start feeling good about themselves."

The loss kicked off a four-game homestand for Tampa Bay, which owns an 18-9-6 record at the St. Pete Times Forum this season.

The Lightning have prevailed in three straight and five of their last six meetings with the Coyotes held in Florida, as well as seven of the past eight overall encounters between the teams. Phoenix will be making its first trip to Tampa since a 5-3 defeat on February 13, 2007.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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