Coyotes shoot for historic win in Florida

Hockey Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes set their sights on a history-making win when the surprising playoff contenders skate into the BankAtlantic Center this evening to take on the Florida Panthers.

One of the NHL's great success stories of the 2009-10 campaign, the Coyotes appear well on their way to their first postseason appearance since 2001-02 and enter tonight's clash riding a six-game winning streak. The surging club's most recent triumph, a 2-1 verdict over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, matched a franchise record for victories in a single season that was initially set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets.

Phoenix, which has amassed an excellent 14-4-0 record since January 26, currently occupies the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings and has moved within five points of San Jose for the top spot.

"I think everybody is (contributing), and that's why we're so successful this year," said forward Vernon Fiddler, who scored one of the Coyotes' two goals in Tuesday's win. "Everybody's bringing something different -- it doesn't matter if you're a checker or an offensive guy. Our goaltending is great, defense is playing well and everybody's pulling on the same rope."

The Coyotes have indeed gotten strong goaltending during their hot stretch. No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov has posted a 0.98 goals against average and .967 save percentage in winning his last three starts, and stopped 27-of-28 shots on Tuesday to notch his 37th victory of the season.

Matthew Lombardi also scored for Phoenix against the Lightning and Lee Stempniak set up Fiddler's tally to extend his personal point streak to seven games. The ex-Toronto forward has recorded six goals and two assists in six outings since being acquired from the Maple Leafs at the March 3 trade deadline.

If they're able to knock off the Panthers, the Coyotes will have put together their first seven-game winning streak since December 28, 2006-January 7, 2007.

Phoenix will wrap a string of four straight road games against Southeast Division foes tonight and has outscored the opposition by a 9-3 margin in consecutive decisions over Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay on this swing.

Florida got a four-game homestand off to an undesired start on Tuesday, when the high-scoring Washington Capitals cruised to a 7-3 win over the Panthers despite playing without suspended NHL points leader Alex Ovechkin.

The NHL's best offense didn't miss a beat despite not having Ovechkin, who served the first of a two-game penalty for a dangerous hit on Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell on Sunday. Washington scored five times on 21 shots against Tomas Vokoun before the Panthers goaltender was removed with 5:54 remaining in the second period.

"This is a disappointing effort. We left our goalies out to dry," Panthers head coach Peter DeBoer said. "We were too soft. You can't expect to get a playoff spot in this league when you don't play harder than the team you're playing against."

Florida is on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture at the moment, trailing eighth-place Boston by eight points with 14 games left in the regular season and four other teams standing in between the Panthers and Bruins.

On a more positive note, the Panthers seem to be close to getting one of their top scorers back in the lineup for the stretch run. Forward Nathan Horton, who hasn't played since breaking his left tibia in a January 21 loss to the New York Islanders, resumed practicing this week and is a possibility to return tonight. The talented 24-year-old had 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games before going down.

These teams will be facing one another for the first time since a 4-1 Coyotes' win in Arizona last season. In Phoenix's last visit to the BankAtlantic Center, the Panthers came away with a 5-2 decision on February 10, 2007.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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