Blues wrap road trip versus Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues conclude a six-game road trip this evening that has kept them in the playoff race. They do so against one of the better home teams in the league, the Minnesota Wild, at Xcel Energy Center.

The Blues have won seven of their last eight games, a span that includes a 4-1-0 mark on their current road trip. That successful spurt has kept St. Louis in playoff discussions as it sits five points back of a playoff spot.

After failing to score in the first period of last night's game in Columbus, St. Louis lit the lamp three times in the second en route to a 5-1 triumph. Andy McDonald had a goal and two assists, while Chris Mason made 24 saves.

Alexander Steen, B.J. Crombeen, David Backes and David Perron also scored for the Blues, who are an impressive 20-10-4 as the road team this year.

"I think the difference in the game was the second period," Mason said. "I thought we had a great second period. We took the play to them with a lot of shots. We had some good shots on the goal there."

The Wild host the Blues two days after they halted a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) that included a 5-1 setback at Detroit on Thursday. Minnesota responded the next night, earning a 3-2 victory in Buffalo.

With Niklas Backstrom missing his second game in a row due to a groin injury, Josh Harding stopped a season-high 43 shots for his first win since Jan. 28.

"[Thursday's loss in Detroit] wasn't good. To a man I thought this team put forth a great effort tonight," said Harding. "Our team wins when the defenseman play well and it sets the tone for everyone else to play well."

Andrew Ebbett, Andrew Brunette and Guillaume Latendresse lit the lamp for the Wild, who are still 21-9-3 at home despite losses in four of their last five as the host. Minnesota, though, has fallen eight points back of Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Backstrom is again questionable for tonight, meaning Harding should get the start. He is 3-2-0 with a 1.74 goals-against average in his career versus the Blues. Shane Hnidy (leg) and Brent Burns (hip) could also miss their third straight games tonight.

The Blues have won two of three over the Wild this year, including a 1-0 victory when the clubs last met on Jan. 14 in St. Louis. Mason posted a 19- save shutout in that one and is 5-4-2 with a 3.07 GAA in 11 career starts versus the Wild.

St. Louis has also won five of the last seven meetings in the series overall but has lost nine of its last 11 trips to Minnesota.

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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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