Capitals turn eye to East's top seed in meeting with Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals didn't have to break a sweat in clinching their third straight Southeast Division title on Wednesday.

Tonight, they'll try to move closer to locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Verizon Center.

The Capitals were off Wednesday, but clinched the division title as a result of Atlanta's regulation loss against Columbus. Washington -- which leads the Southeast by a whopping 33 points over the Thrashers and Tampa -- not only became the first NHL club this season to win its division, but also is the first to secure a playoff spot.

With 99 points, Washington also comes into tonight with a 14-point lead over Pittsburgh for the East's top seed with 17 games remaining for both teams. The Caps could also claim their first Presidents' Trophy as they lead the NHL by four points over San Jose.

Washington is coming off a close victory Wednesday against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to lift the Caps to the 4-3 decision at Verizon Center.

In the extra session, Fleischmann hammered an Eric Belanger feed past Carolina goaltender Manny Legace.

"I jumped from the bench and (Belanger) made the pass. I didn't get all of it. But it went in so I was happy," Fleischmann said.

Mike Green scored twice on the power play for Washington, while Jose Theodore turned aside 28 shots to earn the win -- the Caps' 21st victory in their last 26 games.

NHL leading scorer Alex Ovechkin added two assists, giving him two or more points in 30 of his 59 games this season. The Russian superstar leads the NHL with 94 points this year.

Washington, which is capping a five-game homestand tonight, is 26-3-4 as the host this season.

Tampa Bay enters tonight trailing Boston by six points for the East's final playoff spot and the Lightning have lost two straight and seven of their last eight games.

The Bolts were dealt a 4-3 overtime loss Thursday in Toronto, losing on Phil Kessel's tally 3:33 into OT.

Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, stretching his amazing points streak to a franchise-record 18 games and his goal string to seven contests. The sophomore star has 42 goals this year, placing him behind only Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for the league lead.

Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie also lit the lamp for Tampa Bay, while Mike Smith stopped 34 shots in defeat.

"There's a lot of young guys that are fighting for jobs in the next upcoming season," Stamkos said. "They worked hard and wanted it a little more."

The Lightning have a dismal 9-19-6 record as the guest this year and are closing out a three-game road trip tonight. Tampa will begin a four-game homestand with Sunday's test against the Penguins.

The Capitals have taken three of four from Tampa this year and 14 of the last 15 matchups overall. The Bolts have dropped seven straight and nine of 10 in D.C. The teams will wrap the season series March 20 in Tampa.

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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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