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04/06/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur used 34 saves to break the all-time mark for wins in a single season and Jim Dowd scored the short-handed game-winner midway through the third period, as the New Jersey Devils clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia.
Brodeur secured his 48th win of 2006-07 and in the process broke the record that was formerly held by longtime Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent.
The Devils, who are now division champions for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons, won their second consecutive game under the guidance of new head coach Lou Lamoriello. The Devils' general manager and face of the organization also coached 50 games last season and led the team on an amazing run in the second half of the campaign. On Monday, head coach Claude Julien was unexpectedly fired.
Jamie Langenbrunner and Sergei Brylin also scored for the Devils, who will finish their regular season on Sunday afternoon at home against the Islanders before they host the first two postseason games versus a yet-to-be-determined opponent. If victorious in the first round, New Jersey would also host any opponent in the next round as well.
The Devils attained their 49th win of the season Thursday, eclipsing the franchise-record from 1997-98 and 2000-01.
Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers, who with 54 points are dangerously close to finishing this season with the worst mark in franchise history (58 points in 1969-70). With two weekend home games remaining in the regular season, Philly would need to win both games just to tie the franchise- worst mark.
With the score tied 2-2 midway through the third period, Dowd's short-handed tally gave the Devils the lead for good. The Flyers skated with the man advantage due to a hooking penalty to forward Scott Gomez, but a turnover led to a 2-on-1 rush. Brylin carried the disc down the right-wing side and sent a saucer pass over the stick of Alexandre Picard before a one-timer from the left circle by Dowd beat Martin Biron with 11:14 remaining in regulation.
Brodeur stopped all 13 shots he faced in the final stanza and the Devils defense thwarted most of the potential Philadelphia scoring chances the rest of the way, as the Devils surrounded Brodeur and celebrated both his new record and another division crown.
The Flyers opened the scoring on Carter's 14th goal of the season, 1:05 after the opening faceoff. The puck sat in the crease after a wraparound attempt by Scottie Upshall at the left post and Carter poked in home from the top of the crease during a scramble in front of the net.
In the latter stages of the first stanza, the visitors tied the contest with a power-play goal. With Sami Kapanen in the penalty box for holding, the Devils worked the puck around the perimeter before Langenbrunner held control at the right point. The veteran forward then inched in from the blue line and released a slap shot that made its way through traffic and into the back of the cage.
With 13:23 to go in second period, it appeared Philadelphia had possibly taken the lead. Upshall skated in alone on a clear breakaway and lifted a backhander that sailed into the pads of Brodeur, who fell back into the net. The referee lost sight of the puck and it was not clear if it had crossed the goal line while Brodeur covered it. A review of the play confirmed the no-goal call that was originally made on the ice.
However several minutes later, Gagne's 39th goal midway through the period did in fact put the Flyers in front. Picard spun around at the centerpoint and released a slap shot that was deflected by Gagne atop the left circle and it flew past Brodeur at the 9:27 mark.
A very similar deflection goal brought New Jersey even at 2-2 with over five minutes remaining before the second intermission. Skating 5-on-4, the Devils converted on the power play again via Brylin's 16th goal. Geoff Sanderson was whistled for hooking and blueliner Andy Greene's shot from the right side beneath the blue line was redirected home beautifully by Brylin from the slot.
Game Notes
Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo currently has 46 wins with three games remaining...Biron ended with 30 saves...For Gagne, it was his 199th career goal and the 500th game of his career...Parent's mark of 47 victories occurred during the Flyers' Stanley Cup title season of 1973-74...The Devils won the season series 7-1 and have captured 10 of their last 11 games overall against the rival Flyers...NJ finished 2-for-6 on the power play and held the Flyers scoreless on their four chances with the extra skater...Attendance was 19,177.
<< Blueshirts lock up playoff spot
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist and
Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves as the New York Rangers clinched a playoff
berth with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.
Petr Pr
<< Arenas out 2-3 months following surgery
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas
underwent surgery Thursday to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee
and will be sidelined the next 2-to-3 months.
Arenas was hurt in the first quart
<< Michigan State moves into final
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Mueller had a goal and an assist to
help the Michigan State Spartans advance to their first championship game
since 1987 with a 4-2 win over the Maine Black Bears in the Frozen Four.
Nick Such
<< Masters First Round News & Notes
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Most veteran players come to Augusta National a
week or so ahead of time to get a feel for the course. Phil Mickelson, who
owns two green jackets, has been stalking the premises for over a week
already
Heat overcome Cavs in OT >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kapono's three-pointer late in
overtime gave Miami a lead it never relinquished as the Heat edged Cleveland,
94-90, and clinched a playoff berth at Quicken Loans Arena.
Antoine Walker scored
Backstrom and Wild shutout Edmonton >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Backstrom made 22 saves, recording his
second consecutive shutout and fifth of the season as the Minnesota Wild
blanked the Edmonton Oilers, 3-0, at XCel Energy Center.
Mark Parrish, Keith Carne
Talbot lifts Penguins to crucial win over Senators >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maxime Talbot's goal with only 10 seconds
remaining in regulation lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a dramatic and
critical 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.
Michel Ouellet and
Legwand lifts Predators over Blues >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Legwand scored a pair of goals as the
Nashville Predators downed the St. Louis Blues, 4-1, at Nashville Arena.
Alexander Radulov and Peter Forsberg each had a goal for the Predators, who
snapped a
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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