Blackhawks hope to get on track versus Flames

Hockey Betting Lines

01/04/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a home-and-home sweep at the hands of a division rival -- including a setback in the 2009 Winter Classic -- the Chicago Blackhawks will try to get back on track tonight against the Calgary Flames at the United Center.

Chicago had plenty of momentum heading into its two-game set with the Detroit Red Wings, but after having a franchise-record nine-game winning streak end with a 4-0 loss in Motown last Tuesday, the Blackhawks dropped a 6-4 test to Detroit in Thursday's New Year's Day clash at Wrigley Field.

Playing outdoors in the stadium that usually houses the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, Kris Versteeg, Martin Havlat and Ben Eager all scored first- period goals to stake the Blackhawks to an early 3-1 lead, but the Red Wings netted the next five tallies to claim the win.

Havlat had a goal and two assists, and Versteeg ended with a goal and one assist for Chicago, which technically fell to 11-2-4 at home this year while having a five-game winning streak as the host end.

The setback also dropped the Blackhawks eight points behind first-place Detroit in the Central Division, a deficit that swelled to 10 points after the Red Wings victory last night in Minnesota.

Cristobal Huet started in net for the Blackhawks, but was pulled in the third period after allowing six goals on 30 shots. Nikolai Khabibulin came in and stopped all 13 shots he faced.

Huet hadn't allowed more than one goal in any of his previous five starts -- all wins -- but gave up six goals in a game for the second time this year. He is 2-4-0 with a tie and 2.67 goals against average in his career against the Flames.

Khabibulin, meanwhile, took the loss in Detroit on Tuesday for his first losing decision since November 14. He had posted seven straight wins without a loss until then and is 20-5-0 with a pair of ties and 2.06 GAA versus Calgary.

On Saturday, it was announced that Chicago forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as defenseman Brian Campbell were all voted in as starters for January's All-Star game in Montreal.

Despite being in first place in the Northwest Division and currently riding a five-game winning streak, the Flames do not have an All-Star starter named yesterday. Instead, they extended their winning streak with a 3-2 win over Nashville on Saturday.

Just minutes after setting up Daymond Langkow's game-tying goal late in the third, Todd Bertuzzi netted the game-winner with just 23.4 seconds left. Curtis Glencross also scored in the win, while Craig Conroy notched an assist for his 500th NHL point.

Miikka Kiprusoff kept it close throughout with 24 saves to get the win, which moved the Flames four points ahead of second-place Vancouver in the standings.

Calgary has notched a point in 10 straight games (7-0-3) and will try tonight to match its season-best six-game win streak set on October 21-November 1.

The Flames are 10-7-1 on the road this year and have won three straight and seven of their last nine as the visiting team.

Calgary has lost both of its games against Chicago so far this year, getting outscored 9-3 in that span. The Flames have won four of their last six in the Windy City.

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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)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.