Panthers aim for rare win against Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers were able to stop their longest losing streak of the season with victories in their last two games. Now the team will turn its attention towards ending a long winless drought against the Minnesota Wild when the clubs face off this evening at the Xcel Energy Center.

Florida put an 0-6-1 skid to an end with Wednesday's 7-4 decision over Philadelphia at the BankAtlantic Center, then followed up with a 4-1 home win over Carolina on Saturday behind a 31-save performance from goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

Michael Frolik and Kamil Kreps gave Vokoun all the support he would need by scoring within a span of 1:11 in the first period, and Kreps added an empty- net tally in the closing minutes to seal the win.

"We scored seven goals in the game before and were able to get two quick goals in this game," said Frolik. "It's good because it helps us grab the momentum in the game and carry it through. It was a big win for us."

The Panthers hope their recent success can extend to the road, a place where the team hasn't won since January 14. Florida is 0-5-1 in its last six outings as the visitor and scored a mere seven goals over that poor stretch.

Florida has an even longer winless drought against the Wild, having dropped the last seven meetings in this series. Minnesota is 7-1 with a tie over its nine all-time encounters with the Panthers and has outscored Florida 31-13 over the course of those games.

The Panthers' lone victory over the Wild took place in Florida on February 7, 2001. They are 0-3 with a tie in their four previous trips to St. Paul.

Minnesota will be trying to halt a string of back-to-back losses, including Sunday's disappointing 5-2 home setback to fellow Northwest Division member Calgary. Goaltender Nicklas Backstrom, who had yielded only two goals in his last four matchups with the Flames, stopped only 19-of-23 shots in a shaky performance between the pipes.

"I thought we had some breakdowns where we gave them some chances," Wild coach Todd Richards said. "We were already chasing right there, 19 seconds into the game," referring to a quick goal by Calgary's Rene Bourque in the game's initial stages.

One bright spot in Sunday's defeat was Guillaume Latendresse, who scored both Minnesota goals. The Quebec native has lit the lamp seven times in his last nine contests and recorded 21 goals in 30 games since being acquired by the Wild from Montreal in a November 23 trade.

Minnesota is a solid 21-9-2 at the Xcel Energy Center for the season but has struggled there as of late, having dropped three of its last four tests on home ice.

Both clubs enter tonight's tilt seven points out of a playoff spot in their respective conferences. Florida stands 12th in the East with 62 points, while Minnesota's 67 points is good for only 13th place in the West.

Wsbgglobal Hockey Betting News

<< Habs return home to face Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just completed a successful road trip, the Montreal Canadiens will play for the first time at the Bell Centre in nearly a month when the playoff hopefuls host the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening. Montreal began its

<< Jazz open trek against Bulls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Utah Jazz hope to keep the pressure on Northwest Division-leading Denver when they begin a four-game road trip in the Windy City against a reeling Chicago Bulls team. Traditionally the Jazz don't per

<< Flyers try to continue mastery of Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will be attempting to extend their current home winning streak in tonight's matchup with a New York Islanders team they've dominated over the past few seasons from the Wachovia Center. The Flyers ha

<< Blazers welcome Kings to Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to bounce back from one of their worst defensive performances of the season tonight when they take on the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden. Carmelo Anthony posted 30 points on Sunday to

<< 2010 Big Ten Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th Annual Big Ten Conference Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 11th from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Purdue is the defending tournament champion, having topped Ohio State in l

Canucks visit Avs in clash between Northwest's top two teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of all the games the Vancouver Canucks have played on their NHL-record 14-game road trip, tonight's contest with the Colorado Avalanche could be the most important. Northwest Division-leading Vancouver will try to extend i

Ailing Senators start up road trip in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the Ottawa Senators head to Western Canada, they hope they left a crippling flu bug behind them. The team will try to snap a three- game overall slide and pick up a sixth straight win over the Edmonton Oilers, who look to

Ducks hope to end slide in matchup with slumping Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks know that their current seven-game homestand might represent their best chance to get back into the playoff picture. However, after a less-than-stellar start to the residency, they should be happy to see the

Yankee Stadium bowl game to be called Pinstripe Bowl >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new college football bowl game to be held at Yankee Stadium starting in 2010 will be called the Pinstripe Bowl, with New Era as the title sponsor. Last September, the Yankees announced the bowl game th

2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hawaii Warriors may have the most Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles with three, the last coming in 2002, but this year the islanders aren't even invited to the party as the 27th annual event k

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting