Flyers host Devils in Atlantic Division matchup

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals will collide this afternoon in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils for a battle at the Wells Fargo Center.

This marks the fourth of six scheduled tilts between the clubs this year. The Flyers are 2-0-1 against the Devils so far and Philly has claimed five of eight and eight of the last 12 encounters in this series. New Jersey has won its last two at the Wells Fargo Center, including a 4-3 shootout decision when the teams met on Nov. 3.

The Flyers enter today as the fourth seed in the East and are also three points behind the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic. The Devils are seven points behind Philadelphia and are hanging onto the seventh seed in the East.

The Devils have won their last two games after heading into the All-Star break on a three-game slide. New Jersey's latest victory came Thursday against Montreal, as the Devils capped a six-game homestand by defeating the Canadiens, 5-3.

Zach Parise's second goal of the game snapped a 3-3 tie with 2:44 to play in the third period and David Clarkson added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the win for the Devils. Jersey came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in the victory.

Clarkson had two goals and an assist, Dainius Zubrus added a goal and two assists and Martin Brodeur made 27 saves in the win.

"We started off slow and it was tough to come back from," said Clarkson. "But I think these guys showed what we're made of tonight. This was a good win."

The Devils, who are 14-10-1 as the road team this year, lost rookie defenseman Adam Larsson to a back injury on Thursday and he won't play today. Larsson -- the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft -- sustained the injury on a big hit by Montreal's P.K. Subban. Devils forward Ryan Carter also suffered a hand injury in the win over the Habs and will miss this afternoon's test.

Forward Travis Zajac (Achilles) and Adam Henrique (groin) will also sit out today's game for the Devils.

The Flyers have alternated losses and wins over their last eight games, but the club has notched a point in five straight, going 3-0-2 over that stretch. Peter Laviolette's squad posted a 4-1 decision Thursday against Nashville in the second test of a three-game homestand that will end today.

Wayne Simmonds scored twice and Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves to help the Flyers improve to 12-7-4 as the host this year.

"I don't know, I guess I like playing against them," said Simmonds, who posted four points in two games against the Predators this season. "Our line tonight did really well and the same goes for the last game as well."

Matt Read also tallied and Claude Giroux saw a lengthy goal drought ended for the Flyers, who shook off a shootout loss at home to Winnipeg on Tuesday. For Giroux, who leads Philly with 57 points, it was his first goal since Jan. 2 and his 19th of the season.

The Flyers hope to get forwards Danny Briere and James Van Riemsdyk back soon from concussions, but neither player is expected to play today. Briere is believed to be closer to returning than van Riemsdyk, but he has still yet to be cleared for contact.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

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Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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