Sens try to regain swagger against Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators have found it hard to recapture their earlier success upon returning from the Olympic break. The playoff hopefuls hope a visit from the Eastern Conference's last-place team will help end those struggles.

The slumping Senators head back to Scotiabank Place tonight to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in a showdown between Northeast Division foes.

Ottawa had been on fire prior to the NHL's stoppage for the Vancouver Games, ripping off 14 wins in its final 16 contests before the shutdown. The Senators haven't been the same since play resumed, however, going 1-4-1 in their first six outings of March.

The Sens did open a three-game tour of Western Canada with a 4-1 triumph over doormat Edmonton on March 9, but followed with disappointing results in both Calgary and Vancouver. After being shut out by the Flames on Thursday, Ottawa was dominated on both ends of the ice in a 5-1 defeat to the Canucks in Saturday's finale of the trip.

Vancouver outshot the Senators 17-2 in the first period and by a 35-14 margin for the game, and converted 2-of-6 power-play opportunities in addition to recording a short-handed goal.

"Not a whole lot to say about that effort," a frustrated Ottawa head coach Cory Clouston said afterward. "We weren't ready to go. [The Canucks] played like it was a playoff game and we weren't ready to step our game up."

Jason Spezza netted the lone Senators' goal, while goaltender Pascal Leclaire made 30 saves in a losing cause.

Ottawa now trails Buffalo by three points for first place in the Northeast, but still stands fifth in the Eastern Conference standings despite its current slide.

The Senators will try to bounce back in this evening's bout with the lowly Leafs, whose 58 total points trail only Edmonton for the lowest amount in the league. Toronto has taken the last three meetings between the divisional rivals, however, including a 2-1 shootout decision at Scotiabank Place on March 6.

That victory started off a 4-1-0 stretch for the Maple Leafs, although they couldn't sustain that momentum in Sunday's 4-1 road loss to the New York Islanders.

Nikolai Kulemin did have a goal for Toronto to extend his personal scoring streak to five games, with the Russian wing having compiled seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) over that span.

The defeat was the ninth in the past 10 road games for the Leafs, with the March 6 verdict over the Senators their only win during that period. Toronto has been one of the NHL's worst teams away from home this season, bringing a poor 9-20-7 mark as the visitor into tonight's tilt.

Ottawa is a strong 23-13-4 on home ice thus far in 2009-10, but has lost three of its five previous matchups with the Maple Leafs this season as well as six of the past nine overall meetings in this series.

Wwwbetgameday Hockey Betting News

<< Habs aim for sixth straight win versus playoff-hopeful Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Montreal Canadiens will shoot for a sixth straight victory tonight when they visit the New York Rangers in a battle between Original Six clubs at Madison Square Garden. The Canadiens and Rangers are both figh

<< Thrashers try to end skid in clash with Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers could be in much worse shape than they are when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff race. Still, the club will not be able to improve their postseason chances until they end a lengthy losing strea

<< Nuggets hope to have Karl back vs. Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets hope to have head coach George Karl back on the bench tonight when the Western Conference power kicks off a three-game homestand against the woeful Washington Wizards. Karl announced last Friday that

<< Sliding Bulls make a stop in Memphis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fading Chicago Bulls hope to put the brakes on season- long seven-game skid and improve their standing in the Eastern Conference playoff picture when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Chicago's losing

<< Struggling Bruins visit Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will fight to hold onto their playoff spot when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center. The Bruins are currently eighth in the East with 72 points and are just one point ahead of the New

Playoff-hopeful Suns welcome Wolves to the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoffs are likely a foregone conclusion for the Phoenix Suns, who resume a season-long seven-game homestand tonight against the Western Conference's worst team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns improved

Lakers eye 50th win in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers shoot for a third straight 50-win season tonight in California's capital against Pacific Division foe Sacramento. The Lakers won their third straight game last night i

Panthers shoot for win against Ovechkin-less Caps >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Washington Capitals have already secured a playoff spot, the Florida Panthers have been making a late push for the postseason with their play as of late. The resurgent Panthers aim for their first victory this se

Coyotes visit Tampa with shot at sixth straight win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A flurry of recent moves have paid instant dividends for the Phoenix Coyotes, who'll be trying to run their current winning streak to six games in this evening's matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning from the St. Pete Times Fo

Avs hope to continue dominance of Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Strong play on the road this season has kept the St. Louis Blues in contention for a postseason berth. The club hasn't been able to achieve the same success at home, however, and it's had all kinds of trouble when facing the

Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

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.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

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.

RSS Sports Betting Odds Feeds

Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.