Surging Flames visit Canucks, GM Place

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03/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Flames are getting hot at just the right time. Calgary will try to match its longest winning streak of the season tonight when it visits GM Place to take on the Vancouver Canucks.

The Flames have won four straight as they try to repair the damage caused from a 4-10-4 stretch they posted from Jan. 11-March 3. Once challengers for the Northwest Division title, Calgary now finds itself a point back of Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand. The Flames are also just two points behind the seventh-seeded Predators.

Calgary, which won five straight from Dec. 28-Jan. 5, is coming off Thursday's 2-0 shutout of Ottawa. Miikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 34th of his career.

"It's a big two points for us," said Flames head coach Brent Sutter. "We found a way to win in a game where we weren't at our best. We weren't all that sharp but we did things well enough to find a way to win. With the situation we're in we can't give up points, we need points."

Jamal Mayers and Chris Higgins scored for the Flames, who have lost six of their last nine on the road.

Kiprusoff is 3-1-0 with a 3.51 goals-against average in the Flames' four games versus the Canucks this year and made 19 saves in a 3-2 shootout win at GM Place when the clubs last met on Jan. 9. Jamie Lundmark had the game-tying goal and netted the winner in the shootout.

Vancouver, which has still won seven of its last 11 at home versus the Flames, had to wait nearly two months but it picked up its sixth straight win at home last night with a 5-1 victory over Ottawa. The Canucks were playing at GM Place for the first time since Jan. 27 due to a 14-game road trip that was needed because of the city of Vancouver playing host to the Winter Olympics.

Mikael Samuelsson scored twice to give him 30 goals on the season as well as nine tallies and 12 points over a six-game point streak. Alexandre Burrows, Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo also scored for the Canucks, who went 8-5-1 on their NHL-record road trip.

"We came out and had a great first period, and I think we played one of our best games of the year tonight," said Roberto Luongo, who made 13 saves. "I think we were just excited to get back. It's been such a long time since we've played here."

Sedin pushed his point streak to nine games (2 goals, 12 assists), while Ryan Kesler had a helper to give him five goals and nine assists over a 12-game run of his own.

The Canucks, who own a five-point lead over the Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division, won the opener of a five-game homestand and improved to 24-7-1 as the host this season.

Luongo is 1-2-1 with a 3.21 GAA in four games versus the Flames this year.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.