Maple Leafs try to stay hot against powerful Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

12/18/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will aim for their fourth consecutive victory when they visit the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins for tonight's Northeast Division battle at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Maple Leafs posted their first three-game winning streak of the season by downing visiting New Jersey on Tuesday. Toronto last won four in a row from November 29 to December 6 of last season.

Toronto earned a 3-2 shootout victory over the Devils as Jason Blake netted the game-winning shootout goal and Vesa Toskala had 25 regulation saves along with three shootout stops at Air Canada Centre.

Nik Antropov and Jeremy Williams both scored in regulation while Tomas Kaberle notched two assists for Toronto.

The Maple Leafs are beginning a three-game road trip tonight and have lost four of their last five as the visiting team. Toronto has a 6-7-2 record away from home this season.

The Bruins, meanwhile, have the best record in the Eastern Conference with 46 points and are tied for the top seed with the New York Rangers. Boston is also nine points ahead of second-place Montreal for the division lead. Toronto is in fourth place with 30 points.

Boston is coming off a home-and-home sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers, as it earned a 7-3 victory in the road portion on Friday and followed with a 4-2 home decision the following day. The Bruins have won seven of eight games and have a 16-2-1 record in their last 19 outings.

Phil Kessel led the way in Saturday's win over the Thrashers as he extended his point streak with a goal and an assist. Kessel is riding a 15-game point streak and has 12 goals and 10 assists during the longest current run in the NHL.

Kessel leads the Bruins with 19 goals and is second on the team with 31 points.

Michael Ryder scored twice while Dennis Wideman lit the lamp for Boston, while Manny Fernandez made 20 saves in the win.

Tim Thomas, who is 9-1-1 in his last 11 starts, is expected to be back between the pipes for Boston tonight.

The Bruins are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand and are 11-1-1 as the host this season. Boston, which has won 11 straight at home since losing its first two tests at the Garden this year, will host Carolina on Saturday.

This is the fourth of six meetings between the Leafs and Bruins this season and Boston currently holds a 2-1 edge in the season series. The Bruins have taken two straight, four of five and eight of the last 12 encounters with Toronto and they've also won two of the past three matchups in Beantown.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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