Flames try for rare road win versus Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will aim for their first victory in Toronto since 2000, as they visit the Maple Leafs tonight and Air Canada Centre.

The Flames haven't posted a victory in Toronto since December 16, 2000. They have lost three straight there since that win, including a 5-4 overtime setback at ACC on October 14, 2006. Calgary has lost 13 of its last 14 trips to Toronto as well.

However, the Flames notched a 4-3 home win over the Maple Leafs on November 11 of this year, their fourth win in the last six meetings in the series.

Calgary ends a seven-game road trip tonight and had lost three straight on the trek prior to Thursday's 6-5 shootout win over Detroit. Olli Jokinen scored twice in regulation to give him five goals in five games since coming over from Phoenix in a deadline-day deal, and then had the winner in the shootout.

Jamie Lundmark posted two goals and an assist for the Northwest Division- leading Flames, who improved to 3-3-0 on the trek and 18-14-2 overall as the guest this year. Daymond Langkow also scored in just his second game back from a hand injury that had sidelined him since February 17.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 40 saves to earn his league-leading 40th win of the season. He is 2-1-1 in his career versus the Maple Leafs with a 2.99 goals against average.

The Maple Leafs were last in action on Thursday and were handed a 4-1 loss by Tampa Bay. Martin Gerber saved 26-of-30 shots faced and has now split his four starts with Toronto since being claimed off waivers from Ottawa at the trade deadline.

Lee Stempniak scored the lone goal just 3:21 into the contest for Toronto, which is 11 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto plays the finale of a three-game homestand tonight and has lost six of its last eight as the host. The Maple Leafs are 12-13-9 as the home team this year.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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