Blues continue playoff push in home test against Kings

Hockey Betting Lines

03/24/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A crucial three-game homestand that could decide the St. Louis Blues' postseason fate begins with tonight's matchup with the slumping Los Angeles Kings.

St. Louis enters this evening's tilt in 11th place in the tightly-bunched Western Conference standings, but sits just two points behind Nashville for the eighth and final playoff seed. After completing this important residency, which also includes clashes with Vancouver and Columbus, the Blues will play six of their final seven regular-season games on the road.

The Blues, who haven't reached the playoffs since the 2003-04 campaign, are a respectable 19-13-5 at the Scottrade Center this season and just 14-17-4 on the road.

St. Louis did help its postseason cause with a much-needed road victory its last time out, as Andy McDonald and Jay McClement scored 51 seconds apart in the third period to rally the Blues to a 3-2 triumph over Northwest Division leader Calgary Friday at the Saddledome.

Chris Mason, making his 23rd straight start at goaltender for the Blues, made 33 saves to help St. Louis halt a two-game losing streak.

The Blues will be attempting to end a different sort of slide this evening. St. Louis has lost all three previous meetings with Los Angeles in 2008-09, with the Kings outscoring the Blues by a 15-5 margin in those games.

In Los Angeles' most recent visit to the Gateway City, the Kings posted a 4-0 victory back on October 24.

The Kings haven't been nearly as successful against the rest of the league as of late, since the team has dropped five of its last six games and is coming off a pair of lopsided road losses to Pittsburgh and Chicago.

In Los Angeles' last trip to the ice, the Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp amassed two goals and an assist in his first game back from a five-week absence to lead Chicago to a 4-1 decision.

Drew Doughty scored the lone goal for the Kings, who were also handed a 4-1 setback by the Penguins on Friday, while goaltender Jonathan Quick recorded 28 saves.

Los Angeles will be playing the fourth test of a six-game road trip tonight and is just 14-18-2 as the visitor this season. The Kings opened the trek with an overtime win at Boston last Thursday before falling to the Penguins and Blackhawks.

In injury news, the Blues played Friday's contest without veteran wing Keith Tkachuk, who sat out after hurting his wrist in a loss at Vancouver the night before. The 36-year-old, who ranks third on the team with 21 goals, is expected to be available for tonight's game.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.