Sliding Sabres welcome Flyers to western New York

Hockey Betting Lines

11/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The skidding Buffalo Sabres will attempt to halt a three- game losing streak in the opener of a four-game homestand tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena.

Buffalo began the season with four straight wins and victories in six of its first seven games, but has since lost eight of 11. The Sabres last three losses have been by wide margins, as the club has been outscored 18-7 in that span.

The Sabres were handed a 7-4 loss in Boston on Wednesday. Jason Pominville scored in his fourth straight game and added two assists to give him seven points over a five-game point streak (4 goals, 3 assists).

Thomas Vanek added two goals and an assist and has an NHL-leading 15 goals in 18 games this year. He is closing in on Rick Martin's franchise record for fastest to 20 goals, as he reached the mark in 24 games in 1972-73.

Netminder Ryan Miller allowed seven goals on 20 shots and was lifted in the third period in favor of Patrick Lalime, who made three saves the rest of the way. Miller has allowed 11 goals in his last two games, but is 7-3-1 with a 2.78 goals against average in 12 career starts against the Flyers.

Buffalo is expected to play its third straight game without both Tim Connolly (upper body) and Ales Kotalik (hamstring) as it tries to improve on its 5-3-1 mark at home. This four-game homestand, that next sees the New York Islanders come to town on Saturday, is a season long.

The Sabres will try to extend their recent success against the Flyers tonight, as they have won nine of 12 against them since the lockout. That includes victories in four of the six contests played in Buffalo.

They also won't have to face former captain Daniel Briere, who signed with the Flyers prior to last season after spending three-plus seasons with the Sabres. Briere will miss his fourth straight game due to a strained left groin after missing time earlier this year due to abdominal surgery.

Philadelphia has been rolling even without Briere, as it has won two straight and three of its last four (3-0-1). The Flyers picked up their 12th straight win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday with a 4-3 victory.

Simon Gagne had a goal and two assists in the win, giving him three goals and five assists over a five-game points streak. Gagne played in just 25 games a year ago due to concussion issues, but leads the Flyers this year with 22 points (11g, 11a).

Antero Niittymaki improved to 11-0-0 lifetime against Atlanta with a 29-save effort, while Mike Knuble had a goal and an assist. Joffrey Lupul came up with the game-winner in the third period and Kimmo Timonen had a power-play tally.

Former Sabre Martin Biron should return to net for the Flyers, and he is 2-2-1 with a 3.88 GAA in five games against the club that selected him in the first round of the 1995 draft.

The Flyers are 4-2-3 on the road this year and return home to face Phoenix on Saturday.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.