Callahan's hat trick helps Rangers beat Philly again

Hockey Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Callahan's second career hat trick helped the Rangers continue their winning ways against the Flyers this season, as New York exited Philadelphia on Saturday with a 5-2 victory.

Marian Gaborik added a goal and three assists for the Rangers, who have won all five of their meetings with the Flyers this season and increased their winning streak in the series to seven games.

Artem Anisimov also lit the lamp for New York, which now leads Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division standings by six points. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in the victory.

Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who have lost four of five. Claude Giroux also scored.

Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 21-of-26 shots in defeat.

The story of the game was the power play. New York was 3-for-7 with the man advantage, while Philly went 0-for-4.

The Rangers started the game with a power-play goal from Callahan at the 8:25 mark of the first period. After taking a pass from Gaborik, Callahan managed to score from a tough angle along the goal line.

Simmonds made it a tie game at the 13:03 mark. Andrej Meszaros' blast from the right point deflected off Simmonds' leg and past Lundqvist.

New York, though, scored again on the man advantage with 3:20 left to make it 2-1. Brad Richards controlled the puck at the top of the right circle and passed in front to Gaborik, who quickly redirected the puck past Bobrovsky.

The back-and-forth battle continued 6:36 into the middle stanza. A nice pass from Simmonds put Giroux on a breakaway. Lundqvist put his arm down along the line to stop Giroux's initial shot, but the Flyers forward was able to jam the puck into the net.

But the Rangers swung the momentum back in their favor with another power-play goal. The visitors got set up in the offensive zone, which resulted in Michael Del Zotto controlling the puck in front of the net. His pass across the crease led to Callahan's second goal of the contest.

New York put the game away with a pair of goals in the third stanza. Just 6:28 into the frame, Gaborik slid a pass from below the goal line to the right circle for Derek Stepan, who slid the disc to the slot. From there, Anisimov put the puck into the back of the net for a 4-2 margin.

Callahan completed his hat trick at the 11:25 mark. With Bobrovsky sprawled out on the ice, Callahan lifted the puck over the goaltender and into the net.

Game Notes

Both of Callahan's hat tricks have come against the Flyers...New York was without forward Ruslan Fedotenko after he took a shoulder to the head from Tampa Bay's Dominic Moore on Thursday...The Rangers have outscored the Flyers 29-10 over the past seven encounters, shutting them out twice...The Rangers scored three power-play goals in a game for the first time since March 15, 2011.

Casibo Hockey Betting News

<< Georgia upsets No. 20 Mississippi State in OT
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Robinson netted eight of his 13 points in overtime and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 points and eight rebounds as Georgia upset No. 20 Mississippi State, 70-68. Dee Bost had a chance

<< Dortmund maintains lead atop Bundesliga
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund escaped its match at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to maintain its lead at the summit of the German Bundesliga. Dortmund's 15-game unbeaten run

<< Missouri handles Baylor in Big 12 battle
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Pressey scored 19 points behind four three-pointers and No. 4 Missouri used a second-half surge to down No. 6 Baylor, 72-57, on Saturday. Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon added 16 points and six

<< Heels bounce back with solid effort against Virginia
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller had 25 points and No. 5 North Carolina got a bounce-back, 70-52 win over 19th-ranked Virginia on Saturday. The Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half, wiping away the taste

<< No. 15 Florida State holds off Miami
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernard James scored 18 points, pulled down six rebounds and blocked four shots, helping the 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles hold off the Miami-Florida Hurricanes, 64-59. Michael Snaer and I

Panthers top Devils in Jersey >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils surely won't miss seeing Florida's Kris Versteeg for the rest of the season. Versteeg put the Panthers ahead in the second period with his fifth goal in four meetings against New Jer

Montpellier joins PSG at the top of Ligue 1 >>
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montpellier scored three second-half goals in the span of 14 minutes en route to a 3-0 win over Ajaccio at the Stade de la Mosson on Saturday. The victory moves Montpellier level on points wit

Seguin, Bruins take down Predators in SO >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored in the shootout and the Boston Bruins beat the Nashville Predators, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon. Bergeron, Daniel Paille and Milan Lucic had goals in regulation as the

Islanders down Kings in OT >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Streit netted the game-winning goal 96 seconds into overtime as the New York Islanders downed the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1. Michael Grabner scored the lone goal in regulation for the Islanders, who

Varejao out indefinitely with wrist fracture >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao is out indefinitely after an MRI on Saturday showed a non-displaced fracture of the right wrist. A timeline for his return to action will be established next we

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.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.