Flyers and Pens renew battle of Pennsylvania

Hockey Betting Lines

10/14/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia's first eight games this year come against playoff teams from a year ago. Still searching for a win on this tough opening stretch, the Flyers renew their Pennsylvania rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at Mellon Arena.

The Flyers knocked of Washington and Montreal in last season's playoffs to earn a date with the Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals. However, Philadelphia's run ended there, as it was defeated by Pittsburgh in five games.

The Penguins went on to lose in six games to the Red Wings after having also knocked off Ottawa and the New York Rangers in the postseason.

Pittsburgh won all eight of its matchups against the Flyers in 2006-07, but Philadelphia rebounded with five wins in eight matchups last year. However, Philly dropped three of four in the Steel City and has lost eight of its last nine regular-season trips to Pittsburgh.

The Flyers opened their season with a loss to the Rangers, and then fell in defeat the Canadiens in Monday. Mike Richards had a goal and an assist in the 5-3 setback, while Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne also scored a goal each.

Martin Biron allowed four goals on 26 shots to take the loss, his second of the year. He has yielded eight goals on the season in a span of 76 minutes.

Philadelphia could elect to go with Antero Niittymaki in net tonight after he stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief of Biron on Saturday. However, Niittymaki is just 4-5-2 with a 4.32 goals against average in 12 career games versus the Penguins, while Biron is 11-12-1 with three ties and a 2.78 GAA in 27 games against them.

Biron went 5-3-0 with a 2.58 GAA in eight games versus the Penguins last year, but had a 3.62 GAA in the five playoff games.

The Flyers play the first of three straight road games tonight after opening the season with two in a row at home. Philadelphia, which will also travel to Colorado and San Jose, went 21-15-5 as the road club a year ago.

After opening their season with two games in Stockholm versus Ottawa, the Penguins played the first of four straight home games on Saturday. However, they dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the New Jersey Devils.

Miroslav Satan lit the lamp for the Penguins, while Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin both assisted on the power-play marker. Sidney Crosby was held without a point after notching two assists in Sweden.

Both Crosby and Malkin have enjoyed playing against the Flyers in their young careers. Crosby has 16 goals and 21 assists in 20 career tests versus the Flyers, including a career-high six-point performance in December of 2006. Malkin, meanwhile, has 10 goals and 14 assists in 15 lifetime games against the Black and Orange. That includes six goals and nine helpers in the eight games last year.

Netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 47 saves in Saturday's loss, made four starts against Philadelphia last year, going 2-2-0 with a 2.01 GAA. In 18 lifetime games against the club, he is 12-5-0 with a 2.58 GAA.

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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.