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03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes set their sights on a history-making win when the surprising playoff contenders skate into the BankAtlantic Center this evening to take on the Florida Panthers.
One of the NHL's great success stories of the 2009-10 campaign, the Coyotes appear well on their way to their first postseason appearance since 2001-02 and enter tonight's clash riding a six-game winning streak. The surging club's most recent triumph, a 2-1 verdict over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, matched a franchise record for victories in a single season that was initially set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets.
Phoenix, which has amassed an excellent 14-4-0 record since January 26, currently occupies the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings and has moved within five points of San Jose for the top spot.
"I think everybody is (contributing), and that's why we're so successful this year," said forward Vernon Fiddler, who scored one of the Coyotes' two goals in Tuesday's win. "Everybody's bringing something different -- it doesn't matter if you're a checker or an offensive guy. Our goaltending is great, defense is playing well and everybody's pulling on the same rope."
The Coyotes have indeed gotten strong goaltending during their hot stretch. No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov has posted a 0.98 goals against average and .967 save percentage in winning his last three starts, and stopped 27-of-28 shots on Tuesday to notch his 37th victory of the season.
Matthew Lombardi also scored for Phoenix against the Lightning and Lee Stempniak set up Fiddler's tally to extend his personal point streak to seven games. The ex-Toronto forward has recorded six goals and two assists in six outings since being acquired from the Maple Leafs at the March 3 trade deadline.
If they're able to knock off the Panthers, the Coyotes will have put together their first seven-game winning streak since December 28, 2006-January 7, 2007.
Phoenix will wrap a string of four straight road games against Southeast Division foes tonight and has outscored the opposition by a 9-3 margin in consecutive decisions over Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay on this swing.
Florida got a four-game homestand off to an undesired start on Tuesday, when the high-scoring Washington Capitals cruised to a 7-3 win over the Panthers despite playing without suspended NHL points leader Alex Ovechkin.
The NHL's best offense didn't miss a beat despite not having Ovechkin, who served the first of a two-game penalty for a dangerous hit on Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell on Sunday. Washington scored five times on 21 shots against Tomas Vokoun before the Panthers goaltender was removed with 5:54 remaining in the second period.
"This is a disappointing effort. We left our goalies out to dry," Panthers head coach Peter DeBoer said. "We were too soft. You can't expect to get a playoff spot in this league when you don't play harder than the team you're playing against."
Florida is on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture at the moment, trailing eighth-place Boston by eight points with 14 games left in the regular season and four other teams standing in between the Panthers and Bruins.
On a more positive note, the Panthers seem to be close to getting one of their top scorers back in the lineup for the stretch run. Forward Nathan Horton, who hasn't played since breaking his left tibia in a January 21 loss to the New York Islanders, resumed practicing this week and is a possibility to return tonight. The talented 24-year-old had 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games before going down.
These teams will be facing one another for the first time since a 4-1 Coyotes' win in Arizona last season. In Phoenix's last visit to the BankAtlantic Center, the Panthers came away with a 5-2 decision on February 10, 2007.
<< Road-weary Sabres make a stop in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inability to win on the road has plagued the Buffalo
Sabres as of late. The Northeast Division leaders will attempt to reverse that
negative trend when the team visits a venue it's had great success in during
recent years
<< Surging Wild head to Nashville for key late-season clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators are riding
three-game winning streaks, but only one club is in the playoff picture.
The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena
versus the
<< Devils visit surging Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although it's highly unlikely to result in a playoff spot,
the Toronto Maple Leafs have put together one of their best stretches of the
season over the past week. They'll try to sustain that newfound momentum into
a three-gam
<< Thrashers host Sens in battle between struggling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling Eastern Conference inhabitants get
together for a key late-season matchup tonight at Philips Arena, where the
Atlanta Thrashers hope to strengthen their fading playoff hopes when they take
on the visiting
Hoyas and Bobcats clash in Midwest Regional >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-seeded Ohio University Bobcats are
out to continue their magical run tonight, as they lock up with the third-
seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the
Dunkin' Donuts Cen
No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA
Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in
the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in
Oklahoma City
No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSU >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats begin play
in the 2010 NCAA Tournament with first-round clash against the 16th-seeded
East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the East Region.
The winner of this clash will take
Grizzlies battle Lobos in first round of 2010 NCAA Tournament >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament's
East Region features a matchup between the third-seeded New Mexico Lobos and
the 14th-seeded Montana Grizzlies.
The winner of this tilt will battle either sixth-se
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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