Briere leads Flyers past Sabres

Hockey Betting Lines

03/20/2009 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Briere scored two goals late in the second period to help the Philadelphia Flyers edge the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4, at HSBC Arena.

Mike Richards had a goal and two assists while Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and Mike Knuble each lit the lamp for the Flyers, who had dropped three of four coming into the contest. Martin Biron made 39 saves in the win.

With 86 points, Philadelphia currently holds the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games to play.

Derek Roy, Dominic Moore and Thomas Vanek each had a goal for the Sabres, who have lost five of their last six games. Patrick Lalime gave up all six goals on 31 shots.

Thanks to three consecutive power plays in the first period, Buffalo had several scoring chances and wound up with 13 shots on net, but were unable to put any past Biron, who made a beautiful glove save on Tim Connolly with 2 1/2 minutes to play in the frame.

Philly, though, did light the lamp in the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead.

Richards was hooked on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot with 2:14 left in the frame, but his wrister dinged off the crossbar. However, he did score on a power play with 1:32 left in the frame as he skated down the right wing, cut through the middle and slipped a low shot between the pads of Lalime with 1:32 left in the first period.

Buffalo tied the game 3:55 into the second period as Jason Pominville sent a saucer pass from the right boards to the low left side, where Vanek chipped it past Biron.

The Sabres took a 2-1 lead less than three minutes later as Moore from the right side of the net banked the puck off the left skate of Biron and across the goal line.

However, the Flyers tied the game on the power play halfway through the second as Richards' slap pass from the top of the right circle was redirected into the net by Gagne in the slot.

Buffalo, though, regained the lead with under six minutes to play in the second as Roy jammed in a loose puck right near the goal line for a 3-2 advantage.

However, Briere scored twice over a span of 2:05 in the second period against his former team to give his current club a 4-3 lead heading into the third period.

Briere's first goal came when he received a pass from Matt Carle and chipped the puck past the glove of Lalime with 2:40 left in the frame.

Briere then scored the 200th goal of his career as Richards sent a backhand pass from the right boards to the slot, where Briere slapped it past Lalime.

Philadelphia gave itself some insurance at the 4:31 mark of the third. Knuble made a pass from the right side to the left, where Claude Giroux paused before flicking a shot on net. The puck was stopped, but popped into the air and Knuble banged it in. The goal was reviewed to see if Knuble hit it in with a high stick, but there was not enough evidence to overturn the call and the goal was allowed to stand.

Carter sealed the win with 2:11 to play.

Chris Butler scored his first NHL goal just before the clock expired to account for the final score.

Game Notes

The Flyers play in Pittsburgh on Sunday...The Sabres travel to New York where they will play the Rangers on Saturday...The Flyers took all four games against the Sabres this season...Philly went 2-for-3 on the power play while Buffalo failed on all seven of its chances.

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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.

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#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

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#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

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