Ducks visit Panthers, begin life without Giguere

Hockey Betting Lines

02/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If it wasn't already clear before this weekend, it certainly is now. Jonas Hiller is the undisputed No. 1 goaltender in Anaheim.

In their first game since trading Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Anaheim Ducks will visit the Florida Panthers tonight at BankAtlantic Center.

The Ducks signed Hiller to a four-year, $18 million extension on Saturday and the following day traded Giguere, a former Conn Smythe winner, to Toronto in exchange for goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake.

With Hiller's emergence, Giguere had appeared in just 20 games for Anaheim this season, posting a record of 4-8-5 with a 3.14 goals-against average. Hiller is 21-15-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average in 39 games this year.

Giguere led the Ducks to a pair of Stanley Cup Finals in his nine years in Anaheim. He won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP when Anaheim lost to New Jersey in the 2003 Finals and then helped the Ducks claim the title in 2007 against Ottawa. For his playoff career, Giguere has a record of 33-17 in 52 games with a 2.08 GAA.

By trading Giguere, the Ducks rid themselves of the veteran netminder's $6 million cap hit. His contract expires after the 2010-11 season.

Toskala never really caught on as a starter during his three years in Toronto and is not exactly a cheap backup alternative. The Finnish backstop comes with a $4 million cap hit, but his contract is up after this season.

Blake was also in his third season with the Leafs and has 10 goals with 16 assists for 26 points in 56 games. The 36-year-old veteran has 184 goals and 427 points in 724 NHL games. Blake comes with a $4 million cap hit and has two years left on his deal after the 2009-10 campaign.

"We are pleased to add Jason and Vesa," said Ducks general manager Bob Murray. "Vesa will get an opportunity to play behind Jonas Hiller and Jason brings veteran leadership and offense to our club."

Blake is expected to be available to play for Anaheim tonight, but Toskala's arrival has been delayed by immigration issues. The Ducks recalled goaltender Justin Pogge to serve as the backup this evening.

The Ducks, who are tied for 12th in the Western Conference with 57 points, are 2-3-0 so far on a six-game road trip that ends tonight. Anaheim dealt Tampa Bay a 2-1 loss on Friday as James Wisniewski scored the lone goal in regulation and netted the game-winner in the shootout at St. Pete Times Forum. Hiller stopped 30 shots for the Ducks.

Anaheim is just 9-15-5 as the visiting club this season.

Meanwhile, Florida won for the third time in four games on Sunday as they blanked the visiting New York Islanders to kick off a three-game homestand.

Tomas Vokoun stopped all 33 shots that he faced to pick up his seventh shutout of the season in the 2-0 victory at BankAtlantic Center. Vokoun has allowed one goal or less in six of his last seven games.

Keith Ballard and Jordan Leopold each lit the lamp for the Panthers. Michael Frolik had a pair of assists, while David Booth had an assist in his return to lineup after missing 45 games with a concussion.

Florida is 11-8-6 as the host this year and has won its last five home games.

Tonight marks the lone meeting of the year between the Panthers and Anaheim. Florida posted a 3-1 win last year in southern California, giving each team a pair of wins in the last four matchups. The Ducks have won two of their last three as the road team in this series.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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