Flyers try to stay alive in Game 6 vs. Bruins

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05/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to stay alive in the Eastern Conference semifinals once again when they host the Boston Bruins tonight at Wachovia Center in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series.

The seventh-seeded Flyers lost the first three games of this set, but have stormed back with back-to-back victories to stave off elimination. If Philadelphia is able to post a third straight win tonight, the Flyers and the sixth-seeded Bruins will meet Friday in Boston for a decisive Game 7.

Philadelphia is trying to become just the third team -- and first in 35 years -- to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series. The last time it happened was in 1975, when the New York Islanders charged back to defeat Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. The Detroit Red Wings were on the wrong end of the other 3-0 comeback, losing the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals against Toronto.

The Flyers would be just the sixth team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after being down three games to none.

After winning Game 4 in overtime on home ice, the Flyers stayed alive with a 4-0 victory in Boston on Monday. Simon Gagne scored a pair of goals while Michael Leighton returned from a long layoff and filled in for the injured Brian Boucher, helping the Flyers dominate the Bruins in Game 5 at TD Garden.

Leighton, who hadn't played since March 16 and missed almost eight weeks with a high left ankle sprain, held off the home team for the final 35:25 of the contest by stopping all 14 shots he faced.

Boucher, the starter, left early in the second period with a knee injury after making nine stops, but nonetheless received credit for the victory. Boucher was hurt when teammate Ryan Parent fell on him during a goalmouth scrum with the Bruins' Miroslav Satan 4:35 into the second period. The defenseman's full weight appeared to come down on Boucher's left leg, causing the 33-year-old to writhe in pain.

An MRI revealed that Boucher has a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, as well as an injury to his right knee, and is expected to be sidelined for a month. Leighton will get the start tonight and Johan Backlund will serve as the backup.

"Leighton, after a couple of months, comes in there and plays shutout hockey for a period and a half," Flyers forward Scott Hartnell said. "It doesn't matter who's in the pipes for us."

Ville Leino added a goal and one assist while Hartnell also tallied for the Flyers.

"It obviously feels a little bit different now," Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger said. "They're still sitting in the driver's seat, so we've got to come out with the same intensity in Game 6."

In addition to Boucher, Flyers forward Claude Giroux also suffered a shoulder injury in Game 5, but he is expected to play tonight. Giroux has five goals and four assists in 10 playoff games this year.

Tuukka Rask allowed all four goals on 31 shots in defeat for the Bruins, who suffered their first home loss of the 2010 postseason after five straight wins. Boston, which is trying to make the conference finals for the first time since 1992, was also dealt its first home playoff shutout loss since Game 2 of last year's conference semifinals against Carolina.

"They came out and slapped us in the face. Now we have to realize it's a series," Bruins forward Mark Recchi said. "We weren't on top of our game. We didn't play well. When you're not playing well, it doesn't matter who was in the net or who you're playing."

The Flyers are 3-1 at home in the playoffs and were 24-14-3 as the host during the regular season. Boston is 2-3 on the road in the postseason after recording a respectable 21-13-7 record as the guest during the regular season.

Boston and the Flyers are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 1978. Each team has won twice in the four all-time playoff series between the clubs. The Flyers won the most notable matchup, beating Boston in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. The Bruins have won the last two encounters, including a five-game series win over Philly the last time clubs met in the 1978 Stanley Cup semifinals.

The Flyers and B's split four games this year in a season series that included Boston's 2-1 overtime victory in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Both the Bruins and Flyers had 2-1-1 records in the series.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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