Flyers host Devils in Atlantic Division matchup

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals will collide this afternoon in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils for a battle at the Wells Fargo Center.

This marks the fourth of six scheduled tilts between the clubs this year. The Flyers are 2-0-1 against the Devils so far and Philly has claimed five of eight and eight of the last 12 encounters in this series. New Jersey has won its last two at the Wells Fargo Center, including a 4-3 shootout decision when the teams met on Nov. 3.

The Flyers enter today as the fourth seed in the East and are also three points behind the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic. The Devils are seven points behind Philadelphia and are hanging onto the seventh seed in the East.

The Devils have won their last two games after heading into the All-Star break on a three-game slide. New Jersey's latest victory came Thursday against Montreal, as the Devils capped a six-game homestand by defeating the Canadiens, 5-3.

Zach Parise's second goal of the game snapped a 3-3 tie with 2:44 to play in the third period and David Clarkson added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the win for the Devils. Jersey came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in the victory.

Clarkson had two goals and an assist, Dainius Zubrus added a goal and two assists and Martin Brodeur made 27 saves in the win.

"We started off slow and it was tough to come back from," said Clarkson. "But I think these guys showed what we're made of tonight. This was a good win."

The Devils, who are 14-10-1 as the road team this year, lost rookie defenseman Adam Larsson to a back injury on Thursday and he won't play today. Larsson -- the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft -- sustained the injury on a big hit by Montreal's P.K. Subban. Devils forward Ryan Carter also suffered a hand injury in the win over the Habs and will miss this afternoon's test.

Forward Travis Zajac (Achilles) and Adam Henrique (groin) will also sit out today's game for the Devils.

The Flyers have alternated losses and wins over their last eight games, but the club has notched a point in five straight, going 3-0-2 over that stretch. Peter Laviolette's squad posted a 4-1 decision Thursday against Nashville in the second test of a three-game homestand that will end today.

Wayne Simmonds scored twice and Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves to help the Flyers improve to 12-7-4 as the host this year.

"I don't know, I guess I like playing against them," said Simmonds, who posted four points in two games against the Predators this season. "Our line tonight did really well and the same goes for the last game as well."

Matt Read also tallied and Claude Giroux saw a lengthy goal drought ended for the Flyers, who shook off a shootout loss at home to Winnipeg on Tuesday. For Giroux, who leads Philly with 57 points, it was his first goal since Jan. 2 and his 19th of the season.

The Flyers hope to get forwards Danny Briere and James Van Riemsdyk back soon from concussions, but neither player is expected to play today. Briere is believed to be closer to returning than van Riemsdyk, but he has still yet to be cleared for contact.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

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Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

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The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.