Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
CALGARY FLAMES -175
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]St. Louis (16-14-5) moved out of last place in the Western Conference with a 3-1 victory at Vancouver on Sunday, then won 7-2 at Edmonton on Monday. That marked the Blues’ best offensive output since a 7-4 victory over Chicago on Jan. 12, 2004.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]St. Louis picked up a rare home win last Tuesday, 4-3 over Calgary, as McDonald and Steen snapped respective goal droughts of 14 and 12 games.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However I'm expecting a "letdown" this evening in a building they've traditionally really struggled in.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's true that St. Louis is 5-1 its last six on the road, but it always struggles against Calgary; 3-14 its last 17 vs. the Flames.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the other side of the rink: The Flames (20-11-4) are coming off a 5-3 loss to Nashville at the Saddledome on Saturday, their first regulation defeat there since Nov. 19. Calgary has gone 1-3-1 since winning six of eight; I'm expecting a "bounce-back" this evening.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Flames had a chance to win Saturday with the score tied at 3 after two periods, but allowed two third-period goals. That has been a common theme lately for Calgary, which was outscored 4-1 in the third during the last three games.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kiprusoff was not in net against the Blues last week, but went 6-1-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average in his last seven home matchups with them.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Keep in mind though that Calgary is 7-1 its last eight vs. St. Louis at the Saddledome.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bottom line: So with "revenge" on their minds off last Tuesday's loss, I expect a concerted effort from the Flames on both sides of the ice in front of the hometown crowd; look for CALGARY to improve to 4-1 (+2 units) when playing three or more days of rest and for St. Louis to fall to 1-8 (-9 units) after a win by two goals or more in its previous contest. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]*7* FLAMES.[/FONT][/quote
Did you happen to see his O/U play on the Bowl game tonight? Thanks for posting !!!