Flyers host Devils in Atlantic Division matchup

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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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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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