US sportsbook odds (US sportsbook reviews) didn’t even give Phoenix a shot of staying in the city, much less making the playoffs, but there the Coyotes are in fourth place in the Western Conference as they travel to Chicago on Friday to meet the second-place Blackhawks.

Coyotes vs Blackhawks odds – Friday, February 5, 8:30 PM ET

The Coyotes have won five in a row, and captain Shane Doan has grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck, notching nine points in a current four-game point streak. In their five-game winning streak, four of the wins have come by one goal, including two in the shootout and one in overtime. So if anything, you know it’ll be a good game when you watch the Coyotes.

The Blackhawks have dropped two straight, but it’s no time to panic for a young Chicago team that is still the Stanley Cup favorite in the West. But the Blackhawks can definitely take confidence from a recent road trip in which they went 5-3, and now they have four very winnable games before the Olympic break starts.

The Blackhawks should be favored at home, and they’re a sparkling 21-6-1 at the United Center, where they’ve won four straight over the Coyotes. Chicago is also 8-2 in their last 10 against the Coyotes, who have won their last three games on the road, so something has to give. Cristobal Huel has looked shaky in goal over the last couple of games, but the offense hasn’t been great either. That isn’t a good sign against a Phoenix team who is building up steam heading into the break.

NHL picks: Phoenix

Brian Burke would thrive in a super casino, as he’s willing to take risks. The Toronto GM did just that over the weekend, getting Dion Phaneuf from Calgary, among others, in what was a very big weekend for the Maple Leafs, and kicked off the countdown to the trade deadline. We know Ilya Kovalchuk will go somewhere, but what about other players?

Some rumors are kicking around that the St. Louis Blues may be in the market to move a couple of experienced wingers, Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya. The Blues are five points out of a playoff spot, but odds are they won’t go very far, so they could be selling. Tkachuk and Kariya would be a good fit on the right team, and probably a team that could use some scoring. Boston comes to mind as the Bruins are in freefall due to their lack of scoring, and Detroit could use them as well. The Red Wings are a bit old already, but having these two to help out Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg would be a boost to their Stanley Cup odds. Pittsburgh made a similar move to get Bill Guerin last year, and promptly put him on a line with Sidney Crosby to add some grit and experience. The Blues are playing well right now, but they could make this move before the Olympics.

While Super Bowl betting is getting intense ahead of the championship game, the NHLhas some tension of its own brewing in Montreal. Not only are Canadiens in a 4-8 slump since New Years and quickly slipping out of the playoffs, but as it always happens when a team is struggling, people are pointing fingers. There small goaltending battle has turned into a huge debacle because the former fifth overall pick, Carey Price, is being out played by backup Jaroslav Halak.

Neither one wants to be nailed to the bench as the outright backup so the team has been splitting time between the two, even though it is Halak who has consistently played better. Since the beginning of December the two have gotten about the same number of starts and Halak has the superior numbers across the board.

In 15 games the Czech netminder is 9-5-1 with 2.33 goals against and .937 save percentage to go along with three shutouts. Price on the other hand is 4-8-2 in 14 games and is averaging 2.57 goals against while stopping .917 percent of the shots faced. He has also been unable to get even one shutout on the season.

Not only are media outlets and fans alike ripping on his play but now it seems even his own teammates are jumping in on the action. The TEAM 990 radio station, in Montreal, has reported that following a lacklustre effort in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues, defenseman Andrei Markov said to Price “If you are not going to play with heart, stay home. We don’t need you here.”

These are pretty harsh words towards the supposed franchise goaltender but in Markov’s defence, Price has clearly been the second best goaltender on the club this year. The experts doing bookmaker reviews know that with both Price and Halak becoming restricted free agents in the summer, General Manager Bob Gainey will be looking to solve this problem before the March 3^rd trade deadline.

Whether it fixes the problem or not, it is quite possible that the goaltender hailed as the future of the franchise before he even played a game, might be on his way out less than three seasons into his career.

The Super Bowl spread participants, Indianapolis and New Orleans, struggled down the stretch before the playoffs, but it was nothing like what Calgary is going through as the Flames have dropped nine of their last 10. They’ll try to right the ship in Dallas on Wednesday.

Flames vs Stars betting – Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET

A lack of goals is the main problem for the Flames, as they’ve scored more than two goals just twice in their last 10 games. Captain Jarome Iginla hasn’t lit the lamp since January 2^nd against Toronto, and this is his longest drought since the 1999-2000 season. Other players have to step up, obviously, but Iginla has to spark his team somehow.

The Stars had their own funk to start January, but have won three of their last five games, including two in a row at home, where they are 14-5-5. Maybe the Stars just need to keep it close: in those last five games, their three wins have all been by a one-goal difference.

The Stars should be favored at home, but Calgary won in Dallas on November 4^th by a 3-2 result in overtime, getting a pair of goals from Iginla, including the winner. The Flames desperately need to get it going, and they’ll have to get a big game from their captain in what will be a physical matchup. They’ve won four of their last five in Dallas overall, so maybe this is the place where they’ll turn it around.

NHL betting odds pick: Calgary

While the tri-state area will be checking Super Bowl odds, there’s an NHL matchup on Friday night to get you warmed up as the New Jersey Devils go for their seventh straight win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Canadiens vs Devils odds – Friday, January 22, 7:00 PM ET

The Canadiens have lost three in a row and are 2-6 since the beginning of the year, and they still have no idea who is their No.1 goalie. Is is Jaroslav Halak? Is it Carey Price? Neither can get any momentum going as the Canadiens play musical chairs between the pipes.

There’s no such controversy in New Jersey, where Brodeur runs the show. They snapped a three-game skid with a 2-0 shutout of Florida on Wednesday, the seventh of the year and 108^th of his career for Brodeur, who knows he has to be at his best each night, as the Devils struggle to score goals.

The Devils should be favored at home, as the Canadiens have lost their last two games away from home after going 6-1 on a road trip to end 2009. Halak has better numbers, but the Canadiens seem to be stuck on Price, and that causes controversy, which isn’t needed when you’ve lost seven of your last 10, and six straight, against your next opponent.

Bet on sports: New Jersey

While most people are focused on the 2010 Super Bowl odds, the NHL season has passed its halfway point and you know what that means: it’s time for trade winds to start blowing.

One of the most bandied about players right now is Atlanta Thrashers sniper, Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been the face of the Thrashers since they drafted him. While they have tried to build around him and get him some help, the reality has been that they simply have failed to do so. They’ve barely even made the playoffs during his time there and as he moves closer and closer to free agency at the end of this season, it’s time for the Thrashers to start looking for what they can get in return for him.

The Thrashers have already had some problems re-signing Kovalchuk because he is probably looking for a fresh environment. One of those environments could be the Calgary Flames, who are desperately looking for scoring.

In return, the Flames have been said to be offering defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who is still one of the best in the NHL, but the team has soured on his performances recently.

The Thrashers could use a solid defenseman – something they have lacked for a while – so keep an eye on the two teams to see if they get together on this. The Flames would be getting a rental but the Thrashers could be getting a rock for years to come.

Alright, back to NFL picks.

If Pittsburgh had Super Bowl odds, the defending champions would be in trouble right now as they’ve dropped seven of their last 10, and they’ll face a Calgary team eager to awake from their own slumber.

Penguins vs Flames betting – Wednesday, January 13, 9:30 PM ET

The Penguins have just been inconsistent. When they get goal scoring, their goaltending lets them down, and when their goalies play well, they can’t find the net. They’ve won just one of their last six away from home, and that one win came over the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. If it wasn’t for Sidney Crosby, who is third in the NHL in points and tied for first in goals, the Penguins would be out of the playoff picture.

The Flames have dropped three of their last four, and three straight games have been decided by a goal, which has resulted in two losses. Jerome Iginla has just one assist in his last five games, but Miikka Kiprusoff has been playing well behind the Flames, who need to score more.

The Flames should be the favorites at home, and this is the Penguins’ first time in Calgary since late 2007. Given the Penguins’ struggles on the road, it’s tough to place a wager on them, and the Flames have outshot their opponents 86-42 in their last two games.

US sportsbook pick (US sportsbook reviews): Calgary

Hard to believe sportsbook betting on the Winter Olympics is so close…close enough that we’ll start seeing major nations announce their rosters in the coming weeks.

I had a funny thought today — one that contradicts my earlier opinions. As much as were used to seeing half a dozen teams battle hard for the gold — Canada, Russia, USA, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia — I’m suddenly wondering if two teams are head and shoulders above the competition.

Naturally, the two main contenders are Canada and Russia. I’ll save a comparison or discussion about them for another day. Instead, I want to focus on why the other teams’ sports betting prospects suddenly seem slimmer.

For whatever reason, it seems the Czechs, Slovaks and Finns haven’t produced as many top-flight NHL prospects of late. In fact, in the last two drafts combined, none of those nations has produced a first-round pick. That’s a far cry from the days when Teemu Selanne and Marian Gaborik topped draft boards.

For the Americans and Swedes, the problem is purely temporary. They’re producing boatloads of elite youngsters — Erik Johnson, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Peter Mueller, and so on — but many of their top players will be a bit young to compete with the big boys. Sure, the Americans have Patrick Kane and Zach and the Swedes have Henrik Zetterberg and the Sedins, but those elite players wouldn’t even be first liners on Canada or Russia, who can ice Crosby, Iginla, Malkin, Ovechkin and so on.

It’s also worth noting that many key contributors from the 2002 and 2006 Swedish and American Olympic teams — Markus Naslund, Mats Sundin, Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk — are either retired or well past their prime.

As NFL betting teams will eventually do with the Green Bay Packers, Canada and Russia will have major competition on their hands for 2014 and beyond once the Swedish and American youngsters grow up a bit. In 2010, though, hockey odds suggest the gold will go to Canada or Russia.

What up, sportsbook hockey bettors. The last time we spoke, it was regarding the Jonathan Toews hit. What’s happened since then? Well, Toews still hasn’t played (though he hopes to suit up tonight) and we’ve seen half a dozen more NHLers fall to concussions, not to mention an OHLer go into intensive care.

To me, the scariest hits of the ones we’ve seen recently aren’t the fluky (Iginla on Souray, who happened to fall just as he was getting hit) or the dirty (the Mike Richards on David Booth hit, perhaps?). It’s the clean ones. Starting with Toews, were’s seeing guys get concussed — KO’d — with clean, crisp hits. I still wonder if the vicious OHL hit was even dirty, as the perpetrator was forechecking a defenseman who had the puck and was facing him.

The truth is that the NHL betting landscape is changing because the game is so fast — Autobahn fast. The obstruction rules are gone and the guys are just flying out there — so much that collisions are more devastating than ever before. Defensemen can’t pick guys or grab sweaters or do anything to slow anyone down. The result is a more exciting and finesse-oriented game — but also a more dangerous one.

Damien Cox in the Toronto Star today had an interesting idea. If we can’t do anything to stop clean but hard hits, we can find other ways to protect guys from brutal hits — like removing the puckhandling anti-goalie trapezoid. If goalies could play the puck in the corner, defenseman wouldn’t get crushed as often in races for the puck.

NFL betting fans know what it’s like to have their league institute rules to protect the vulnerable (like punters and quarterbacks who get hit while performing their tasks). Maybe it’s time for hockey to undergo similar changes.

If nothing changes, expect hockey odds to fluctuate throughout the year as one big star after another goes down to a head shot.

So I made my BetOnline.com wager and turned on the Canucks/Hawks game last night. Picked Chicago, of course. Midway through the third period…

BAM!

Willie Mitchell hops out of the box and brutalizes Jonathan Toews, goes Gambino Family on him. Massive hit but it was crisp and clean, so it was nice to see that Mitchell wasn’t indicted by the league and coaches. The BetOnline.com odds of that happening are usually pretty slim — seems every big hit these days is “dirty” in someone else’s mind.

All the big hits today show a weird trend; it used to be that only blatant cheap shots started big brawls. Now, any big hit gets you jumped by the other team and you end up with the post-whistle scrum you usually see in NFL betting after a fumble. What gives?

I long for the olden days — even 10 years ago — when the answer to a good clean hit was another good clean hit. I totally understand that teams have to respond in some way to show they can’t be pushed around — but why not answer hits with hits?