NHL Betting: Flyers Streak to Third Straight Victory

Sami Kapanen had one of the Flyers' four goals. (AI Wire photo)

What a difference a good goaltender, a shutdown defenseman and an offensive wizard can make.

The Philadelphia Flyers are a completely different team than the one that set a franchise record for futility last season. The biggest reasons for the turnaround are the players they acquired late in the 2006-07 season and over the summer. Netminder Martin Biron is the best goalie Philly has seen since Ron Hextall and Jason Smith has settled a porous blueline corps. Meanwhile, Daniel Briere is sparking the offense.

Briere only had one assist Tuesday night, but the Flyers proved they have also developed depth and chemistry. Four different players scored in a 4-0 home win over the dismayed Atlanta Thrashers. Mike Richards opened the scoring 1:21 into the second period then Jeff Carter made it 2-0 at 12:56. Thirty-four seconds later, Sami Kapanen scored his second of the season. Defenseman Randy Jones scored in the third to salt away Philadelphia's third win in a row.

The Flyers paid -200 on the puckline (meaning a winning wager of $200 would net a $100 profit). Biron made 31 saves to complete his first shutout since being acquired by the Flyers in February.

In other early NHL games on Tuesday:

Florida 2, Montreal 1: The Canadiens dominated the game for almost its entirety, but Nathan Horton scored a power-play goal with 11 seconds left to force overtime and Jozef Stumpel scored the only goal during a shootout as the Panthers stole a game in Montreal. Florida paid +120 in the upset.

Colorado 5, Calgary 4: The host Avalanche rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win in a shootout and reward their backers with a -150 payday. Ryan Smyth had two goals and also scored in the shootout.

For NHL odds for Wednesday, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.