Saddledome Profile

Calgary Flames fans have been sports betting on home games at the Saddledome since its creation in 1983. The Saddledome as many hockey betting enthusiasts will recall, was built in 1983 to replace the legendary Stampede Corral as the home arena of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. Flames fans haven’t had a lot to cheer about since they won the Stanley Cup during the 1988 to 1989 season.

The Saddledome has had three name variants since it was built in 1983. Initially from 83 to 96 it was called the Olympic Saddledome, then from 1996 to 2000 it was named Canadian Airlines Saddledome and presently it is known as the Pengrowth Saddledome.

In the inaugural game at the Saddledome on October 15, 1983, the Calgary Flames faced inter provincial and arch rival the Edmonton Oilers led by Wayne Gretzky. The Saddledome was the city of Calgary’s way to boost moral during a nationwide recession due in large part to the Trudeau government. The game was won four to three by the Oilers in front of a sold out crowd of 17,000. Further, the game is more remembered for the pre game tribute to the Trudeau government in which the entire building booed the Prime Minister because of his National Energy Policy.

During the middle of the 1980s, Calgary played host to the world during the Winter Olympics and the seating capacity at the Saddledome was raised from 17000 to its present 19,289. The Flames broke arch rival Edmonton’s streak of Stanley Cups during the 1988 – 1989 season, when they defeated the Montreal Canadians in six games for the only championship in club history.
 
Profile: Air Canada Center

Location: Toronto, ON

Capacity: 18,819 

Fans betting on sports teams have always wondered if switching home arenas will make a difference for their team's success or demise. After 43 years and two home arenas fans betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs for a Stanley Cup run seem more ambitious than ever before. Although moving into the Air Canada Center on February 19th 1999, the Toronto Maple Leafs has sported one of the worst home records since the NHL had its lockout in 2004-2005.

The Air Canada Center is a multisport and events arena located in Toronto, Ontario Canada. It is owned by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, and is home to their franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Rock. From 2001-2002, the ACC was also home to the now defunct Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League. For sporting events, the ACC can hold close to 20,000 and for concerts it holds just under 19,000.

Aside from sporting events and concerts, the ACC has also been home to numerous wrestling events. The ACC succeeded Maple Leaf Gardens as the home arena for the legendary Toronto Maple Leafs. As noted earlier, the Leafs have not enjoyed much success at the ACC and as a result have missed the playoffs for the past six years. Prior to the strike in 2004-2005, the Leafs had made the playoffs in each season since the ACC was built in 1999. As well they had flirted with championship success at the ACC by entering two conference finals at home.

Along with the sports teams and concerts which have been held at the Air Canada Center, the center has also been home to a variety of political conventions. For instance in 2003 the Canadian Liberal party then run by Paul Martin, held their convention at the ACC. Also in 2015, the ACC will play host to the Pan American Games.

 
Chicago Draws First Blood But Will They Go Up By Two?

On Saturday, the NHL kicked off its final round of the season as game one of the Stanley Cup Finals took place in Chicago for the first time since 1961. NHL betting fans were treated to a similar result as 49 years ago, as the Blackhawks took game one in a high scoring affair. Stanley Cup betting enthusiasts could not have anticipated that 11 goals would be scored in the opening match between the Hawks and the Flyers as the Hawks came out on top six to five. Moreover, fans and experts alike were in awe of the final score, as both Hawks goalie Niemi and Flyers goalie Leighton had two of the best save percentages throughout the playoffs.

Nerves must have got the best of Leighton, or maybe the UFC 116 betting pounding the Blackhawks have been laying as he appeared as a completely different goalie from the Montreal series in round three. In that series as fans will remember, Leighton won three of the four games by shutout. Similar to his only loss in the Montreal series, Leighton was lit up for five goals in game one with the Hawks before being taken out to get treated for third degree burns on his neck from the goal lamp. To replace him was backup Brian Boucher, who had guided the Flyers to the playoffs this year via his late regular season heroics against the New York Rangers.

The Flyers have decided to go back to Leighton as he has recovered from his goal lamp burns, and hopes to bounce back in game two of the finals similar to game five against the Hab's where he closed out the series. If the Flyers hope to have any chance against the youthful Blackhawks, they will need Leighton to return to round three form. The Hawks on the contrary, although winning game one thanks to their role players, hope that the top line of Kane, Toews, and Byfuglien have a better second game then in game one. In the first game of the finals the trio was a combined minus nine, and appeared invisible for the majority of the game.

 
Storied Original Six Franchise Finally Has New Captain

In one of the worst kept secrets, the Toronto Maple Leafs will finally be naming a new captain, after a two year hiatus without one. Fans betting on who the captain will be can look no further then to former Calgary stalwart, Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf will become the second Calgary Flame to be traded to the storied original six franchise, and become captain. The other Flame to become not only captain of the Leafs, but also an icon in the big smoke was Doug Gilmour. Phaneuf will look to guide the Leafs to the Stanley Cup final, for the first time, since they last won it in 1967.

With Phaneuf becoming the 17th captain in Maple Leafs history, it all but confirms for fans betting on Tomas Kaberle leaving, that he will be gone this offseason. Kaberle, the player with the longest tenure on the Leafs, has been rumored for years to be moving each offseason, as a window annually opens in his "no trade clause" for him to be traded. Yet annually, he survives the speculation and remains a Leaf. Having said that, one would have figured that Kaberle as the Leaf with the longest tenure, would be the obvious choice for captain before Phaneuf would even be considered.

One of the main drawing points of Phaneuf becoming captain is his very vocal style of leading. Within the NHL there has been captains that are more quiet and lead by example, and others that are more vocal and don't necessarily perform up to par. For the Leafs, they see Phaneuf as a combination of both styles of captain, as he is very vocal, but is also perhaps one of the top five best defensemen in the entire league. Further, when Phaneuf arrived in Toronto at the end of January, he almost immediately, took over the dressing room. He did this by kicking out the frail confused identity of a franchise that was so used to losing that they had one of the worst starts to any NHL season. Phaneuf alongside veteran goalie JS Giguere, came into the Leafs dressing room, and let everyone on the team know that they were going to start winning and return the franchise to glory. With Phaneuf as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he can do nothing but help the team grow into the contender Leafs fans have always wanted.

 
Sharks Big Line Must Be Better Against Blackhawks

World Cup betting players know that their best players have to play well if their country is going to win the big tournament this summer, and the same goes in the NHL, where one line is taking some heat for a tough opening to their series.

The Sharks' big line of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley were lauded for their performances in the last series against Detroit, as they stepped up their game against an elite team. However, it was back to normal for the trio in the Sharks' 2-1 loss to Chicago in Game 1 of their Western Conference final as they were on the ice for both of the Blackhawks' goals, although Marleau did assist on the Sharks' power-play goal by Jason Demers. At least Heatley was taking his chances with five shots on goal; Marleau had just two, while Thornton had one, and this is not the type of performance that your big players need to have if you want to win a championship in any sport.

We're not even sure if Thornton, Marleau and Heatley will get better throughout the series, because these three have never been known to step up in crunch time. This is why it was such a big deal when they came up big against the Red Wings, because we knew they had the talent, but the heart was an issue. This is why we're not confident in placing a sports bet on San Jose right now.

 
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