Canadians vs. Flyers

Montreal -120 vs. Philadelphia

Last season the Montreal Canadiens were riding high and were the odds on favorite to win the Eastern Conference. That was until they ran headlong into the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. History somewhat repeated itself just over a month ago when the Canadiens, playing well, lost a home game to the struggling Flyers 2-1. Philadelphia then excelled on their longest winning streak of the season, six, while Montreal has not been the same since.

The Flyers (17-7-6) have quite an impressive record when you take into account that they were the last team in the NHL to record a victory when they started the season (0-3-3). Since that November 15 victory over Montreal, the Flyers lead the league with a 12-1-2 record.

Tuesday night they whipped the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 and claimed their fifth victory in a row. With a victory tonight against the Canadiens, the Flyers will match their longest streak. Mike Richards and Simon Gagne each recorded a goal and two assists. Philadelphia’s Captain, Richards, has been the key factor in the Flyers rise from the ashes by recording seven goals and eight assists.

The Canadiens (16-9-5) lost their third in a row, 3-2, in Carolina. Montreal committed a season-high 11 penalties which led to all three of the Hurricane goals. If Montreal loses to Philadelphia, they will be saddled with their first four-game skid since February 2007.

Montreal is looking to change their luck by starting backup Jaroslav Halak in net, who has a 2.27 goals against average. Starter Carey Price has been out for four games with a lower body injury. He will face the Flyers backup goalie, Antero Niittymaki. Flyers starter Martin Biron will miss his second straight game as he recovers from the flu.

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Magic vs. Spurs

Orlando -2 1/2 vs. San Antonio

With or without Dwight Howard, the Magic continue to win. Orlando has not started a season this hot since 1994-95, when they started 22-5 and made it all the way to the NBA Finals, the only appearance for the nearly 20-year old team. Nonetheless, they will be very happy to have their All-Pro forward back for tonight’s home game with San Antonio.

The game with the Spurs opens a four-game home stand for the Southeast Division attic dweller Magic (19-6). Howard has missed the last two games for Orlando with a knee injury, but the Magic won both, including their last game, 109-98 at Golden State Monday night. Rashard Lewis picked up the pace without Howard by scoring 21 points, five assists and eight rebounds while Jameer Nelson ruled the court with 32 points in the win over the Warriors.

The NBA’s renaissance story this season has been the San Antonio Spurs (15-9). Hampered by injuries and bad play, the perennial power sputtered out of the gate at 0-3 and lost five of its first seven. As players have come back from injuries and slowly regained form, the Spurs have regained theirs, winning 10 of their last 14. They lost their last time out to New Orleans largely because of they misfired on 17 of their final 21 shots and only hit at a 38.3 percent clip from the field.

The loss to the Hornets halted the Spurs six-game winning streak, but they look to get on track against the Magic, a team they have had a lot of success against over the years. San Antonio has beaten Orlando in 10 of the last 13 games and have won the last three straight, including both games last season. The Magic have not beaten the Spurs in Orlando since April 2006.

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Trail Blazers vs. Suns

Portland -4 1/2 vs. Phoenix

The fans in Portland may hold current Suns’ coach Terry Porter in high esteem, but he will be vilified if his team can continue its winning ways by beating the hometown hero Trail Blazers Thursday night.

Porter helped the Blazers to two NBA finals appearances in his 10 seasons in the Rose Garden. He now will step into those surroundings as the suddenly surging Suns (15-10) look for their third straight win and fifth win in six games. It was a special few nights for Porter as Monday night his Suns spoiled the return of Mike D’Antoni by beating the visiting New York Knicks 111-103 in Phoenix. Then Tuesday he was honored in the Rose Garden as Portland retired his number 30 while the fans gave him a standing ovation.

While that is a great honor, Porter may be more proud of his team’s recent play. Steve Nash scored 21 points as the Suns topped 110 points for the fourth straight games. This is quite an offensive turnaround for a team who averaged 99.9 points per contest through the first 20 games of the season in the transition from D’Antonio’s high flying offense to Porter’s more balanced attack. The win over the Knicks was all the more impressive considering Shaquille O’Neal was out of the lineup for the second straight game due to a death in his family. O’Neal is expected back for Portland.

Perhaps the legend of Porter helped the Blazers (16-10) in their destruction of Sacramento 109-77 on the night in which the former player was honored. Brandon Roy netted 29 and followed up his career-best game of 38 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Joel Przybilla grabbed 14 rebounds in the game and Portland led in that category 59-38. That is Portland’s highest board total since a December 2004 contest against Boston.

The Portland Trail Blazers will look to beat the Phoenix Suns for the first time in 10 games Thursday night.

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