Sports Betting News: NHL Playoffs Update and Players Championship Favorites

In the 2010-11 NHL Playoffs, form has held up in one conference while the other conference has yielded some modest surprises. In the East, the conference final is set. The third-seeded Boston Bruins will line up against the fifth-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. With the home ice edge, the Bruins are a slight -140 favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. While Boston has a proud tradition in the NHL, the franchise hasn't won a Stanley Cup since the glory days of Bobby Orr in the early seventies. The team's last appearance in the conference finals was 19 years ago. The club's last trip to the NHL finals was two seasons earlier in the 1989-90 campaign. With the exception of a Stanley Cup title in the 2003-04 campaign, the Lightning have had little postseason success since entering the league in 1992-93. The team is in the conference finals for just the second time after taking out top-seed Washington with a sweep in the Eastern semi-finals. Out West, the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks have advanced to the conference finals. Since entering the league in 1970-71, the franchise has reached the NHL finals on two occasions (1981-82 and 1993-94) but has yet to take home a Stanley Cup. Vancouver's opponent has yet to be determined. In the only remaining conference semi-finals series, the second-seeded San Jose Sharks hold a 3-2 series edge over third-seed Detroit. After losing the first three games of the series, the Red Wings have rallied to force a sixth game on Tuesday night in Detroit. Like Vancouver, San Jose is seeking its first Stanley Cup crown. Woods, Mickelson are co-favorites at Players Championship As one of the PGA Tour's biggest non-major tournaments of the year, the Players Championship is a prized event on the pro golf circuit. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are +1415 co-favorites for this weekend's TPC at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Woods will try to get back into the winning circle this week. He hasn't played since the Masters after battling through a minor knee injury. His last PGA Tour victory was back in 2009. Woods is just 71st on this year's money list. His only TPC win was in 2001. Mickelson enters the event in better form than Woods. He has recorded a win on tour this season and is fifth on the earnings list. Mickelson captured his only TPC title in 2007.