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12/18/2008 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Viktor Kozlov posted two goals and an assist, as the Washington Capitals remained dominant on home ice with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
The Capitals improved to 13-1-1 at the Verizon Center, which is the second best home record in the league -- San Jose is 16-0-2.
Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Ovechkin also scored for the Caps, who have won five straight for the second time this season. Rookie Simeon Varlamov stopped 29-of-31 shots for his second win of the season in as many tries.
David Backes and Brad Winchester scored for the Blues, who have now dropped five straight -- all in regulation. Ben Bishop suffered his first loss of the season by allowing four goals on 29 shots.
The Capitals got the only goal of the opening 20 minutes, as Kozlov grabbed a loose puck in the corner and put a wrist shot past Bishop with 3:46 left in the frame.
The Blues tied the game halfway through the second. Jay McClement took a wrist shot from the left circle, and Backes was able to tip the puck past Varlamov's glove for the goal at 9:09.
But Washington went back in front with 2:54 left in the period, as Kozlov took a rebound in close and lifted it over the sprawled out Bishop for his second goal of the game and a 2-1 Caps lead.
It didn't take long for the hosts to take a 3-1 edge. In the offensive zone, Eric Fehr passed to the slot for Fleischmann, who was all alone. He easily beat Bishop on the glove side just 40 seconds after the previous goal for a two-goal lead that held through the remainder of the period.
Ovechkin's 20th goal of the season put the Capitals up 4-1 just 13 seconds into the third. Winchester scored for St. Louis at 11:34, but it was not enough for the Blues to mount a comeback.
Game Notes
Blues defenseman and captain Eric Brewer will undergo surgery Friday to repair a herniated disc in his back. He will be sidelined indefinitely...The Caps also won five straight from November 6-14...Despite the loss, St. Louis is still 9-2-0 with a tie in the last 12 games against the Caps...Each team went 1-for-5 on the power play.
<< Hantz takes over at Le Havre
Le Havre, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Le Havre named Frederic Hantz its new coach
on Thursday.
Hantz, who had been out of work since leaving Sochaux a year ago, signed an 18-
month contract with the struggling club. Le Havre is at the bottom o
<< Hansbrough surpasses scoring mark as UNC rolls over Evansville
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough scored 20 points and
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leader in North Carolina history, as the top-ranked Tar Heels rolled to
another
<< German midfielder Borowski happy at Bayern Munich
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Borowski claims he remains happy with
his decision to join Bayern Munich despite seeing his first-team opportunities
limited at the Allianz Arena.
The 28-year-old Germany midfielder joined the Bu
<< Armanti Edwards wins 2008 Walter Payton Award
Chattanooga, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State quarterback Armanti
Edwards was named the 22nd winner of the Walter Payton Award Thursday night at
The Sportsbook Betting Lines's Football Championship Subdivision Awards Banquet, held at
the Ch
Malkin leads Pens past Thrashers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin finished with two goals and two
assists, as the Pittsburgh Penguins doubled up the Atlanta Thrashers, 6-3, at
Philips Arena.
Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke, Philippe Boucher and Miroslav Satan each s
Chivas midfielder Kljestan honored by U.S. soccer >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan was honored
as U.S. Soccer's Young Male Athlete of the Year on Thursday.
Kljestan represented the United States at the Olympics and played on the senior
national team in fou
Canadiens snap Flyers' five-game win streak >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Kostitsyn, Steve Begin and Guillaume
Latendresse each posted a goal and an assist, as the Montreal Canadiens
knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, at the Bell Centre.
Alex Kovalev and Ma
Corvo sends 'Canes past Panthers in OT >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Corvo scored on a sensational individual
effort with 44 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a
2-1 win over the Florida Panthers in a Southeast Division matchup from RBC
Center.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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