Malkin, Pens host surging Ducks
Hockey Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no hotter player in the league right now than the Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, who has kept his team among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference even without Sidney Crosby.
Malkin looks to continue his surge this evening and help Pittsburgh to a seventh straight home victory as it hosts the Anaheim Ducks, who are on their own successful run since a slow start to the season.
The Penguins have won the first two contests of a three-game residency to match their longest home winning streak of the season. Sunday's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay also pushed their overall mark to 11-2-1 since a six-game slide from Dec. 29-Jan. 11 and has the Pens tied with Philadelphia for second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in the East with 69 points.
That comes as a bit of a surprise given that Crosby has played in just eight games since suffering a concussion last January and remains sidelined indefinitely since his brief return in late November. Malkin has picked up the offense in the captain's absence, leading the NHL with 69 points while ranking second in goals with 32.
Malkin scored twice in the win over the Lightning and just missed an empty-net goal as time expired. He has five tallies and 10 points over a five-game point streak and has logged nine goals and six helpers over an eight-game point streak at home that dates back to Jan. 7. That is tied for the second-longest such streak in club history, trailing only Mario Lemieux's 11-game run from Jan. 5-Feb. 23, 1996.
"It looks like in 2009, when Sidney went down and he kind of took over and was playing unbelievable," Pens defenseman Kris Letang said of Malkin. "But I think his game is better than it was two years ago. I think he's playing great hockey and it's the first time I've seen him being that dominate."
Both Letang and Chris Kunitz ended Sunday's win with a goal and two assists, while James Neal added three helpers. Neal now has a career high-tying 55 points on the season, while Kunitz has seven points in two games.
Brent Johnson rebounded from allowing a pair of goals to Steve Downie just 11 seconds apart in the first period to make 21 saves.
Pittsburgh is likely to go back to Marc-Andre Fleury in net this evening as it hopes to slow down streaking Anaheim. The Ducks are 4-0-2 in their past six, including 2-0-1 on a season-high eight-game road trip, and have logged points in 16 of 18 games since Jan. 6. They are 13-2-3 in that time and have moved to within eight points of the eighth seed in the West despite their 10-22-6 start that also featured a coaching change.
Anaheim is 16-11-5 since Bruce Boudreau took over on the bench for Randy Carlyle and won for the first time when trailing after two periods last night, getting third-period goals from Niklas Hagman and Corey Perry in a 2-1 win at Minnesota.
Perry, coming off a hat trick on Sunday versus Columbus, had the game-winner at 12:21 of the third and Jonas Hiller made 17 saves. The Ducks are 1-21-1 when trailing after two.
"I think the first period we didn't play our best hockey. We were a little sloppy at times and it showed, obviously," Ducks forward Jason Blake said. "That's a good hockey club over there. They fight hard and they fight to the end."
Anaheim also has points in nine of its last 10 on the road (6-1-3) and will be looking to snap a four-game slide at Pittsburgh tonight. The Ducks haven't won in the Steel City since Oct. 6, 2001 and snapped a four-game series losing streak with last year's 3-2 home win over the Pens.
Bobby Ryan scored as part of a two-point night and Saku Koivu had the game- winner for the Ducks. Crosby scored both goals for the Penguins to kick off what was eventually a 25-game point streak that came to an end just a few games before he suffered his concussion.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a long time since the New Orleans Hornets have been able to string back-to-back wins together. Tonight, they get a chance to do just that when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks in the first of a six-game stretch away f
<< Nets aim to snap skid vs. Grizzlies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mired in their second six-game losing streak of the season,
the New Jersey Nets look to bounce back tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies
at the Prudential Center.
The Nets, who also dropped six straight games from Dec. 27
<< Kings try to stop Lin-sanity from spreading in NYC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the legend of Jeremy Lin grows, so does the confidence
level of the New York Knicks.
Lin continues to work wonders for the Knickerbockers and will lead his team
back to Madison Square Garden tonight in the opener of a f
<< Baffert goes after another Southwest at Oaklawn
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Bob Baffert has decided to start a
pair of three-year-olds in Oaklawn Park's Southwest Stakes on Monday led by a
Breeders' Cup race winner. The $250,000 mile race is part of the track's
Kentuck
<< Golf Course Review - The Greenbrier (Old White TPC)
White Sulphur Springs, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS AND STATS: Course
Architects: Charles Blair Macdonald, with Seth Raynor (1914), Lester George
(2001-06, restoration), PGA Tour Design along with McDonald and Sons (2010-11).
Year Opened: April
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia State has set its season-opening football game against South Carolina State to Thursday, Aug. 30, director of athletics Cheryl L. Levick announced Wednesday. Kickoff at the Georgia Dome is 7:30 p.m. ET
Spurs search for 9th straight win in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging San Antonio Spurs will resume a nine-game Rodeo
Road Trip tonight against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The Spurs have won eight in a row overall and improved to 4-0 on the annual
trip following Tue
Pistons and Celtics clash at TD Garden >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before exiting the New England area for five straight
games, the Boston Celtics will take care of some business at home when the
Detroit Pistons pay a visit to TD Garden this evening.
The Celtics opened a brief two-game ho
Wolves hope to get healthy against visiting Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a history-making year thus far for the Charlotte
Bobcats. Unfortunately, it's not the type of records they'd like to be
associated with.
Tonight, Charlotte attempts to snap their franchise-record 15-game losing
Maple Leafs aim to end slide in road test with Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to end their longest
losing streak of the season when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for tonight's
battle at Rexall Place.
The Maple Leafs have lost four in a row -- all in regulation -- an
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
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.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards