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Habs aim to make it three straight in clash with IslesHockey Betting Lines02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to post their longest winning streak in over three months when they visit the New York Islanders tonight at Nassau Coliseum. The Canadiens have recorded recent home wins over Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, but the club hasn't notched three victories in a row since a season-high four-game run from Oct. 26-Nov. 4. Meanwhile, the Islanders have won three of four and have recorded a point in five straight (3-0-2). New York is currently nine points out of a playoff spot in the East and is just one point ahead of Montreal in the conference standings. The Canadiens outlasted the visiting Penguins on Tuesday, as Tomas Plekanec scored in the eighth round of the shootout to help Montreal take a 3-2 decision at Bell Centre. In the eighth round, Plekanec beat Marc-Andre Fleury to the glove side with a wrister and Carey Price sealed the win as he kept out a low forehand shot from Jason Williams. "I thought we played well the whole game," said Plekanec. "We tried to shut them down. We were able to get two points. That's the most important thing." Louis Leblanc and Lars Eller both scored in regulation for the Canadiens, who had grabbed a 2-1 lead early in the third period before allowing James Neal to tie it with his 28th goal of the year at the 7:32 mark of the stanza. Price made 32 stops in the win. Montreal is just 10-13-2 as the visiting team this year and is beginning a brief two-game trip tonight. The Habs will also visit the rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Islanders also won a shootout decision Tuesday night in Philadelphia, as Frans Nielsen scored the winner in the second round in a 1-0 victory over the Flyers at Wachovia Center. All around, it was an exciting day for Nielsen, who earlier on Tuesday signed a new four-year contract with the Islanders. But the real story for New York on Tuesday was the magnificent play of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who stopped 45 shots through the 65 minutes of play for his second shutout of the season and 52nd of his career for the Islanders. Nabokov stopped both Flyers shooters in the shootout to get the win. "When you look at the game, he made some huge saves for us," said New York head coach Jack Capuano. "Anytime you get goaltending like that, normally you win a hockey game and we did that tonight against a really good team." John Tavares also scored in the decisive phase for the Isles on Tuesday. The Islanders are hoping to get defenseman Milan Jurcina back tonight after he sat out the last three games with a lacerated elbow. New York will not have either defensemen Travis Hamonic (broken nose/facial lacerations) and Dylan Reese (knee), who will be out four-to-six weeks after suffering a sprained MCL against Philadelphia. New York is kicking off a three-game homestand tonight and is 11-11-5 as the host this season. The Isles will also welcome Los Angeles and Florida during the residency. The Isles had won three straight against Montreal before the Canadiens evened the season series at one game each with a 5-3 home win on Dec. 13. New York has won two in a row and three of the last four meetings on Long Island.
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Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Murray State Racers will once again march out on the court to defend their perfect record as they host the Tennessee State Tigers in an Ohio Valley Conference clash at the CFSB Center. This will
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to rebound from a controversial loss when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's battle at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers dropped a 1-0 regulation decision Tuesday against the
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Online Sportsbook Football BettingColts give the ‘D’ its dueThe 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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