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Lehtonen, Stars welcome Coyotes to Big DHockey Betting Lines02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time that Kari Lehtonen faced the Coyotes, the Stars netminder suffered an injury that temporarily derailed his solid season. The Finn has finally begun to find his form once again and carries a personal three-game win streak into Dallas' meeting tonight with Pacific Division-rival Phoenix in a matchup of two teams just on the outside of the playoff picture. Now in his third season with the Stars, Lehtonen is 19-11-1 in 32 games this year while posting a 2.38 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. He helped backstop Dallas to a pair of shootout wins over Phoenix in October, but suffered a groin injury in a Nov. 26 meeting in Arizona that sidelined him for 12 games. The Coyotes won that meeting 3-0 behind a 26-save shutout from former Stars netminder Mike Smith. Lehtonen, meanwhile, lost seven of his first 10 decisions back from injury, losing four in a row from Jan. 14-21. He lasted just under 40 minutes in the final contest of that slide at Minnesota, giving up four goals on 19 shots. The 28-year-old hasn't lost since, giving up only three goals in three games. He snapped his personal skid with a shutout win over Anaheim right before the All-Star break and came up with 33 saves and another two in the shootout of Saturday's 2-1 win over the Wild. "They got a few chances and I was able to make some saves and get lucky a couple times. Our penalty killing was very good too so that helped also," Lehtonen said. "Overall, it was a fun game for me getting a lot of shots and then the two points at the end." Mike Ribeiro scored in regulation and Loui Eriksson and Jamie Benn found the back of the net in the shootout for the Stars, who have won three of four since a five-game skid and pulled within two points of the Wild for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Coyotes joined the Stars in the ninth spot with last night's 3-1 victory over the Red Wings, equaling Dallas' 56-point total on the season. Phoenix got a pair of goals from Martin Hanzal, his first multi-goal effort since Oct. 23. Boyd Gordon also scored shorthanded, Ray Whitney had two assists to stretch his point streak to five straight games (2 goals, 6 assists) and Smith ended with 30 saves to win his career-high 20th game of the campaign. Phoenix was coming off a victory on Saturday over Pacific Division-leading San Jose and has won three of four, wrapping a season-long six-game homestand with a record of 3-2-1. "We were gritty tonight. We found a way to get a win tonight on home ice when it was needed the most," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "We had a great effort from a lot of our guys tonight and that is going to be key down the stretch here." Phoenix has won two straight for the first time since Dec. 20-21 and will look to win three in a row for the first time this season. Six of the past seven games between these two clubs have been decided by one goal and that could give the edge to Dallas. The Stars are 14-6-2 in games decided by the minimum this year, while the Coyotes are 8-9-8.
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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year AwardsOddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite. Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award. Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1. Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award. Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1. All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY. A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks. For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided. 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1 Ron Brace (NE) 25/1 Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1 Darius Butler (NE) 40/1 Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1 Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1 Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1 Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1 Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1 Larry English (SD) 15/1 Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1 Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1 Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1 Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1 James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1 Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1 Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1 Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1 Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1 Roy Miller (TB) 20/1 Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1 Fili Moala (IND) 30/1 Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1 Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1 B J Raji (GB) 7/1 Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1 Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1 David Verkune (CLE) 20/1 Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1 Field (Any Other Player) 6/1 To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. |
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