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03/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals were struggling heading into the Olympic break but the NHL's point leaders seemed to regain their swagger last week.
The Caps will shoot for a fourth straight victory tonight, when they host the Dallas Stars at Verizon Center.
Washington set a franchise record with 14 straight wins from January 13- February 7, but then lost its last three tests before the Winter Games. Since the league returned to action last week, however, Washington has been a perfect 3-0.
Washington has also won a club-record 13 straight on home ice and has a superb 25-3-3 record as the host this season. The Capitals' last loss in DC came December 28 against Carolina.
The Capitals lead the Eastern Conference and the NHL with 96 points. They are also 30-points ahead of Atlanta for first place in the Southeast Division.
Washington is coming off Saturday's victory in a defensive battle against the visiting New York Rangers. Jose Theodore stopped all 30 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, leading the Capitals to the 2-0 win at Verizon Center.
Eric Fehr and Eric Belanger lit the lamp for the Capitals.
"You need to win games 2-0, 2-1, when you're in the playoffs," said Theodore. "We played really well. We never panicked and never gave them much, especially in the third."
Washington failed to score at least three goals for the first time since January 2, a streak of 23 consecutive games. It was two off the Caps' franchise record of 25 straight games scoring at least three times, originally set from December 22, 1984-February 14, 1985.
Capitals superstar winger Alex Ovechkin also failed to register a point for the third time in his last four games. He is still leading the NHL with 90 points, but has just one assist in his last four outings.
The Stars, meanwhile, have lost three straight games and that slide is not helping the club's playoff chances. Dallas, which missed the postseason last year, is currently six points out of playoff berth in the West.
Dallas was dealt a decisive loss Saturday in Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby lit the lamp twice and collected an assist to lift the Penguins to the 6-3 win at Mellon Arena.
Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Brandon Segal each had a goal for Dallas. Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, making his first start since being acquired from Atlanta in February and first start overall since last April 11, stopped 28 shots in defeat. Lehtonen missed most of the 2009-10 campaign while recovering from offseason back surgery.
Marty Turco could get the start tonight as the Stars try to ease Lehtonen back into the regular grind of an NHL season.
Tonight marks the middle test of a three-game road trip for the Stars, who are just 10-16-7 as the guest this year. Dallas will cap the swing Wednesday in Buffalo.
The Caps and Stars are meeting for the only time this season. Washington notched an overtime win in Dallas last season. That snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for the Capitals.
<< 2010 Southland Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight Southland Conference teams will
gather in Katy, Texas this week to compete for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The quarterfinal round, featuring all eight teams, will take place on
Wednesday, followed
<< 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 39th annual Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference Tournament will begin on Tuesday, and the Morgan State Bears will
look to claim their second straight tournament title. Morgan State, which
defeated Norfolk Sta
<< 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10
Conference, 12 have been invited to participate in the league tournament which
begins on Tuesday night. The first round will take place at campus sites of
the higher seeds.
<< Line of Scrimmage: Big Ben, bad choices, and more free agency
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger now has as many sexual
assault allegations on his resume' - two - as he has Super Bowl titles. Wanna
wager which category gets to No. 3 sooner? I'm no gambler, but I bet those
odds would be
Eagles bring back Avant; Vick next >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles and wide receiver
Jason Avant have agreed to terms on a five-year contract, and it appears as
though the team will pick up the 2010 contract option on quarterback Michael
Vick.
Di Maria continues to ponder future >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has played
down rumors linking him with a certain exit from the Portuguese giants in the
summer.
The 22-year-old Argentina international is attracting interest from a num
Fabregas to miss return leg against Porto >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will miss the
second leg of his side's Champions League Round of 16 tie against FC Porto due
to a hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old Spain international midfielder limped out
Mowbray hopeful of keeping Keane >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic manager Tony Mowbray retains some
hope of being able to convince loan striker Robbie Keane to remain with the
club beyond the end of the season.
The 29-year-old has scored five times in sev
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
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