12/02/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski scored power play goals 81 seconds apart early in the third period, rallying Toronto to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Jeff Finger added an empty-net goal and Vesa Toskala came up huge by stopping 32 shots, including all 26 he faced over the final two periods.
"Vesa kept us in there and I think you give him a lot of credit there for the whole game," said Finger. "He gave us some time to get our legs back and he kind of answered in the second and third."
The Maple Leafs had lost five in a row before making a change at general manager, and they've since won two straight with Brian Burke as the new GM. Also, Toronto won for the first time at the Staples Center. The Maple Leafs played there for only the third time since it opened. Their previous win in Los Angeles came March 12, 1998 at the Great Western Forum.
"The early part of the game was a matter of us going post to post and finding our legs," said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "The Kings were all over, but once we settled down we got back into our 'throw the puck back into the net' kind of a game and obviously we got some huge saves and with goaltending like that you have a very good chance of winning."
Alexander Frolov scored on LA's first shot of the game, but the Kings had a two-game win streak broken. Jason LaBarbera made 27 saves.
LaBarbera stopped all 17 shots he faced over the first two periods, but the Kings were hurt by tripping penalties to Sean O'Donnell and Dustin Brown in the first two minutes of the third.
"It's tough when you take two penalties right away," said LaBarbera. "We talked about that right before we went out there; try to keep your sticks on you because we were the ones who got two calls there at the end of the second. Unfortunately it went against us and they scored two goals."
Toronto tied the game while on a two-man advantage. Niklas Hagman shot the puck from the right side of the net. The disc deflected high into the air and bounced in the crease. Stajan barely got his stick on the puck and it trickled into the net at the 2:09 mark.
Los Angeles then turned the puck over in its own end. John Mitchell had the puck in the right corner and delivered a pass to Grabovski in front for a successful deflection.
The Toronto netminder stopped a close-in try from Brad Richardson with 4 1/2 minutes left, although Richardson didn't get much on the shot.
The Kings pulled LaBarbera with over a minute left. Matt Greene's shot from the high slot with nearly 45 seconds left was deflected wide of the net.
Finger then iced the victory with 11 seconds remaining.
"To go into the third period up 1-0 and end up down two men so quickly, it was unfortunate," said Kings coach Terry Murray. "The game was going pretty well. Both teams worked hard, battled hard, some great opportunities at both ends. I think both goaltenders were tremendous tonight. It's unfortunate that it ends the way it did on a 5-on-3. We had our opportunity later and we weren't able to get much generated to get an opportunity to tie the game up."
Just after the game started, Frolov was sent on a breakaway off a pass from Greene and deposited a backhander over the right pad of Toskala with only 57 seconds expired.
Game Notes
Frolov has scored in four of the last five games...Toskala is 7-2 lifetime against the Kings...Toronto started a three-game western road trip with contests at San Jose and Phoenix upcoming...Frolov has a team-leading nine goals...The Kings were 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Leafs were 2-for-5.
<< Marvelous Monday night debut: Slaton carries Texans past Jags
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Slaton was ready for prime time with 130
yards on the ground and two touchdowns, and the Houston Texans opened up the
offense in their first-ever Monday Night Football appearance, leading to a
30-17 v
<< Former NHLer Martin dies in drowning accident
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hubert "Pit" Martin, who spent 18 years in the
NHL with four clubs, including more than 10 seasons with the Chicago
Blackhawks, passed away Monday after a drowning incident in Canada.
The 64-year-ol
<< Avs use big second period and then hold off Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny had two goals and an assist, and
capped a Colorado scoring binge with the eventual game-winner late in a four-
goal second period as the Avalanche topped the Minnesota Wild, 6-5, at Xcel
Energy
<< A's don't offer arbitration to Thomas
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics declined to offer salary
arbitration to any of their four free agents, including designated hitter
Frank Thomas.
Left-handed pitcher Alan Embree, right-handed pitcher Keith Fou
Phillies pass on arbitration for Burrell, Moyer >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pat Burrell era in Philadelphia took
one step toward its possible conclusion after the World Series champion
Phillies balked at offering he and 16-game winner Jamie Moyer arbitration
prior t
Mets' Perez offered arbitration >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez was offered
salary arbitration prior to the midnight (et) deadline Monday night.
The 27-year-old left-hander has until the conclusion of Sunday to accept the
arbitration of
Pulley, Guyton highlight MEAC All-Conference Team >>
Virginia Beach, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina State running back Will
Ford was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive
Player of the Year and Morgan State's Jarrell Guyton earned the Defensive
Player of the Year
Knicks welcome Blazers to MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will continue a five-game road
trip this evening against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Portland has won four straight overall and opened the trek with Sunday's 96-85
victory over
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.
MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.
Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.
| Ottawa Senators Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes San Jose Sharks Anaheim Ducks Philadelphia Flyers Calgary Flames New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Dallas Stars New York Rangers Nashville Predators Vancouver Canucks Colorado Avalanche Minnesota Wild Tampa Bay Lightning Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Atlanta Thrashers Toronto Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders Columbus Blue Jackets St. Louis Blues Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Chicago Blackhawks |
7-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 80-1 80-1 100-1 100-1 |
NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games
| Team Ottawa Senators Anaheim Ducks Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators San Jose Sharks Calgary Flames Philadelphia Flyers New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Dallas Stars New York Rangers Minnesota Wild Atlanta Thrashers Montreal Canadiens Team Los Angeles Kings Tampa Bay Lightening Vancouver Canucks Boston Bruins Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Columbus Blue Jackets New York Islanders Chicago Blackhawks St. Louis Blues Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins |
Over/Under 108.5 106.5 104.5 104.5 103.5 101.5 100.5 99.5 97.5 97.5 97.5 95.5 94.5 93.5 92.5 Over/Under 91.5 91.5 91.5 89.5 89.5 88.5 88.5 86.5 84.5 82.5 80.5 72.5 72.5 72.5 71.5 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.
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