Crosby and Pens down Sens in shootout
Hockey Betting Lines
03/07/2007 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal in a shootout for the third time in six days and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, at Scotiabank Place.
Jordan Staal, Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone scored in a 2:48 span midway through the third period to erase a 4-1 deficit for Pittsburgh, which won its second straight game and will host New Jersey on Thursday in a key Atlantic Division contest. The Devils currently lead the Pens by seven points.
Colby Armstrong also scored and Pittsburgh starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after he allowed three goals on seven shots in the first period. Jocelyn Thibault made 15 saves in relief.
Mike Fisher, Christoph Schubert, Chris Kelly and Dany Heatley scored for the Senators, who are winless in their last three games (0-1-2) after they had won eight of nine to close out the month of February. Ray Emery allowed only one goal through the first two periods but fell apart in the third and finished with 23 saves in the loss.
After Pittsburgh rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period, a defensive overtime session led to the ensuing shootout. In the first round, Heatley missed and Eric Christensen scored. Neither side found the back of the net following the next pair of shooters but Dean McAmmond kept Ottawa alive with a goal. However, Crosby then ended it with a high backhander.
"I'm trying to help out wherever I can," said Crosby, who failed to record a point in regulation in each of the three recent games in which he has notched the game-winner. "It's been tough (for me) 5-on-5, and (I'm also) struggling on the power play a bit. For me, it's one of those times right now but I'll try to do whatever I can to help."
With the win, the Pens snapped an eight-game winless streak against Ottawa dating back to November, 2003.
Trailing 4-1 at the start of the third period, the Penguins scored three goals in under three minutes midway through the stanza and Malone's marker at 12:10 knotted the contest.
Pittsburgh came back to life with Staal's NHL-leading seventh short-handed goal of the season at the 9:22 mark. With Evgeni Malkin in the penalty box for charging, Staal stole the puck from Daniel Alfredsson in the neutral zone, won a race for the puck through the slot and beat Emery from a sharp angle inside the left circle.
"When Staal scored that goal, we knew we had a chance," Crosby said. "We had maybe 11 or 12 minutes left when he scored, so that goal really led the way to help put ourselves in a better position."
Under two minutes later, Roberts' 15th goal made it 4-3. Christensen carried the puck down the right-wing side and slid a backhand pass into the middle for an easy one-timer by Roberts that lit the lamp at 11:02.
The momentum continued when Malone scored his 14th goal of the season 68 seconds later. Emery again showed his vulnerability, as Malone -- like Staal minutes earlier -- slid the puck into the net from a sharp angle. Staal passed from the slot to Malone, who corralled the disc low inside the left circle and beat Emery to the near side with a wrist shot.
"It's a confidence thing," said Alfredsson about failing to hold a lead. "We were going pretty good, but they made the most of their chances. In five shots they scored three goals and got right back in the game. We just have to keep working hard."
Pittsburgh opened the scoring on Armstrong's ninth goal at 5:56 of the first period.
The Pens skated with a 5-on-4 advantage for two minutes after Anton Volchenkov was whistled for hooking but failed to cash in. However, the visitors used the power-play momentum to keep the puck in their offensive zone and tallied less than thirty seconds after Volchenkov exited the penalty box. Armstrong held l behind the net and, after he failed to locate an open teammate, skated out along the goal line to the right side and banked the puck off Emery's skate and into the back of the cage.
Midway through the first, the Senators scored twice in under two minutes to grab a 2-1 lead.
First, on the power play, Peter Schaefer held control inside the right circle and attempted a cross-ice pass that was intended for weak-side cutter Wade Redden. The puck, though, hit traffic in front and caromed directly to Fisher, whose snap shot from the top of the crease beat Fleury at the 9:27 mark.
Soon after, the Sens moved ahead on Schubert's sixth goal. Oleg Saprykin passed from along the lower left half-wall into the slot for a shot by McAmmond. The save was made, but the rebound was swiped home by Schubert with 8:38 remaining.
Fleury continued to struggle and allowed a soft short-handed goal late in the opening stanza that saw Ottawa gain a two-goal advantage.
With Redden in the penalty box for interference, the Penguins failed to create scoring chances with the extra skater and the puck was picked up by Alfredsson. The captain crossed the blue line down the left-wing side before he slid a backhanded pass into the high slot for Kelly, whose one-timer should have been saved by Fleury but instead hit the goaltender and trickled behind him and over the goal line at the 18:38 mark.
Heatley's power-play goal 4:32 into the second period made it 4-1.
Game Notes
Crosby also beat the New York Rangers on March 1 and the Philadelphia Flyers this past Sunday with game-winning shootout goals...Heatley extended his point streak to 12 games...The Sens had won six straight homes games prior to this one...Ottawa finished 2-for-9 on the power play and held Pittsburgh scoreless on its four chances with the extra skater...Attendance was 20,074.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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