Welcome back: Sens finally return home to battle Isles
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02/03/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators hope their first home game in nearly three weeks can get them back in the win column, as the All-Star hosts welcome the New York Islanders for tonight's battle at Scotiabank Place.
The Senators, who staged the league's All-Star festivities last weekend, haven't played in Canada's capital city since Jan. 16, when they lost a 2-0 decision to Winnipeg. Ottawa then began a six-game road trip with two straight wins before losing the final four tests in regulation.
All told, Ottawa has played nine of 10 and 10 of its last 12 games away from Scotiabank Place, but tonight marks the start of a five-game homestand for the Sens, who are 14-9-1 as the host this season.
"It seems like forever since we've been at home, and now we get an opportunity to play the next five games at home," Senators head coach Paul MacLean told his team's website. "That's an opportunity for us to step up and that gives us confidence."
The Senators enter tonight as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, where they are two points behind Pittsburgh and one in front of New Jersey. Ottawa has also fallen six points behind Boston for the Northeast Division lead.
The Islanders, meanwhile, are trying to work themselves into the postseason picture. Despite a 4-1-1 record in its last six games, New York is still 11 points out of a playoff spot in the East.
Ottawa will likely have to slow down John Tavares if it wants to win tonight, as the young Islanders forward has been torching the competition of late. Tavares was named the NHL's First Star of the Month for January after posting nine goals and 13 assists in 13 games last month.
Tavares, who was the first overall pick of the 2009 draft, put an exclamation point on his terrific month this past Tuesday in Carolina, as he scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period, en route to a four-point outing in a 5-2 win for the Isles. The 21-year-old is second on New York with 22 goals and is leading the club in points with 53.
"He's been playing extremely well, he's been doing a lot of good things and he's tough to stop," Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said of Tavares.
Matt Moulson potted his team-leading 23rd goal of the year and also dished out two assists in the win over the Hurricanes. P.A. Parenteau and Kyle Okposo added a goal and an assist apiece, while Kevin Poulin made 21 saves in the victory.
The Islanders have won three of their last four road games, but are still just 9-11-3 as the guest this season.
The Senators played Tuesday in Boston and held a 3-1 lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions in the second period before the Bruins closed the game with three unanswered scores. The game-winner by Dennis Seidenberg came on a slap shot from center ice just over seven minutes into the third period.
Colin Greening, Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson scored for the Senators, while Craig Anderson stopped 26-of-30 shots.
"We scored three 5-on-5 goals against a really good defensive team. Five-on- five we were the better team, so it's frustrating to lose this one," said Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson. "I don't know how we don't win it."
Tonight's tilt marks the first of four meetings between the Sens and Isles this season after the clubs split four encounters a year ago. Ottawa has taken six of nine overall in this series and the Sens had won four straight on home ice against New York until the Islanders posted a 4-3 shootout win on Feb. 15 of last season.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told the media on Friday that tight end Rob Gronkowski had no setbacks after practicing on a limited basis Thursday. Gronkowski's left ankle ha
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic try to string back-to-back wins together
this evening when they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to town to wrap up a
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<< Knicks and Celtics renew rivalry at TD Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony has battled with injuries and losing
streaks since helping the New York Knicks defeat the Boston Celtics in a much-
anticipated matchup on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden.
Anthony scored 17 of his 37
<< Mavericks' Cuban, Carlisle fined by NBA
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and head
coach Rick Carlisle were each fined by the NBA on Friday.
Cuban was slapped with a $75,000 penalty and Carlisle was penalized $35,000.
Carlisle's fine resulted
<< Rockets welcome Suns to Space City
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they welcome the Phoenix Suns to South Texas on Friday.
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Division by winning nine o
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Pacers will shoot for a season-high fourth straight win Friday when they visit Big D to take on their former coach, Rick Carlisle, and the reigning NBA champion Mavericks. Indiana opened a br
Sliding Blackhawks make a stop in Calgary >>
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to the best of starts and a trip to Calgary may not be the remedy it is
looking for.
The Blackhawks try to avoid a season-high fifth straight loss overall and
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Panthers hope to string together win streak vs. Jets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers will try to win consecutive games for
the first time since mid-December when they host the Winnipeg Jets for
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Thunder, Grizzlies collide in OKC >>
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searching for their sixth straight win tonight in the Sooner State when they
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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009
Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
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