Sens begin road trip in Tampa
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02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having little success on a recent five-game homestand, the Ottawa Senators hope to have more luck when they kick off a road trip tonight by battling the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Times Forum.
The Senators went 1-2-2 on their recent stay at Scotiabank Place, bringing the struggling club's record over its last nine games to 1-6-2. Ottawa, which will also visit Florida and the Islanders during its three-game swing, has lost four straight on the road and is 13-11-5 as the guest this year.
The recent struggles have hurt the team's playoff chances, but the Sens are still currently in the Eastern Conference postseason picture. Ottawa is seventh in the conference and is two points ahead of eighth-seeded Toronto.
The Lightning, meanwhile, have not done much to help their own postseason prospects in February. The club is just 2-2-2 this month after ending January on a five-game winning streak. Tampa is tied with Buffalo and the Islanders in the East standings and is eight points out of a postseason berth.
The Sens ended a seven-game losing streak with a win over Nashville on Thursday, but Ottawa then closed its homestand with Saturday's overtime loss to Edmonton. Taylor Hall scored 17 seconds into OT to lift the Oilers to the 4-3 win at Scotiabank Place.
Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson had goals for Ottawa in the losing effort and Craig Anderson gave up four goals on 40 shots.
"We played pretty good," Alfredsson said. "It's encouraging to see the way we're playing and skating. There were still a few lapses."
Tampa Bay has lost three of its last four games and posted a 1-1-1 record during a recent three-game road trip that ended with Sunday's regulation setback in Pittsburgh. The Bolts, who are beginning a four-game homestand tonight, are 15-8-2 in Tampa this season compared to a dreadful 9-17-4 mark on the road.
The Lightning received two first-period goals from Steve Downie on Sunday, but Pittsburgh scored four unanswered to take the 4-2 decision. Downie's goals came just 11 seconds apart at 9:58 and 10:09 of the first period, setting a franchise record for the quickest two goals by one player.
Mathieu Garon gave up four goals on 41 shots and Teddy Purcell assisted on both of Downie's markers.
"We didn't play our best game and it cost us two points," said Garon.
Tampa forward Ryan Malone missed his seventh straight game on Sunday with an upper-body injury, but he could return tonight. Matt Gilroy sat out Sunday after suffering an upper-body injury in Tampa's previous game, while fellow defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has sat out three straight with a back problem. Both blueliners are questionable for tonight.
Ottawa is 2-0 against the Lightning this year, but both of those previous encounters were staged at Scotiabank Place. The Sens have won four of five overall in this series and the Lightning have won three of the last four meetings in Tampa.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena. St. Louis is in the midst of its fifth four-game win stre
<< Devils try to bounce back in Buffalo
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to get back in the win
column this evening when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for a clash at First
Niagara Center.
The Devils had won a season-high five straight heading into a two-game
home
<< Hawks commence trek against Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will kick off a five-game road trip tonight at
Staples Center when they take on a Lakers team returning from its annual
Grammy trek.
The Hawks, who will also visit Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and New
<< Blazers try to halt home skid vs. Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to halt a rare losing
streak at the Rose Garden when they play host to a Washington Wizards team
coming in off its second road victory.
The Blazers had been a gaudy 11-1 in Rip Ci
<< Suns, Nuggets clash at Pepsi Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver halted one losing streak on the road in its last
outing and will now try to stop its longest skid at home in nearly a decade
when they play host to the Phoenix Suns.
Ty Lawson scored 27 points on Saturday
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have established themselves as the top team in the East and the Blueshirts will try to increase their conference lead when they visit the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Garden. With 77 points, the Rangers
West Virginia set to join Big 12 in July >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have agreed
to settle their lawsuits, enabling the university to leave the conference and
join the Big 12 in July.
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would not d
Red Wings aim to set new NHL home mark vs. Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to set a new NHL record for
the longest home winning streak in league history when they host the Dallas
Stars tonight at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit matched a league standard with its 20th conse
Surging Ducks visit Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an
early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task.
They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that
continues to move sout
Blackhawks try to end lengthy slide in Nashville >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks didn't look like a team ready to
break out of their longest slump in four years the last time they hit the ice.
Doing so against the Nashville Predators may prove difficult as well.
The Blackhawks ho
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
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.”
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