Panthers hope to solve visiting Sens
Hockey Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers are in position to win four in a row for the first time this season, but to do so they'll need to beat the Ottawa Senators for the first time in nine meetings.
That's the task for the Panthers tonight as they open up a four-game homestand fresh off a successful trip to the Northeast over the weekend.
Florida kicked off its current winning streak with a home victory over Los Angeles on Thursday, then erased a pair of early deficits to beat New Jersey and the New York Islanders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Panthers allowed the first goal in both games, but has still won three straight for the first time since Dec. 3-8.
On Sunday versus the Islanders, Tyson Strachan scored his first career goal to tie things in the first period before Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Jack Skille all tallied in the middle frame. Skille lit the lamp in his return from a seven-game absence due to a shoulder injury, while Versteeg matched his career high with his 22nd goal of the season.
Jose Theodore stopped 26-of-27 shots to post his first win since December 27. It was his first game since Jan. 20 because of a knee injury.
The Panthers own a four-point edge over the Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division despite playing on Sunday without high-scoring defenseman Jason Garrison, who suffered a lower-body injury the previous day versus the Devils.
"It was a good weekend for us. It's satisfying. We went out played hard and were rewarded for it," said Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen.
Dineen's club is looking to win four in a row for the first time since a club- record seven-game run from March 2-16, 2008. The Panthers can also win four straight in regulation for the first time since Feb. 10-19, 2001.
Florida figures to have a good chance at extending its win streak if Versteeg can score. The Panthers are 14-1-1 when he lights the lamp this season, though that one regulation loss came in heartbreaking fashion at Ottawa on Oct. 27.
Versteeg scored to tie the game with 48 seconds left in regulation, but the Senators went back ahead and secured a 4-3 win when Nick Foligno scored with just four ticks left in the third. Florida then suffered a 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa two months later and is 0-7-1 in the past eight meetings.
The Panthers haven't beaten the Senators since Jan. 9, 2010 in Ottawa and are 5-16-1 against them since the start of the 2006-07 season. The Sens have won their last four trips to Florida and have gotten a pair of goals and three assists from Daniel Alfredsson in the two encounters this year.
Jason Spezza was the offensive star for Ottawa last night as he netted his fourth career hat trick in a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay. That was more then enough offense for Craig Anderson, who made 28 saves for his second shutout of the season and 18th of his career.
Spezza also assisted on Erik Karlsson's goal for the Senators, who won for just the second time in 10 games (2-6-2) but do have points in three straight. They snapped a four-game slide on the road as well.
Spezza has five goals and five assists during a four-game point streak.
"I think we played a pretty consistent game from start to finish," Senators head coach Paul MacLean said. "I think there were some momentum shifts in the game, but I thought Craig Anderson played real well for us and I thought our team handled the momentum shifts and responded real well."
With 66 points, Ottawa is seventh overall in the East and four points behind Boston for first place in the Northeast Division.
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Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe 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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Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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