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02/21/2007 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Hedberg made 33 saves to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in a big Southeast Division battle at RBC Center.
Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist and Ilya Kovalchuk scored the game- winning goal for the Thrashers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Atlanta currently has 71 points and holds a two-point lead over Tampa Bay and a four-point lead over Carolina for first place in the Southeast Division.
Rod Brind'Amour scored the lone goal and Cam Ward made 20 saves in net for the Hurricanes, who have dropped two of their last three games.
The Thrashers were trailing, 1-0, in the third period, but tied the game early in the stanza while shorthanded. Hedberg lifted the puck out of his own end and Hossa chased the disc down into the left corner of the Carolina end. With Ward looking up-ice, Hossa threw a shot on net that went off the skate of Ward and into the net to make it a 1-1 game 5:53 in.
Atlanta then took its first lead of the game when Hossa picked up a turnover at his own blueline, hit Kovalchuk with a lead pass, and from the left circle Kovalchuk blew a wrist shot past Ward's glove for a 2-1 lead with 2:24 to play.
Eric Boulton then sealed the victory when he banged in a rebound from down low with 1:18 remaining for his second goal of the year.
The first period was a tight-run affair with only 10 shots making it on net, seven by Carolina, and neither side got on the scoreboard.
The Hurricanes finally snapped the scoreless contest in the second period when a turnover in the neutral zone was picked up by Ray Whitney, who took the puck into the Atlanta end, slammed on the brakes at the inside left circle and dropped the puck to Brind'Amour, who snapped a wrister into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead with 2:34 left in the second.
Atlanta managed six shots on net in the second period, but Ward turned them all aside.
Game Notes
Carolina hosts the Flyers on Thursday...Atlanta returns home to face Tampa Bay on Thursday...Atlanta finished a six-game road trip with a 2-4 record...Carolina winger Erik Cole was scratched from the game with a lower body injury...Atlanta had lost its first three games against Carolina this season, but has won the past two matchups, both in Carolina...Neither team scored on the power play with Carolina having four chances and Atlanta two.
<< Oh, what a Neitzel: MSU upsets No. 1 Wisconsin
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Neitzel scored 11 of his 28 points
during a game-clinching run in the final minutes, as Michigan State downed
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Neitzel, who hit 10-of-17 shot
<< Horna upsets Nalbandian in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peru's Luis Horna, who came into
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Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded German Tommy Has and fourth-
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Haas, who defeated Swede Robin Soderl
<< Mavericks' Mbenga has surgery
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks center D.J. Mbenga underwent
surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.
The 7-foot Mbenga, who suffered the injury in the team's 113-97 win over
Memphis on Feb
Anderson ices the game at the line as Bobcats top Hornets >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 21 points and doled out
11 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats topped the New Orleans/Oklahoma City
Hornets, 104-100.
Gerald Wallace also tallied 21 points, and grabbed seven reb
Sabres double up Flyers >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Briere posted a goal and two assists
as the first-place Buffalo Sabres crushed the last-place Philadelphia Flyers,
6-3.
Chris Drury, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist for
Arenas leads Wizards over T'Wolves >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Arenas poured in 38 points, and
Washington never trailed in a 112-100 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Arenas was a miserable 1-of-8 from three-point range, but made up for the
shor
Rutgers women rout Providence >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matee Ajavon scored 23 points and Epiphanny
Prince added 14 to lead 21st-ranked Rutgers to a 69-34 pounding of Providence.
Heather Zurich tallied 10 points for the Scarlet Knights (18-7, 11-3 Big
East
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.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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