Bolts nip playoff-bound Sens in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

04/08/2010 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teddy Purcell scored the lone goal in the shootout, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Purcell was Tampa Bay's third shooter and used a forehand-to-backhand move and lifted the puck over Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott's left pad. The game ended after Mike Fisher's attempt at an equalizer was no good.

Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis tallied a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who had lost four of five. Mike Smith stopped 35 shots and then all three shootout chances to notch the victory.

Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who are guaranteed the fifth seed in the East after Pittsburgh beat the Islanders on Thursday. Ottawa's opponent in the first round will be either New Jersey or Pittsburgh -- whichever team does not win the Atlantic Division.

Elliott made 26 saves in defeat.

Trailing by three midway through the game, the Senators rallied to tie the score.

Nick Foligno got Ottawa on the board with the first of the team's three power- play goals at 12:44, and Spezza brought the visitors within one while on the man advantage with his 23rd goal of the year at 18:42.

Fisher completed the comeback 4:16 into the third with another power-play score. Spezza held the disc at the center point and dished down low to Daniel Alfredsson, who passed across the ice for Fisher, who one-timed the puck into the net.

Ottawa had another power play moments later but couldn't convert, and neither team had any major chances in overtime.

St. Louis opened the scoring 8:01 into the game on a backhander from in close that beat Elliott on the short side, and Purcell's power-play marker with 28 seconds left in the opening period pushed Tampa Bay's lead to 2-0.

On another man advantage 3:33 into the second, Stamkos made it 3-0 with his 48th of the year. St. Louis faked a slapshot from the right circle and slid the puck to Stamkos on the left, and Stamkos fired the disc into a wide-open net.

Game Notes

Stamkos is tied with Washington's Alex Ovechkin for second place in goals scored...Ottawa finished its season 18-21-2 on the road and will conclude its regular season Saturday at home versus Buffalo...The teams split the four-game season series...The teams combined for 62 penalty minutes.

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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%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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