Habs return home to face Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just completed a successful road trip, the Montreal Canadiens will play for the first time at the Bell Centre in nearly a month when the playoff hopefuls host the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening.

Montreal began its post-Olympic break schedule with a four-game trek and went 3-1-0 during the swing, with the lone loss coming to Western Conference front- runner San Jose last Thursday. That surge has moved the Canadiens into seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point better than rival Boston and two back of sixth-seeded Philadelphia.

The Habs concluded the trip with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory at Anaheim on Sunday, with Tomas Plekanec netting the game-winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout.

Montreal trailed 3-1 entering the third period before drawing even on goals by Brian Gionta and Andrei Markov, the latter coming with only 11 seconds remaining in regulation. The Canadiens also had their backs to the wall in the shootout, with Gionta keeping the team alive with a controversial score in the third round.

With Montreal down 1-0 in the deciding phase, Gionta fired a wrist shot in between the blocker pad and stick of Jonas Hiller. The Anaheim netminder drifted backward toward the net and looked to find the puck, inadvertently knocking it into the net for a goal.

The officials held up the goal upon review and after James Wisniewski could not score for the Ducks in the fourth round, Plekanec fired a wrister past Hiller's glove for the clincher.

"I thought Hiller had it," said Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer of Gionta's tally. "Then once he goes to relax and thinks the play is over, it drops out."

Montreal will be hoping for some more good fortune as it takes the Bell Centre ice for the first time since a 6-2 loss to Philadelphia on February 13. The Canadiens begin a three-game homestand and will also face Edmonton and Boston on the residency.

Tampa Bay currently sits four points out of a playoff spot and in 11th place in the East, but was able to put an untimely five-game skid to an end with Saturday's 6-2 rout of visiting Atlanta. Steven Stamkos led the way with a pair of goals and an assist to keep his franchise-record point streak intact, while Martin St. Louis scored once and notched a pair of helpers in the much- needed win.

Stamkos' second goal was his 40th of the season, which trails only superstars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for tops in the NHL, and the 2008 No. 1 overall draft choice has racked up 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) over a 16- game tear. Steve Downie, who assisted on Stamkos' first marker of the night, has a point in 10 straight contests and has amassed five goals and eight assists during that span.

Teddy Purcell, acquired by Tampa from Los Angeles at Wednesday's trade deadline, added a goal and an assist in his second game as a member of the Lightning. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki came through with 29 saves to improve to 17-0-0 lifetime against Atlanta.

"I thought it was a good team win out there," said Stamkos. "Nitty was great back there, the defense did a good job of moving the puck up and our forwards were tenacious."

Niittymaki was also sharp in Tampa Bay's most recent encounter with the Canadiens, stopping all 33 shots he faced in a 3-0 triumph at the St. Pete Times Forum on January 27. The Lightning also downed the Habs by a 3-1 count in Montreal back on November 7, giving the team a 2-0-1 record in its last three visits to the Bell Centre.

Wwwguysgonewild Hockey Betting News

<< Jazz open trek against Bulls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Utah Jazz hope to keep the pressure on Northwest Division-leading Denver when they begin a four-game road trip in the Windy City against a reeling Chicago Bulls team. Traditionally the Jazz don't per

<< Flyers try to continue mastery of Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will be attempting to extend their current home winning streak in tonight's matchup with a New York Islanders team they've dominated over the past few seasons from the Wachovia Center. The Flyers ha

<< Blazers welcome Kings to Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to bounce back from one of their worst defensive performances of the season tonight when they take on the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden. Carmelo Anthony posted 30 points on Sunday to

<< 2010 Big Ten Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th Annual Big Ten Conference Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 11th from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Purdue is the defending tournament champion, having topped Ohio State in l

<< Red Wings host Flames in matchup of playoff hopefuls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings will both be aiming for a third straight victory when they meet in the Motor City tonight for a battle between playoff hopefuls at Joe Louis Arena. In addition to winning two straig

Panthers aim for rare win against Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers were able to stop their longest losing streak of the season with victories in their last two games. Now the team will turn its attention towards ending a long winless drought against the Minnesota Wild wh

Canucks visit Avs in clash between Northwest's top two teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of all the games the Vancouver Canucks have played on their NHL-record 14-game road trip, tonight's contest with the Colorado Avalanche could be the most important. Northwest Division-leading Vancouver will try to extend i

Ailing Senators start up road trip in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the Ottawa Senators head to Western Canada, they hope they left a crippling flu bug behind them. The team will try to snap a three- game overall slide and pick up a sixth straight win over the Edmonton Oilers, who look to

Ducks hope to end slide in matchup with slumping Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks know that their current seven-game homestand might represent their best chance to get back into the playoff picture. However, after a less-than-stellar start to the residency, they should be happy to see the

Yankee Stadium bowl game to be called Pinstripe Bowl >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new college football bowl game to be held at Yankee Stadium starting in 2010 will be called the Pinstripe Bowl, with New Era as the title sponsor. Last September, the Yankees announced the bowl game th

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com is one of the most efficient and professional online sportsbook today. While some sportsbooks only excel during the busiest seasons, MySportsbook is an excellent choice for the player who wants year-round quality. From their baseball true dime line to their interactive wagering, MySportsbook makes sure their clients would miss them if they went elsewhere.

Players won’t find any novelties at this sportsbook. The site is clean and simple and most importantly, fast. Customer Service handles matters in an expedient manner and accounting does everything possible to assure players that they have full control of their funds. The online banking center is open 24/7 in which time Neteller payouts are processed.

Management’s background and understanding of sports gambling has helped make them pioneers in the online betting market. MySportsbook was the first betting site to offer sports wagering in the best form. Interactive wagering was first offered in 1997. Players who don’t stop wagering when the game begins consider this sportsbook a true asset.

Players who are looking for outstanding value, extensive wagering options and inexpensive payouts will appreciate what MySportsbook.com offers. Those who are looking for perks and high bonuses would be best suited in a sportsbook geared towards the regular player.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs.