Crosby, Pens win battle of young stars

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a battle of two of the game's top young stars, it was Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins getting the best of this installment, downing Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Mellon Arena.

Crosby finished with only an assist and Ovechkin went without a point for a bit of an anticlimactic outcome to the anticipated duel.

Instead it was Mark Recchi, Evgeni Malkin and Maxime Talbot scoring for the red-hot Penguins, who have registered a point in 16 straight games and have won six in a row. Jocelyn Thibault made 29 saves in victory.

Richard Zednik and Alexander Semin had the goals for Washington, which has dropped three straight. Brent Johnson finished with 23 stops.

The home team established a 1-0 lead 5:59 into the contest, as Sergei Gonchar's shot from the point was redirected by Recchi in front before slipping past Johnson for the power-play tally.

Washington scored in similar fashion just over a minute later to even the contest. With his team on the attack, Jeff Schultz ripped a shot from the point that caromed off Zednik and in with 12:56 to play in the opening frame.

Pittsburgh, though, countered with two unanswered goals to gain command.

With time running down in the second stanza, Malkin flew behind the net and then dished the puck to Gonchar, who fed it right back to Malkin in the right circle. The rookie center finished off the sequence with a one-timer to give his team a 2-1 advantage.

The Penguins made it a two-goal game 1:10 into the third on a one-timer by Talbot from the left circle.

The Capitals had a great chance to climb within one when Semin drew a penalty shot with 5:56 to play after being taken down from behind, but his backhand attempt rang off the post.

He made amends with 44 seconds remaining and his goalie pulled, when the left winger tucked a shot through the five-hole from the slot to make it 3-2. Thibault, though, was able to keep the Capitals off the board the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Penguins have been dominant at home as of late. The team has won eight in a row at the Igloo and own an 18-8-4 record as the host this season...Ovechkin edged out Crosby for last year's Calder Trophy honoring the NHL's top rookie...Pittsburgh has taken all three meetings with Washington this season and has won seven of the last eight games in this series.

Wwindowsmedia Hockey Betting News

<< Lens loses ground on Lyon
Monaco, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a scoreless draw at Monaco on Sunday, Lens lost ground on French Ligue 1 leaders Lyon. The team now sits 13 points behind the leaders who seem to well on their way to their sixth consecutive league

<< Hossa leads Rangers past Blackhawks
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcel Hossa's late first-period goal was the difference, as the New York Rangers edged the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden. Martin Straka also tallied for the Rangers, who have won

<< Streak snapped; Watson wins in Florida
Lutz, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Watson entered Sunday's final round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am two strokes behind co-leaders Wayne Levi and Andy Bean. Watson was also staring at an 0-for-93 career record in Florida. That's righ

<< Stewart leads '500' after 150 laps
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite falling all the way back to 40th place on lap 82, Tony Stewart is leading the 2007 Daytona 500 after 150 of 200 scheduled laps. The No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet is 0.165 seconds ahead of second-place K

<< Gearlds, Boilermakers top Badgers
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katie Gearlds poured in 41 points on 13-of-20 shooting to lead Purdue past Wisconsin, 69-60, on Sunday. FahKara Malone notched 10 points and seven assists for the Boilermakers (23-5, 12-2 Big Ten), who won thei

Barca falls to Valencia, now tied with Sevilla at top >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia vaulted into the top three with a 2-1 home win against leaders Barcelona on Sunday in Spanish La Liga action. Goals by Miguel Angulo and David Silva just after the break gave the home squad

Tu tops Harkleroad in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meilen Tu defeated Ashley Harkleroad in a battle between two Americans in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Tu took care of Harkleroad in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in just over a

Harvick edges Martin to win 2007 Daytona 500 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500. The No.29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver took the checkered flag just ahead of second-place Mark Martin as a caution flag came to end the race. The

No. 15 Baylor beats Texas >>
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Latara Darrett scored 17 points, as No. 15 Baylor beat Texas, 71-56, on Sunday. Angela Tisdale scored 12 points for the Lady Bears (23-4, 10-3 Big 12), who won their fourth straight. Bernice Mosby and Jhas

No. 11 Georgia downs Auburn >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janese Hardrick scored 20 points to lead No. 11 Georgia past Auburn, 62-55, on Sunday. Tasha Humphrey netted 14 points for Georgia (23-5, 10-3 Southeastern), which won its fourth straight. Christy Marshall ad

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.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards