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Panthers, Caps again do battle for first placeHockey Betting Lines02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another battle for first place in the Southeast Division is on tap tonight, as the Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers at the Verizon Center. Florida enters tonight with a one-point lead over the Capitals for the top spot in the division. The Panthers trailed Washington by one point when the clubs met last Wednesday and Florida grabbed the division lead with a 4-2 win over the visiting Caps. Washington has won the last four Southeast titles, while the Panthers have never won a division crown and haven't even qualified for the playoffs since 2000. Florida has taken two of the first three meetings with the Caps this season, but Washington has won three in a row and six of the last seven encounters in D.C. The Caps have a strong 18-7-1 record on home ice this year, while Florida is just 11-11-4 as the guest. The Panthers had won their first two games following the All-Star break before getting slammed Saturday in Tampa. The Lightning rode a hat trick from Martin St. Louis en route to the decisive 6-3 victory. Former Tampa Bay forward Sean Bergenheim ended with a goal and an assist for the Panthers, while Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Fleischmann also lit the lamp. Samuelsson had two goals in last week's win over the Capitals and has four goals and one assist during a four-game point streak. Scott Clemmensen stopped 27-of-32 shots and was pulled briefly in favor of Brian Foster, who made his NHL debut at the end of the second period. Foster stopped the only shot he faced before Clemmensen returned for the start of the final period. "We had a tough second period to say the least," Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen said. "We got off to a tough start and I think we were our own worst enemy so that was certainly the difference." With both Jose Theodore and Jacob Markstrom dealing with knee injuries, Clemmensen has started the last five games for the Panthers. Both Theodore and Markstrom are close to returning, but Foster may be used as the backup again tonight. The Capitals have lost three of four and five of their last seven games and they split a pair of tests this weekend. Washington shut out the Canadiens in Montreal in Saturday's 3-0 decision, but the Caps were dealt a 4-1 home loss by Boston on Sunday. The Bruins scored twice in the first period to take an early 2-0 lead and Tim Thomas stopped 35-of-36 shots to make the edge hold up. Marcus Johansson scored the lone goal for the Capitals in the third period and Tomas Vokoun gave up three goals on 29 shots in the loss. "We had a lot of chances, but Thomas came up big," said Washington head coach Dale Hunter. "A goalie as good as Thomas can beat you by himself some nights." Alex Ovechkin fired seven shots on net in Sunday's loss, but the Russian forward has not registered a point in two tilts since serving a three-game suspension. He has 20 goals and 27 assists in 40 career games against the Panthers and has one assist in two tests versus Florida this year. Caps forward Brooks Laich is not expected to play tonight after suffering an injured left knee against the Bruins. Washington is still without defenseman Mike Green (sports hernia) and forward Nicklas Backstrom (concussion), but defenseman Dmitry Orlov is expected to play despite getting hit in the face with pucks in both games this weekend.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils have matched their longest winning streak of the season and will try to keep rolling tonight, when they face the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Devils have u
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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though. Arizona 20-1 To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs. Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence Work left to do: Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8. Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday. DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ... West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule. Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games. For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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