Caps welcome Maple Leafs to D.C.

Hockey Betting Lines

12/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will aim for their sixth straight win at home and third in a row overall, as they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs for this evening's matchup at Verizon Center.

The Capitals, who have an amazing 14-1-1 record as the host this year, have won their last five tilts on home ice. Washington has also notched back-to- back wins and recorded victories in seven of its last eight outings overall.

Washington's most-recent victory came at home on Friday night as the Caps edged Buffalo, 3-2. Alex Ovechkin scored a highlight reel goal in the third period which turned out to be the game-winner for the Caps.

Thomas Vanek's 25th goal of the year cut Washington's lead to 2-1 early in the third, but Ovechkin showed why he is the reigning league MVP with a great individual effort around the midway point of the final period.

After breaking out of his own zone, Ovechkin tipped a pass to himself while turning around a Buffalo defender at the blue-line. He then unleashed a hard shot and fell to the ground while the puck sailed past goaltender Patrick Lalime.

Boyd Gordon and Viktor Kozlov also scored while Jose Theodore turned back 22- of-24 shots for the Capitals, who lead the Southeast Division with 47 points.

Washington will close out the 2008 calendar year on the road, as it visits Buffalo on Tuesday. The Caps will then return home and begin a four-game homestand with a matchup against Tampa Bay on New Year's Day.

When the Maple Leafs beat Atlanta, 6-2, this past Monday it was the club's fifth win in six games. Toronto has since dropped back-to-back games and was outscored by a combined 12-3 margin in those setbacks.

After getting slammed 8-2 by visiting Dallas on Tuesday, the Leafs were handed a 4-1 setback Friday night on Long Island. Bill Guerin scored twice for 400 career goals to lead the Isles past Toronto.

Lee Stempniak notched the only goal for the Maple Leafs and Vesa Toskala was unimpressive in net, allowing four goals on 31 shots in taking the loss.

Toronto, which is 8-9-2 as the visiting team this year, had won two in a row on the road before losing to the Isles on Friday.

Washington earned a 2-1 road win over the Leafs on December 6 in the only meeting between the clubs so far this year. The Caps have taken two of three and four of the last six encounters overall, while Toronto has dropped four of its last six in D.C.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

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.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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