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03/24/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will continue the quest for the franchise's first-ever playoff berth when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete Times Forum.
The Blue Jackets have never qualified for the postseason since entering the league as an expansion club for the 2000-01 campaign. With a franchise-record 82 points, Columbus is currently sixth in the West and five points ahead of eighth-seeded Nashville for the conference's final playoff spot.
Columbus has helped its postseason chances recently, as it has won two straight and six of its last seven games.
The Blue Jackets were last in action Saturday at Florida and recorded a 3-1 decision. Raffi Torres scored twice late in the third period as Columbus came from behind to defeat the Panthers, 3-1, at BankAtlantic Center.
Antoine Vermette added a late empty-net goal for the Blue Jackets and has registered eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in seven games since coming over from Ottawa at the trade deadline. The veteran forward has combined for 14 goals and 36 points in 69 games with the Jackets and Senators this season.
Rookie Steve Mason stopped 22 shots to improve to 30-17-3 on the year.
Columbus has won three straight on the road and is closing out a two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight. The Blue Jackets are just 15-17-4 as the visiting team this season.
With 62 points, the 14th-seeded Lightning are headed for a second straight season without a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Tampa has not fared well in the spoiler role recently, as the club has dropped three straight and seven of its last nine games.
However, the Lightning have managed to record a point in five of their last six, posting a 2-1-3 record over that stretch.
The Bolts were handed a shootout loss their last time out, losing Saturday's 4-3 decision to visiting Atlanta. Slava Kozlov scored the first goal of the game and netted the winner in the shootout, as the Thrashers edged Tampa Bay, 4-3, at the Forum.
After the first three shooters in the extra segment were turned away, Kozlov fired a wrister past the stick side of Karri Ramo. Martin St. Louis was then stopped by Johan Hedberg to end the game.
Steven Stamkos lit the lamp twice, while Vaclav Prospal had the other goal for the Lightning. Ramo turned aside 33 shots for Tampa Bay, which fell to 3-10 this season in shootouts.
St. Louis recorded an assist in the loss and has reached the scoresheet in eight straight games, notching five goals and six helpers during the run. Stamkos, meanwhile, has four goals and two assists during a five-game point streak.
The Lightning have gone winless (0-1-2) on a four-game homestand that ends tonight. Tampa has lost six in a row on home ice and is just 11-15-11 as the host this season.
Columbus has won two of the last three meetings with the Lightning, but has just one win in four all-time trips to Tampa. The clubs last met at the Forum on January 13, 2006, when the Lightning recorded a 4-2 decision.
<< Rangers host playoff-hopeful Wild
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to get back on the winning
track when they welcome the Minnesota Wild for tonight's interconference clash
at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers had won three straight and seven of nine games p
<< Capitals aim to get back in win column versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Washington Capitals will try to avoid a
second straight loss when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's
battle at Air Canada Centre.
The Capitals, who lead the Southeast Division with 96 points,
<< Oilers return home to battle powerful Red Wings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers' recent road trip didn't end with the
bang it began with. The team aims to get its offense back on track tonight,
when it hosts the Central Division-champion Detroit Red Wings at Rexall Place.
Edmonton
<< Canucks hoping to break through against slumping Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks' road woes aren't likely to end in
Dallas. The Canucks aim for just their second win in their last 10 games as
the guest versus the Stars in tonight's battle at American Airlines Center.
Although Vanc
Blues continue playoff push in home test against Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A crucial three-game homestand that could decide the St.
Louis Blues' postseason fate begins with tonight's matchup with the slumping
Los Angeles Kings.
St. Louis enters this evening's tilt in 11th place in the tightly-bun
Clijsters set to announce comeback? >>
Brussels, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 star Kim Clijsters
has scheduled a Thursday news conference amid reports she is planning a
comeback.
The 25-year-old Belgian retired from the WTA Tour in May of 2007 in ord
Marlins' new stadium passes final vote >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami-Dade county commissioners finished a
seemingly endless quest to build a baseball-only facility for the Florida
Marlins, approving the plan for a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium at the
site of
Indians option seven, including Sowers, LaPorta >>
Goodyear, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians optioned seven players
to their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus on Tuesday, including pitcher Jeremy
Sowers and outfielder Matt LaPorta.
The Indians also sent pitchers Greg Aquino
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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