Young stars face off as red-hot Penguins entertain Caps

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NHL's two brightest young stars will go head-to-head as Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals attempt to cool down Sidney Crosby's scorching Pittsburgh Penguins in an intriguing matinee from Mellon Arena.

Pittsburgh comes in as the league's hottest team, having won five straight and 11 of its last 12 games. The surge has propelled the up-and-coming club into a fourth-place tie with Ottawa in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Penguins have also notched a point in 15 consecutive contests, recording a 13-0-2 mark over that span.

Pittsburgh's latest victory came Friday at the expense of the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils. Jarkko Ruutu netted a pair of goals and the Penguins scored three times during the first period en route to a 5-4 triumph at Continental Airlines Arena.

Crosby notched a goal and an assist to increase his league-leading point total, while Marc-Andre Fleury came up with 27 saves for the surging Pens.

Pittsburgh has racked up 23 goals during its current win streak and ranks third in the NHL with 200 total markers this season.

The Penguins have also been dominant at home as of late. The team has won seven in a row at the Igloo and own a 17-8-4 record as the host this season.

Washington has been headed in the opposite direction, as the club has gone just 4-9-2 since January 11 and is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Capitals are currently on a two-game slide after losing at Tampa Bay in a shootout on Thursday. Martin St. Louis scored the deciding goal in the third round to give the Lightning a 3-2 victory.

Dainius Zubrus had a goal and an assist and Alexander Semin recorded his 30th goal of the season for Washington, which received 27 saves from Brent Johnson in the losing effort.

Ovechkin, who edged out Crosby for last year's Calder Trophy honoring the NHL's top rookie, was kept off the scoreboard. The Russian sensation still has compiled 34 goals on the season, the fourth-highest total in the league at the moment.

Thursday's setback began a three-game road trip for the Caps, who are just 9-14-5 away from home thus far.

Pittsburgh has taken both meetings with Washington this season and has won six of the last seven games in this series. The Capitals will be trying to stop a five-game losing streak at Mellon Arena, where they haven't won since December 3, 2002.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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