Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks
Hockey Betting Lines
02/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak, but have won two of three since pulling off a pair of trades last Sunday to acquire goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere and defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Anaheim and Calgary, respectively.
Phaneuf has started quietly, with just one assist in three games with the Leafs, but Giguere has been a revelation in net for Toronto. The veteran backstop is 2-0 with the Maple Leafs and has yet to allow a goal in posting a pair of shutouts with his new team.
Giguere stopped 30 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 home win over New Jersey, and after sitting out Friday's road game against the Devils, posted another shutout in Saturday's meeting with visiting Ottawa. Giguere once again stopped 30 shots as Toronto brought the Senators' 11-game win streak to a screeching halt with a dominant 5-0 victory at Air Canada Centre.
Giguere, a former Conn Smythe winner with the Ducks, has three shutouts on the season and 34 in his career. The 32-year-old is the first goalie in Maple Leafs history to record shutouts in his first two games with the team, and he is expected to get a crack at a third straight blanking when he gets the start again tonight.
"It's a young man's game; when you get into your 30's, you're getting old," said the 32-year-old Giguere. "It's nice to have those young guys, it's refreshing. They have a lot of energy, they're youthful. They'll make mistakes, but they're honest mistakes. We can all accept that. It's a learning process for everybody, but right now everybody is very focused."
Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn each scored twice and had an assist for the Maple Leafs. Tyler Bozak also scored for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, who are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, are just 11-12-5 as the host this year, but have won three of their last five at ACC.
San Jose, meanwhile, comes into tonight as the top team in the West with 85 points and trails Washington by just three points for most in the NHL. The Sharks have won two straight and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 outings.
The Sharks have won the first two tests of a six-game road trip that will take them into the NHL's Olympic break. San Jose earned wins in St. Louis and Nashville to improve its road mark to 19-6-2 on the season.
San Jose posted a 4-3 decision in the Music City on Saturday, as Dany Heatley's power-play goal in the third period proved to be the game-winner at Nashville's Sommet Center.
Heatley finished with two goals and an assist while Rob Blake and Brad Staubitz each lit the lamp for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 35 shots in the win.
"The ice was bad, the puck was bouncing a little bit," Heatley said. "There were a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, we took advantage of a couple of power plays."
Tonight marks the only scheduled meeting of the season between the Sharks and Leafs. San Jose notched a 5-2 home victory in the lone encounter between the teams in 2008-09 and has won three straight in the series. Each team has three wins and a tie in the seven last matchups held in Toronto.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
<< Jayhawks and Longhorns duke it out in Austin
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big 12 heavyweights collide in Austin
this evening, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the ninth-ranked Texas
Longhorns from the Frank Erwin Center.
Bill Self's Jayhawks sit atop the Big 12 stan
<< Villanova visits West Virginia in Big East showdown
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off their first Big East Conference
loss of the season, the Villanova Wildcats will attempt to get back on track
in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers this evening.
Villanova dropped a 1
<< Colonials face tall task in clash with Panthers
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Panthers take a break from
their Big East Conference schedule this evening to battle the Robert Morris
Colonials of the Northeast Conference at the Petersen Events Center in the
Steel City.
R
<< Spurs resume road trip against Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs face the toughest test of their
annual Rodeo Road Trip when they face the defending NBA champion Los Angeles
Lakers at Staples Center tonight.
Each year around this time the Spurs hit the road
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to forge a tie atop the Northwest Division standings tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues for a battle at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche have 70 points and are two behind idle Vancouv
Devils, Flyers ready to renew rivalry >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will seek his first goal in a New Jersey
Devils uniform when his new team visits the rival Philadelphia Flyers tonight
at Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series between Atlantic
Division foes.
Streaking Kings try to continue mastery of rival Ducks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will be aiming to extend a franchise-
record winning streak tonight. If recent history is any indication, the
Anaheim Ducks may not be posing much of a problem towards achieving that feat.
The Kings s
Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix
Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to
Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid
setting a franchise
Bolton's Cahill could miss remainder of season >>
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set
to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm.
The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the
weekend draw with Ful
MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.