Corvo records hat trick, Hurricanes storm Senators

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2008 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Corvo registered the first hat trick of his career, as the Carolina Hurricanes thumped the Ottawa Senators, 5-1, at the RBC Center.

Scott Walker posted a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who recovered from Friday's 7-1 drubbing by Buffalo to win for the sixth time in their last seven games. Eric Staal collected a season-high three assists and Sergei Samsonov had two helpers.

Cam Ward stopped 16-of-17 shots to pick up his 33rd win of the season. Ward has started 12 consecutive games, going 9-2-1 over that span.

"Points are the most important thing," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "They certainly are for us right now. It was nice the way it turned out that Joe (Corvo) had three goals and Patty (Eaves) had one. They both played good games but we needed everybody to do the same thing."

The Hurricanes have 83 points on the season and hold a five-point lead over Washington -- which downed Boston, 2-1, in a shootout on Sunday -- for first place in the Southeast Division.

Dany Heatley scored the lone goal for the Senators, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Martin Gerber allowed five goals on 32 shots in defeat.

Ottawa currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference with 87 points, two behind Montreal for first place in the Northeast Division.

The Senators had a 5-on-3 power play 2:48 into the game and quickly capitalized to grab an early 1-0 lead. As Ottawa moved the puck around the offensive zone, Jason Spezza threaded a pass from the left circle through the crease to Heatley, parked at the right post, and he tucked the puck under the left pad of Ward at the 3:16 mark.

Carolina countered with a pair of power-play goals by Eaves and Corvo and held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Hurricanes acquired the pair in a trade on February 11 that sent defenseman Mike Commodore and forward Cory Stillman to Ottawa.

Eaves tied the score at one when he parked himself in front of Gerber and redirected a point shot by Frantisek Kaberle between the goaltender's legs at the seven-minute mark. Corvo then gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead with 9:36 remaining, as he fired a slapper from the point that beat Gerber low to the glove side.

Ironically, both tallies came with Commodore in the penalty box.

At the 5:54 mark of the second period, Walker blistered a shot past the blocker of Gerber to expand the Hurricanes lead to 3-1.

Corvo netted his second goal of the game -- again on the power play -- when he wired a slap shot from the top of the right circle behind Gerber at 2:09 of the third. The defenseman then roofed a backhander over a sprawled Gerber to complete the hat trick with 2:10 remaining in regulation.

"We sat in the penalty box," Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said. "They (Hurricanes) were quicker than we were and we took penalties as a result. They were more ready to play at the start of the game it appeared. We had the five- on-three score and it looked like we were going to play okay. Then they really forced our defense all night and carried the momentum from that point on."

Game Notes

Carolina tied the four-game season series against the Sens. In all four games, the winning team scored at least five goals...Carolina has now earned points in 12 of its last 13 home games (11-1-1) dating back to January 29...Ottawa falls to 19-14-4 on the road...The Hurricanes finished 3-for-10 on the power play. The three power-play goals allowed by Ottawa tied a season high...The Senators went 1-for-5 with the man advantage...Spezza extended his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists).

Wwwtitaniccasino Hockey Betting News

<< La Liga: Barca held by Almeria
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw against promoted Almeria in Spanish La Liga action on Sunday. The draw means the Spanish giants fail to make the most of leaders Real Madrid's 1-0 defeat away to Depo

<< Woods wins it with birdie at the last
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods rolled in a 24-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole Sunday to beat Bart Bryant by a stroke and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The win was Woods' 64th on the PGA Tour, which tied him with Ben

<< UNC, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas top seeds for NCAA Tournament
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas have been installed as the top seeds for the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels (32-2), who will play out of the East region were selected as the overall No. 1 see

<< Malhotra, Blue Jackets hold off Red Wings
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist for a career-high three points, as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3, at Nationwide Arena. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Nikolai Zherdev score

<< Kozlov lifts Caps over Bruins in shootout
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Viktor Kozlov scored in the third round of the shootout, to lift the Washington Capitals over the Boston Bruins, 2-1, tightening up the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Alexander Semin scored on

Bordeaux keeps pace with Lyon >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Henrique double led Bordeaux to a 3-0 victory over Strasbourg on Sunday in Ligue 1 action. With the win, Bordeaux keeps pace with Lyon, which leads the league table by six points. In other Ligue

Alston's three-point barrage gives Houston 22nd straight win >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafer Alston hit a pair of career highs with eight three-pointers and 31 points, and the Houston Rockets won their 22nd consecutive contest in convincing fashion with a 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles

Jokinen, Panthers defeat Thrashers >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen tallied a goal and an assist as the Florida Panthers won their seventh straight game in a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at BankAtlantic Center. Radek Dvorak and Rostislav Olesz each sco

WinStar Derby goes to Liberty Bull >>
Sunland Park, NM (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liberty Bull, ridden by Gerard Melancon, overtook Screen to Screen down the stretch to win Sunday's $600,000 WinStar Derby at Sunland Park. The sixth running of Sunland Park's high-profile event had

Friberg fires 65 to win MasterCard Classic >>
Mexico City, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louise Friberg fired a seven-under 65 Sunday to come from behind and win the MasterCard Classic by one shot. Friberg, who won for the first time on the LPGA Tour, finished at six-under- par 210. The

2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.