Gratton, Panthers pound Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

02/25/2007 - Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Gratton scored twice and added an assist, to lead the Florida Panthers to a 7-2 pounding of the Boston Bruins at BankAtlantic Center.

Stephen Weiss had a goal and two assists for the Panthers, who ended a two- game slide. Ed Belfour turned aside 25 shots in the victory while Juraj Kolnik finished with three helpers.

Marc Savard and Brad Boyes each tallied a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Tim Thomas started between the pipes for Boston and was pulled after the first period, allowing three goals on 19 shots. His replacement, Hannu Toivonen did no better and allowed four goals on 33 shots.

Florida took control early, scoring three goals in the opening 20 minutes.

The Panthers drew first blood and grabbed a 1-0 lead after Ville Peltonen tallied his 11th goal of the season 4:33 into the contest. From the top of the left circle, Peltonen unleashed a quick wrister that slipped past Thomas on his glove side.

Florida capitalized off a two-man advantage to up its lead to 2-0 at 7:19 of the first after Weiss slammed home a rebound in front off a Martin Gelinas shot.

With just 49 ticks left in the opening period, Nathan Horton extended the Panthers' lead to 3-0 after scoring his 22nd goal of the season. On the penalty kill, Weiss broke up a pass in the neutral zone and dashed into the Boston zone up the right wing. From down low, Weiss then slid a pass across to Horton, who one-timed the feed past a diving Thomas.

With 8:32 left in the middle session, Gratton made it a four-goal game with his 10th goal of the campaign.

Less than 1 1/2 minutes later, Olli Jokinen cranked a slap shot from the left circle that beat a screened Toivonen to make it 5-0.

Two goals by Savard and Boyes separated by 48 seconds in the second pulled the Bruins to within three goals at 5-2. Both goals came on the power play with Savard's coming off a two-man advantage.

Gelinas scored a power-play goal 5:35 into the final frame to make it 6-2 and Gratton gave Florida a five-goal cushion, netting his second goal of the contest at the 7:12 mark of the period.

Game Notes

Florida is 4-0 against the Bruins this year and has taken six straight in the series...The Panthers outshot the Bruins, 52-27...Savard extended his point streak to eight games while Boyes has recorded at least a point in four straight...The Bruins announced earlier on Saturday that they have agreed on a contract extension with left wing Marco Sturm. Boston also placed Glen Murray on injured reserve with a lower body injury and claimed goaltender Joey MacDonald off waivers from Detroit.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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