Thrashers' playoff push resumes in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will shoot for a third straight victory when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Thrashers have won two straight since the NHL came back from the Olympic break. Atlanta hasn't won three in a row since it tied a season with a four- game winning streak from November 25-30.

Atlanta comes into Saturday tied with the New York Rangers and Montreal for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning are three points behind in 11th place.

The Thrashers are coming off Thursday's decisive victory over the visiting New York Islanders, in which Nik Antropov scored twice and a pair of newcomers paid immediate dividends in Atlanta's 6-3 win.

Forwards Clarke MacArthur and Evgeny Artyukhin both lit the lamp in their Thrashers debuts. Atlanta acquired the towering Artyukhin from Anaheim on Monday and picked up MacArthur in a deal with Buffalo prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.

Niclas Bergfors and Maxim Afinogenov each registered a goal and an assist for Atlanta, which is 6-2-1 in its last nine games at Philips Arena. The Thrashers are just 13-14-6 on the road this season.

"It's important to get all the new guys going," Bergfors said. "It's always easier to settle in as a new guy when the team is winning."

Johan Hedberg stopped 34 shots in the win and is expected to start again for Atlanta tonight.

The Lightning, meanwhile, have lost five straight contests, including two in a row since the Olympic break.

After getting slammed by Philadelphia in a 7-2 loss on Tuesday, the Bolts dropped a 5-4 regulation decision Thursday night in Washington. Scott Walker scored a pair of third-period goals to lead the Capitals to the close win.

Vincent Lecavalier netted two scores for the Lightning, while Mike Smith was beaten five times on 34 shots to suffer the loss.

Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie got the other Tampa goals to extend impressive point streaks. Stamkos is carrying a franchise-record 15-game scoring streak, while Downie kept a nine-game streak intact.

Tampa Bay is 17-8-6 as the host this year and will try to avoid a third straight home loss tonight.

This evening's test marks the final regular season meeting between Tampa and Atlanta. The Lightning have won four out of five in the season series, but the clubs have split the last 10 overall encounters overall. The Thrashers have lost two straight and eight of their last 12 in Tampa.

Wwraceo Hockey Betting News

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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