Toronto knocks off dreadful Philly

Hockey Betting Lines

02/25/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff O'Neill and Alex Steen both had a goal and an assist, as the Toronto Maple Leafs got back on the winning track with a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.

Chad Kilger, Mats Sundin and John Pohl also scored for the Maple Leafs, who had dropped two straight and five of their last seven games (2-2-3) entering the contest.

Bryan McCabe notched three assists for Toronto, which was coming off a close loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday. Thursday's test kicked off a three-game road trip for the Maple Leafs, who are 18-10-4 as the visitor this season. Andrew Raycroft blocked 22 shots in the win.

Sami Kapanen and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers, who have dropped four straight contests. Michael Leighton stopped 25 shots for the Flyers, who have been dreadful at home this season, going just 5-18-7 in the City of Brotherly Love.

Steen got Toronto going in the first when he took a feed from O'Neill across the slot and wristed the puck to the stick side 11:16 into the period.

Steen next took a wrister from the left circle and handcuffed the goaltender, allowing O'Neill to fire a wrister on an empty net from 10 feet out 12:57 into the second.

At the 18-minute mark of the second, Kilger took a breakaway pass from Tomas Kaberle. He faked like he was going to go backhand, and powered the puck past the netminder for a 3-0 Toronto lead.

Kapanen got Philly on the board 46 seconds later. He kept it at the left point and then fired a slap shot from the top of the left circle low glove side, to cut the Flyers' deficit to two goals at the second intermission.

The Leafs upheld control out of the locker room. Sundin redirected the puck off the netminder's pad and into the net for a 4-1 Toronto lead 8:41 into the third.

Toronto's last goal came when McCabe passed the puck across the slot and Pohl one-timed it just beneath the crossbar 18:50 into the third.

Gagne got his 34th goal and 11th this month just 28 seconds later, on a wraparound wrister scored on the glove side for the final margin.

Neither team utilized the man-advantage, as Toronto finished 0-for-2, while Philly was 0-for-3 on the power play.

Game Notes

Sundin got his 522nd goal tying Pat Verbeek for 29th place on the career regular-season NHL goals list...Toronto is 3-0 against the Flyers this season and has taken five straight and seven of the last eight meetings overall...After the game, the Flyers dealt defenseman Alexei Zhitnik to the Atlanta Thrashers for defenseman Braydon Coburn.

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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.