Wild stop surging Blues
Hockey Betting Lines
03/14/2010 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu netted a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild notched a 4-2 win over the streaking St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center.
Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen both had a goal and an assist for the Wild, while Guillaume Latendresse tallied for the 25th time, extending a career-best.
Josh Harding, playing again in place of the injured Niklas Backstrom (groin), made 35 stops in Minnesota's second straight win following a four-game skid.
"We have to win the games coming up," Harding said. "We were ready to play, and we got a big win. (The Blues are) a great hockey club -- you got to give them all the credit in the world. Fortunately, we came out on top (Sunday)."
Paul Kariya and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who had won seven of their last eight to move within striking distance of a playoff berth. St. Louis stands five points behind idle Detroit for the eighth and final spot in the West.
"We're not gaining ground, everyone around us is winning," said Blues forward Keith Tkachuk. "This really hurts, no question about it. Some of the teams won today too, so it's frustrating. We have to go on a serious run to get into the playoffs."
Chris Mason stopped only 4-of-7 shots in the first period before Ty Conklin finished the game with 12 saves.
The Wild got started quickly, getting on the board at the 1:54 mark of the first period. Koivu won a faceoff in the offensive zone, and the puck drifted back to Cam Barker. Barker fired a one-timer, which Brunette redirected past Mason for the goal.
St. Louis was unable to solve Harding in the early-going, and Koivu extended Minnesota's advantage with a power play tally at the 13:12 mark of the opening frame.
Then, with 1:10 left on the clock, Latendresse completed the dominating period with his 25th goal of the year for a 3-0 Wild lead after 20 minutes.
Koivu helped turn the game into a rout with a nifty behind-the-back pass to Miettinen, who was in position to easily flick the puck into the net with 5:12 remaining in the second.
Berglund's unassisted tally on a power play with 2:51 left in the second got the Blues to within three entering the third, and Kariya made it a two-goal game with his 15th at the 6:08 mark of the final period.
Harding, though, was able to stop the remaining 12 shots in the final 20 minutes, as the Wild skated off with the victory.
Game Notes
Backstrom has missed three consecutive games...Minnesota is six points behind Detroit for the eighth spot in the conference...The Wild improved to 22-9-3 at home, while St. Louis fell to 20-11-4 on the road...The season series is tied 2-2...Martin Havlat had a pair of assists for Minnesota...St. Louis finished up a six-game road trip at 4-2-0.
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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
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