Senators resume western swing with stop in Calgary

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having just picked up their first win since the Winter Olympics break, the Ottawa Senators will now try to pick up their first victory in Calgary since 2003 when they visit the Flames tonight at Pengrowth Saddledome.

The Senators dropped their first three games when the NHL returned from its two-week hiatus during the Olympics, scoring just three goals over that slide. However, they broke out on Tuesday in a 4-1 triumph over the Oilers.

Chris Kelly had a goal and an assist while Mike Fisher, Matt Cullen and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who pulled into a temporary first-place tie with Buffalo in the Northeast Division. However, the Sabres moved two points up on Ottawa with a victory over Dallas on Wednesday night.

"As soon as they got up 1-0, I thought we really buckled down and started pressuring even more," Senators coach Cory Clouston said. "Our patience paid off."

Daniel Alfredsson posted three assists and Brian Elliott made 18 saves in the victory, as the Senators kicked off a three-game tour through Western Canada by winning for the eighth time in their last 11 road games.

Ottawa defenseman Filip Kuba missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury and did not travel with the team out West.

Elliott made 27 saves in a 3-2 home victory over the Flames on February 9, with Jason Spezza's second-period goal proving to be the difference. The win snapped Ottawa's five-game losing streak to Calgary, and the Sens picked up their first win in the series since February 21, 2004.

The Senators have still lost three straight at Calgary, where they haven't won since January 9, 2003. They dropped a 6-3 test in their most recent visit to Pengrowth Saddledome last season, as the Flames' Rene Bourque notched his first career hat trick.

Bourque was also front and center of the Flames' most recent victory, a 4-2 triumph over Detroit that pushed Calgary a point ahead of the Red Wings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bourque assisted on Jarome Iginla's game-tying goal 5:45 into the third period and then netted the game-winner 91 seconds later. Chris Higgins later sealed things with an empty-net goal, while Daymond Langkow also scored in Calgary's third straight win.

"He's been playing great," Matt Stajan told Calgary's Web site of Bourque. "He's a fast guy and we've been able to do some give-and-go plays, work the corners a bit, and it's opened up some space in the offensive zone to find Jarome or find our point man."

Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves to help the Flames post their longest winning streak since a five-game run from December 28-January 5.

Iginla has four goals and three assists over his last three games and leads the club with 31 goals and 33 helpers. He had a pair of assists in February's loss to the Senators, giving him six goals and five helpers in 18 career games against them.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.