Lightning top Panthers in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner in the shootout and added a goal in regulation to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers at St. Pete Times Forum.

With the shootout tied at 1-1, St. Louis had the third shot for the Lightning and buried the puck between the pads of Ed Belfour to give his club the advantage.

Steve Montador had the last opportunity for Florida, but Marc Denis poked the puck off of Montador's stick to give the Lightning the win.

Ryan Craig scored the other regulation goal and Denis finished the game with 28 saves for the Lightning, who have won four of their last five games and eight of 10.

Tampa Bay and Atlanta are both tied for first place in the Southeast Division with 71 points.

Nathan Horton scored both goals and Belfour stopped 35 shots for the Panthers, who have lost two of their last three games.

The Lightning drew first blood in the contest when Andreas Karlsson threw a no-look behind the back pass from behind the net and into the slot where Craig one-timed it into the net 2:15 into the game.

The Panthers, though, tied the game just 3:15 later when Horton snapped a shot from the slot that went under the left pad of Denis.

Florida took a 2-1 lead when Martin Gelinas sent a lead pass to Horton, who got behind the Tampa Bay defense and snapped a wrist shot into the right corner of the net 10:53 into the second period.

Tampa Bay, though, tied the game in the third period when, while on the power play, Brad Richards sent a saucer pass from the left side of the net to the low slot where St. Louis tapped the disc into the net with 12:17 left in regulation.

Game Notes

The Lightning travel to Atlanta for a key Southeast Division matchup on Thursday...Florida hosts Pittsburgh on Thursday...Tampa Bay went 1-for-8 on the power play while Florida failed to score in its two chances...Tampa Bay has won three of five against Florida this season.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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