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02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There may not be a more confident goaltender in the league right now than Nashville's Pekka Rinne. Vancouver should have plenty of positive feelings heading into Tuesday night after the way it won its last game.
The Predators look for their seventh victory in eight games and seventh in a row at home as they take on the Northwest Division-leading Canucks.
Nashville has posted the best record in the league since Dec. 28, going 14-3-0 and outscoring its opponents 55-33 in that span. Saturday's 3-1 triumph over St. Louis put the Predators a point ahead of the Blues for second place in the Central Division and Nashville enters tonight four points behind front-running Detroit for the most in the NHL.
Rinne has been a huge part of the Predators' recent run. He made a season-high 42 saves versus the Blues to extend his franchise-record win streak to 11 straight games. He made 19 of those stops in the third and hasn't lost since Jan. 5, giving up more than two goals just once over his win streak.
"I think the biggest thing is as a team we're playing consistent and well defensively," Rinne said of his win streak. "Confidence-wise, we have momentum going for us and we've been getting these one-goal games and a couple of huge comeback games. I think those kind of things just glue the whole team together and builds your confidence."
Rinne is just the fifth netminder since 1998-99 to post 11 straight victories in a season and he is 14-1-0 since Dec. 28 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
Martin Erat scored a goal and assisted on tallies by Sergei Kostitsyn and Mike Fisher for the Predators. Erat and Fisher both have 16 points in their past 17 games, while Kostitsyn has 15 in that span.
Vancouver comes in having won four of five while going 6-1-2 in its past nine, though it seemed like it was on its way to a regulation loss on Saturday in Colorado. The Canucks trailed by a goal late and the Avs' T.J. Galiardi sent the puck towards Vancouver's open net looking to seal things up.
However, Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa dove to prevent the puck from going in and then sent the game into overtime when he scored with 34.1 seconds to play. Mason Raymond then netted the lone goal of the shootout for an improbable 3-2 win.
"I just tried to put my body in front of it because it was a rolling puck and the ice was obviously bad, so I didn't want to risk swinging at it with my stick," said Bieksa.
"Then once we got into their zone, I'm not too sure what the puck hit, most likely a stanchion, but I just tried to put it on net because we had a pretty good screen in front."
Roberto Luongo made 44 saves for the Canucks, who own an 11-point lead in their division and trail the Red Wings by three in the overall NHL standings. Vancouver also moved to 4-11-5 when trailing after two periods this season.
Ryan Kesler netted his 16th goal of the season for the Canucks, giving him four tallies and an assist over a five-game point streak as well as goals in three straight.
The Canucks and Predators have split a pair of meetings so far this year, with both taking place in Vancouver. The two teams have combined for 17 goals in those encounters, though the Canucks' Daniel Sedin and Fisher are the only two skaters with multiple goals.
Sedin has five points in the two games and twin Henrik has four off a goal and three assists, while Colin Wilson is pacing the Preds with a goal and three helpers in the two meetings.
The Canucks have won six of their past eight during the regular season in Nashville, where the clubs are meeting for the first time since last season's Western Conference semifinals that Vancouver won in six games.
<< Surging Bolts host low-scoring Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kings have struggled to score goals over the first two
games of their season-long road trip, failing to earn a point despite
excellent goaltending.
In fact, Lightning forward Martin St. Louis had more goals in his last
<< Elliott returns to Ottawa as Blues visit Sens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators decided last season that they wanted to
upgrade their goaltending position. Now the man that they dealt away reappears
in town as an All-Star.
Brian Elliott makes his return to Scotiabank Place this eve
<< Pens close out road trip with test against Habs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have gone through a rough patch to
begin February, but they'll try to get back on track tonight when they visit
the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
The Penguins ended January on an eight-game
<< Panthers, Caps again do battle for first place
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another battle for first place in the Southeast Division is
on tap tonight, as the Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers at the
Verizon Center.
Florida enters tonight with a one-point lead over the Capitals for the
Lehtonen, Stars welcome Coyotes to Big D >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time that Kari Lehtonen faced the Coyotes, the
Stars netminder suffered an injury that temporarily derailed his solid season.
The Finn has finally begun to find his form once again and carries a personal
three-gam
Sliding Blackhawks aim to get back on track in Denver >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to remain positive, but
that has been tough to do over their longest losing streak of the season. The
Colorado Avalanche are going through the same struggles, but at least the
'Hawks are stil
Zvonareva, Hantuchova advance; Cibulkova exits Pattaya Open >>
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Vera Zvonareva
and reigning titlist Daniela Hantuchova posted first-round wins, while second-
seeded Dominika Cibulkova came up a loser Tuesday at the $220,000 Pattaya Open
tennis tou
Flyers seek rebound effort against Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to rebound after a dismal
weekend when they host the New York Islanders for tonight's Atlantic Division
battle at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers played divisional opponents on back-to-b
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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