Habs hope to stay hot against Oilers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens continue their push for a postseason berth when the surging club continues its current homestand with tonight's bout against the Edmonton Oilers from the Bell Centre.

Montreal has won its last three games and is 4-1-0 since returning from the Olympic break. That outstanding stretch has put the Canadiens into seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment, two behind Philadelphia for the No. 6 spot and two ahead of rival Boston in the pecking order.

The Habs continued their strong play with Tuesday's 5-3 triumph over Tampa Bay in the opener of this three-game residency. Mathieu Darche scored twice and Scott Gomez recorded a goal and two assists to lead the offense, while Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves in a solid showing between the pipes.

"It's a big win for us after playing four games on the road," Darche said afterward. "The two goals were extra nice for me."

Gomez has had a big part in Montreal's recent spark, as the veteran centerman has notched five goals and 10 assists over his last 11 games.

The Canadiens can match their longest winning streak of the season with a victory over the rebuilding Oilers, who enter tonight's clash with an NHL-low 48 points and are a dismal 8-21-2 on the road for the season. Edmonton has dropped 13 of its last 14 tests as the guest.

The Oilers had began a string of three straight home outings with back-to-back wins over Minnesota and New Jersey, but were handed a 4-1 loss by Ottawa on Tuesday in the finale of the stand. The Senators scored three times in the third period to break open a tie game.

Goaltender Jeff Deslauriers compiled 35 saves for Edmonton, which was outshot by a 39-19 margin for the night. Fernando Pisani netted the lone Oilers goal early in the second period.

"J.D. played great to keep us in it," Edmonton center Sam Gagner said of Deslauriers. "If we're not disciplined, it's tough to bring it back. We have to try and get better."

The Oilers may be without one of their leading scorers for this evening's matchup after forward Patrick O'Sullivan left Tuesday's loss after being slashed on his left hand in the opening period. The 25-year-old wing, who has posted 10 goals and 21 assists in 65 games this season, is considered questionable to dress tonight.

O'Sullivan had a goal in the Oilers' 3-2 verdict over the Canadiens in Edmonton back on October 10, the team's second win in its last three encounters with the Habs. Montreal has taken two straight and four of the last five meetings between the clubs held at the Bell Centre, however.

Sportsgook Hockey Betting News

<< Report: Roberts out at St. John's
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Norm Roberts is reportedly out as head coach at St. John's after six seasons with the Red Storm. The New York Post cited sources within the university as saying Roberts won't be back for the 2010-11 season.

<< Thrashers try to end slide in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will be out to halt a poorly-timed three-game losing streak in tonight's matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets from Nationwide Arena. Atlanta had put itself in the Eastern Conference playoff mix with

<< Surging Irish set sights on Panthers in tournament play
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a surprising regular-season showing, the 16th-ranked and second-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers now begin their run in the Big East Tournament tonight against the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the

<< Wildcats and Golden Eagles square off in Big East Tourney
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that have a history of playing close games meet in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament today, as the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles battle the fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Villanova

<< Orange and Hoyas clash in Big East quarterfinals
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked and top-seeded Syracuse Orange make their much anticipated debut in the Big East Tournament today, as they lock up with the 22nd-ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the quarterfinals at

Golf Tidbits: Where has Stuart Appleby's game gone? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the top-ranked Australian in the world, Stuart Appleby has plummeted in the world rankings as his winless streak stretches into its fourth season. Appleby owns eight PGA Tour titles, including three s

Blazers hit the road to Golden State >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to keep their playoff aspirations alive, the Portland Trail Blazers will hit the road for back-to-back games starting with tonight's showdown against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena. Portland is e

Lightning hope to get on track versus Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will aim for just their second win in eight games when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada Centre. The Lightning are only five points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conf

Hawks hope to snap funk in DC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to avoid a third straight loss when they wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday night against the Southeast Division-rival Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. Atlanta is winless so far

Blues visit Islanders at Nassau Coliseum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to get back on track tonight when they visit the New York Islanders for an interconference clash at Nassau Coliseum. The Blues pushed their winning streak to a season-high five games by posting

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards