Capitals, Thrashers aim to extend respective winning streaks

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Facing the possibility of playing again without star winger Ilya Kovalchuk, the Thrashers might want to ask the Capitals if they can borrow from their surplus of talented Russian skaters.

Washington's duo of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin will attempt to deny Atlanta a franchise-record sixth straight win tonight in a Southeast Division battle at Philips Arena.

While Kovalchuk could miss a second straight game because of an upper-body injury, the Capitals aren't short on overseas talent. Both Semin and Ovechkin scored in the shootout of Saturday's 5-4 victory over Carolina and combined for six points in regulation.

Semin notched a goal and three assists to give him 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) over a nine-game point streak. Ovechkin, meanwhile, ended with an assist in addition to netting his league-leading 49th goal. He is just one tally shy of becoming the first Washington skater to ever post three 50-goal seasons and has 23 goals and 45 points in 27 career games against Atlanta.

Ovechkin has scored more goals in his career against the Thrashers than any other club and has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games he has played in overall.

Mike Green also had a goal and an assist, as he leads all defenseman with 24 markers and 60 points. Jose Theodore halted 28 saves in helping Washington to its third straight win and halt a four-game home losing streak.

The Capitals did play a second straight game on Saturday without both Donald Brashear (knee) and Sergei Fedorov (illness) and both are questionable for tonight.

Having ended its home skid, the Capitals bring a five-game road winning streak into tonight's battle, its first such run since 2000-01, and begin a five-game road trip. The club is one victory shy of the franchise-record six-game road winning streak set in 1983-84.

The Southeast Division-leading Caps are 17-12-4 as the guest this season and are one point back of New Jersey for the second seed in the East.

The Thrashers were able to extend their win streak to five games on Saturday without Kovalchuk. Todd White tied the game with 3.5 seconds left in regulation to extend his point streak to five games (2 goals, 3 assists) and Brett Sterling notched the lone goal of the shootout in a 4-3 victory against Buffalo.

Kovalchuk, who leads the team with 36 goals and has 21 tallies and 49 points in 40 games versus Washington, will be re-evaluated today and is questionable.

Slava Kozlov and Marty Reasoner scored for the Thrashers, who also won five in a row from November 2-14 and have never before won six consecutive games in club history.

Kari Lehtonen halted 34 shots in the win for Atlanta, which is 13-18-2 at home after having won four of its last five as the host.

The Capitals have won four of their last five versus the Thrashers but have lost three of their last four trips to Atlanta.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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