Panthers Down Place Club

Hockey Betting Lines

Steve Mason got the start in net for the Blue Jackets and made 25 saves.

 

Leland Irving, the 26th overall pick of the 2006 draft, made his NHL debut and stopped 39 shots. Despite the shootout, nerves weren't an issue for the 23- year-old.

 

"After the first two shots the adrenaline took over," said Irving, who was beaten twice in the shootout. "I just tried to keep it simple and not try to overplay the puck. It's kind of a blur right now. It would have been nice to get the two points, but we'll go back and look at the video and see what we can work on."

 

While the Flames are hoping to avoid their longest losing streak of the campaign, the Blackhawks will try to stretch their current run of victories to a season-high five straight. They are 6-0-1 in December and sit a point back of the Wild for first place in the Western Conference.

 

Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa both logged a goal and an assist, with Sharp having now registered seven goals and five assists over an eight-game point streak. Jamal Mayers snapped a 24-game goal drought and Dave Bolland also lit the lamp.

 

These two clubs have split a pair of meetings this year, with each team winning once on home ice. The Flames haven't won in Chicago since March 16, 2008 and the Blackhawks have won 11 of the past 14 encounters overall.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes are starting to see some success under new head coach Kirk Muller. They'll look to show the Florida Panthers just how much they've changed as the two club's battle tonight at BankAtlantic Center. The Hurricanes have posted a 2-1-1 record since a seven-game slide, one that saw the firing of Paul Maurice on Nov. 28. Muller made his debut the next night in a loss to the Panthers, the first of four setbacks in a row under the new coach.

 

Drayson Bowman scored twice and Tuomo Ruutu added a goal during a 4:45 span in the game that erased a two-goal deficit, and Jaroslav Spacek also lit the lamp. Cam Ward then made 33 saves to preserve the win, posting some key stops down the stretch.

 

Though Jeff Skinner and Joni Pitkanen remain out with concussions, Jay Harrison could return tonight for the first time in 11 games due to an upper- body injury.

 

The Panthers came into the game just 1-4 in shootouts this year and had scored just once on their 14 chances in the tiebreak. However, they got goals from Dmitry Kulikov and Stephen Weiss in last night's breakaway session, while Jose Theodore stopped three of four skaters after posting 24 saves through overtime.

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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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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .