Koivu lifts Wild over Stars in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu scored the lone goal of the shootout, as the Minnesota Wild nipped the Dallas Stars, 2-1, at XCel Energy Center.

Brian Rolston scored in regulation for the Wild, who won for the fourth time in six games. Niklas Backstrom stopped 23 shots, including all three in the shootout, to post his 11th win of the year.

Niklas Hagman tallied for the Stars, who lost for the second time in their last six games. Marty Turco made 38 saves in the loss.

The speedy Finn's game-winner came as he made a quick move from the forehand to the backhand just outside the crease, and roofed the puck an instant before Turco could sweep it away on a poke-check.

"I tried to change it up because the goaltenders are pretty much aware of what's coming and it's good to have a few moves," Koivu said of his nifty score.

Rolston tallied the first goal of the night for the Wild on a power play with 1:40 left in the second period. Koivu took the puck away from Turco behind the net, turned and slipped it to the winger, who hit the net for his 26th goal of the season.

Dallas came right back 39 seconds later on Hagman's tally, and the 1-1 deadlock would last until the deciding shootout score.

"Both teams wanted the two points, and it was another hard-fought battle between the two clubs," Turco said. "I think we're both happy we don't see each other the rest of the year."

Game Notes

Dallas has won nine of the last 12 meetings, and won three of the four matchups between the teams this season...There were only four penalties whistled in the game, three to the Stars...Minnesota travels to Colorado on Thursday, and Dallas hosts Anaheim on Friday.

Sndbox Hockey Betting News

<< Lightning top Panthers in shootout
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

<< Senators shoot past Oilers
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dean McAmmond was credited with the game-winning goal in the shootout and the Ottawa Senators escaped a late rally to defeat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, at Scotiabank Place. Dany Heatley, Mike Fisher and Dan

<< Devils edge Rangers in chippy affair
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise scored the game-winning goal in the third period and Martin Brodeur made 35 saves, as the New Jersey Devils edged the New York Rangers, 2-1, in the start of a home-and-home series.

<< Higgins, Ryder lead Habs over Caps
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder netted two goals each to guide the Montreal Canadiens past the Washington Capitals, 5-3, at the Bell Centre. Garth Murray added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds and

<< Nebraska falls to Iowa State
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Megan Ronhovde scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds, as Iowa State defeated 25th-ranked Nebraska, 64-53, at Hilton Coliseum. Lyndsey Medders poured in 13 points and had nine boards for the Cyclones (

Parker and Spurs knock off Denver >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker led a balanced San Antonio attack with 17 points, as the Spurs routed the Denver Nuggets, 95-80, for their third straight win. Manu Ginobili added 14 points and Tim Duncan scored 12 f

Williams advances to quarters in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded American Venus Williams advanced into the quarterfinals of the $175,000 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Denmark

Kruger leads UNLV past No. 14 Air Force >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kruger scored 14 points and added 10 assists to help the UNLV Rebels to a 60-50 victory over the 14th-ranked Air Force Falcons at Thomas & Mack Center. Joel Anthony added 10 points and nine re

Stastny and Avs down Calgary >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny scored two power-play goals during a high-powered first period and Peter Budaj made 33 saves, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, at Pepsi Center. Milan Hejduk tallied

No. 23 Louisville explodes in second half to crush St. John's >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel McCoughtry scored 21 points and ripped down 14 rebounds as 23rd-ranked Louisville crushed Big East foe St. John's, 91-62. Helen Johnson also scored 21 points while Jazz Covington tallied 17 for t

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards