Leafs to honor Sundin before hosting Habs
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02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the best rivalries in professional sports will be rekindled tonight in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Montreal Canadiens for a Northeast Division clash at Air Canada Centre.
Before the old Original Six foes take the ice, however, the Maple Leafs will honor one of their all-time great players, Mats Sundin. The Swedish centerman will have his No. 13 jersey raised to the rafter in a ceremony prior to tonight's game.
Sundin is Toronto's all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987) and is sixth on the Maple Leafs' list in games played (981). The 40-year-old played his final NHL season with Vancouver in 2008-09 and he posted 564 goals and 1,349 points in 1,346 games with Toronto, Quebec and the Canucks.
The Maple Leafs enter tonight holding onto the eighth and final playoff seed in the East and are nine points ahead of Montreal in the conference standings, but the Canadiens have fared better in recent games. The Habs have won three in a row for the first time in months, while Toronto has suffered consecutive regulation losses on the heels of a three-game win streak of its own.
The Leafs are 2-1-0 against Montreal this year and each club has four wins over the last eight encounters in this series. The Canadiens have won two of the last three meetings at the ACC.
Montreal recorded a 4-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Thursday, giving the Habs their first three-game winning streak since a season-best four-game stretch from Oct. 26-Nov. 4. Max Pacioretty netted his first career hat trick to help lift the Canadiens at Nassau Coliseum. The big night pushed Pacioretty's team high in goals to 22 on the year.
Scott Gomez also scored -- his first goal since February 5, 2011 -- and Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadiens. Gomez goal drought has been a big story in Montreal, where fans have been less than thrilled with the highly-priced forward's lack of production.
"Obviously I want to score," said Gomez. "But the team has to win."
The victory improved Montreal's road record to 11-13-2 this season.
On the injury front for the Canadiens, defenseman Yannick Weber is questionable for tonight after missing the last game with a knee injury.
The Maple Leafs, who are just one point ahead of Washington for the eighth seed, are back for one home game after going 0-2 on their recent tour of Winnipeg and Philadelphia. After today's test against the Habs, Toronto will head out on a three-game swing.
Toronto was dealt a 4-3 loss by the Flyers on Thursday, as Scott Hartnell led the way for Philadelphia with a goal and an assist.
Tyler Bozak scored twice in the loss, while former Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul also tallied a goal. James Reimer stopped 35 shots in a losing effort.
"We didn't really start playing until the beginning of the second period. They had us on our heels," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.
The Maple Leafs have won their last three home games and are 16-8-4 as the host this year.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Buffalo Sabres will try to post their longest winning streak of the season tonight, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at First Niagara Center. Buffalo has notched wins in its last three outings and is one
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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