Ovechkin's red-hot Caps host Crosby and Pens
Hockey Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending
Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals
welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown
at Verizon Center.
The Capitals won their 13th consecutive game Friday night, extending the
franchise-record winning streak with a triumph over visiting Atlanta.
Washington comes into today with 86 points, placing the Caps one point ahead
of San Jose for the most in the NHL.
Pittsburgh, which ousted Washington in last spring's conference semifinals en
route to the Stanley Cup, has lost two of its last three games and is coming
off Saturday's loss in Montreal. The Penguins have 71 points and are three
behind New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Capitals have won the only meeting with Pittsburgh this season, notching a
6-3 victory in the Steel City on January 21. Ovechkin had two goals and an
assist to lead Washington, while Crosby had a goal for the Pens.
Ovechkin has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 17 career games against
Pittsburgh and Crosby has nine goals and 18 assists in 16 appearance versus
the Caps.
Washington has taken five of the last seven regular-season matchups with the
Penguins, but Pittsburgh has eight wins in its last 12 trips to D.C.
The Caps recorded a 5-2 victory Friday against the Thrashers, improving
Washington's record this year against Southeast Division opponents to 13-2-0.
Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and assist for the Caps, who
hold a 25-point lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the Southeast.
Michal Neuvirth made 43 saves in the victory, as Washington became the first
NHL club to win 13 in a row since the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils did so. The
1992-93 Penguins were the last club to win 14 in a row when they set an NHL
record with 17 consecutive victories from March 9-April 10, 1993.
"We want to win, but the most important thing is wins in the future," Ovechkin
said. "Right now we keep winning, but we'll think about the playoffs and we'll
think about what we have to do better in the playoffs."
Alexander Semin and Jason Chimera scored 68 seconds apart in the third period,
while Mike Green scored on an empty net to secure the game for Washington,
which hasn't lost since January 12.
Washington has won 10 straight on home ice and can set a new club record for
consecutive home wins tonight. The Capitals, who will play their next four
games on the road, are 22-3-3 as the host this year.
The Penguins were dealt a 5-3 loss by the Canadiens on Saturday afternoon.
Brian Gionta recorded two goals and one assist to lead Montreal to the home
victory.
Evgeni Malkin posted a goal and one assist for the Penguins, who had won four
of five coming in. Bill Guerin and Pascal Dupuis added scores as well.
Starter Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in the third period after allowing four
goals on 28 shots. Brent Johnson finished the contest by yielding one score on
four shots.
Pittsburgh, which is 18-12-0 as the guest this year, will begin a four-game
homestand Wednesday against the New York Islanders.
On the injury front, Pens forward Chris Kunitz, out since January 3 due to
abdominal surgery, has resumed practicing and could be back in the lineup as
soon as today. The 30-year-old has produced six goals and 14 assists in 30
games this season.
<< Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the
best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this
afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's
top squad, the Orla
<< Raptors host reeling Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home cooking figures to be key this afternoon as the
Toronto Raptors shoot for their seventh consecutive win at Air Canada Centre
against a Sacramento Kings team aiming to avoid an 11th straight road loss.
The Raptors open
<< Buckeyes host Hawkeyes in Big Ten action
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will
attempt to complete the regular-season sweep of the Iowa Hawkeyes when the two
meet in Columbus today for a Big Ten Conference clash.
Iowa is in desperate need of a vic
<< Third-ranked Orange clash with Bearcats in Big East battle
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start ever, the third-
ranked Syracuse Orange take their show on the road today to tangle with the
Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big East clash at Fifth Third Arena.
On Tuesday, the Orange squas
<< Lopez ends lengthy title drought
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Feliciano Lopez of Spain beat
France's Stephane Robert in Sunday's final at the SA Tennis Open.
Lopez, the third seed, defeated Robert 7-5, 6-1 in just over an hour to win
his second career
Canadiens invite struggling Bruins to Montreal >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to avoid tying the longest
losing streak in franchise history when they visit the rival Montreal
Canadiens for today's Northeast Division clash at Bell Centre.
The Bruins have gone the last 10 ga
England draws Wales in EURO 2012 qualifying >>
Warsaw, Poland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England will take on Wales in qualifying
after the two nations were placed in the same Euro 2012 group.
Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro were also drawn in Group G alongside
England and Wales ah
Stricker six clear after three rounds at Riviera >>
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker polished off a five-
under 66 Sunday and stretched his lead to six strokes after three rounds of
the Northern Trust Open.
Stricker, who led by five entering the day, carded a p
Italy tops Ukraine in Fed Cup quarters >>
Kharkiv, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesca Schiavone rallied from a set
down to beat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine and help defending champion Italy
secure a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.
Schiavone defeated Kateryna Bondarenko 2
Czechs win doubles match to advance in Fed Cup >>
Brno, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Czech Republic reached the
semifinals of the Fed Cup after disposing Germany in the decisive doubles
match.
The tandem of Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke defeated Anna-Lena Groenefe
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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