Stars jump on Jackets early, hold on

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn opened and closed the scoring, including an empty-netter in the final second, as Dallas downed Columbus, 4-2.

Stephane Robidas' goal was the final of three in the first 21-plus minutes, and Alex Goligoski also lit the lamp in the victory. The Stars won for the second time in three games overall and their third straight at Columbus. Kari Lehtonen surrendered a pair of power-play goals on 28 shots in the win.

Curtis Sanford was roughed up early, but held the Stars scoreless after the early minutes of the second period, stopping 31-of-34 shots overall. Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored for the Blue Jackets, who were trying to win three straight for the first time since last February.

Dallas wasted little time taking to the offensive, scoring two goals before many fans could find their seats. Steve Ott, stationed along the left boards, sent a pass in front that sailed across ice to Robidas, who floated a shot on net that fell in-between several skaters at the front of the net. Benn collected himself and the puck before firing a wrister past the goaltender just 1:35 into the contest. Then a wild scrum in front of the net and a fortuitous bounce of the puck led to another tally.

A straight-on slap shot by Tomas Vincour deflected off a Columbus defender's face, leaving him down on the ice and the puck in front of the net. Goligoski was in the right place at the right time, lunging with his stick to poke in the rebound at 4:21.

Early in the second period and just four seconds after a power play expired, Dallas increased its lead. Robidas lined up and launched a slap shot from out by the blue line. The rocket got by Sanford with the help of Loui Eriksson, who didn't deflect the puck but screened the goaltender by standing in front of the net in the direct line of the shot.

Columbus was down but not out, taking advantage of the power play to cut into its deficit. First, Prospal, sliding down the seam, deflected in Fedor Tyutin's centering feed with a backhand up high and past Lehtonen at 8:32. Nash was then the benefactor of picture-perfect passing several minutes later on the man-advantage.

Tyutin and Derick Brassard stretched the defense with back-and-forth feeds, and it was Brassard who fit the puck between a crowd of defenders across ice and on the back side to a streaking Nash, who deposited it in an empty net for his 18th tally of the season.

Lehtonen stopped seven shots in the third to maintain the lead and Benn scored on an empty-netter with less than a second remaining.

Game Notes

Prospal snapped a 13-game scoreless streak and extended his point streak to four games. He signed a one-year contract extension on Wednesday...Lehtonen atoned for a 4-1 loss to Columbus on December 29...Benn scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season...Dallas travels to Buffalo to play the Sabres on Friday night, while Columbus breaks up an extended home stretch with a game at Minnesota on Saturday. The Blue Jackets downed the Wild, 3-1, on Tuesday.

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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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