11/18/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Tocchet will make his home debut as Lightning head coach tonight, when Tampa Bay hosts the Florida Panthers in a Southeast Division clash at St. Pete Times Forum.
Tocchet is taking over on an interim basis for Barry Melrose, who was fired just 16 games into his stint as head coach. Hired in the offseason after having not coached since the 1994-95 season, the Lightning went 5-7-4 under Melrose before he was let go last Friday.
Tocchet's first game on the bench came in Carolina on Sunday and ended with a 3-2 shootout loss. The Hurricanes' Tuomo Ruutu and Rod Brind'Amour both beat netminder Mike Smith in the extra session, while both Vincent Lecavalier Jussi Jokinen were stopped by Cam Ward.
Martin St. Louis and Lecavalier each had a goal while Smith made 28 saves for the Lightning, who have lost four straight and six of seven overall. Tampa's current skid includes a 4-0 loss to the Panthers in Florida last Wednesday. Smith made 27 saves in that one, falling to 0-2-0 with a 2.99 goals against average lifetime against Florida.
Tampa's test against the Panthers tonight begins a four-game homestand for the club, which is 2-3-3 as the host this year.
Florida netminder Craig Anderson has started the last three games, a run that began with a shutout victory over the Lightning, but after stopping 68-of-69 shots in back-to-back wins he lasted just 22 minutes in Friday's 3-2 loss to Detroit.
Anderson, whose blanking of the Lightning last week was his first of the season, allowed two goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun, hampered by back spasms recently, stopped 18-of-19 shots faced.
Richard Zednik had a goal and an assist to pace the Panthers, who have dropped seven of their last nine games (2-6-1) after beginning the year 4-3-0. Stephen Weiss netted the tying goal with 8:09 remaining in the middle frame.
Florida will now try to improve on its 2-6-1 road mark tonight as it plays the first of three straight away from home. That trek also includes visits to New Jersey and Boston.
Vokoun is 0-5-0 with a 3.67 GAA in five road starts this year, but 5-5-0 with a tie and a 2.74 GAA in 12 career games versus Tampa Bay. Anderson, meanwhile, is 1-1-1 with a 1.31 GAA against the Lightning.
The Panthers lost three of four at St. Pete Times Forum last year.
<< Badgers and Cougars do battle in Madison
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers are extremely
tough to beat at home, and they are heavily favored in tonight's non-
conference clash against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.
SIU-Edwardsville opened its season in
<< Aggies seek upset of 19th-ranked Trojans
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked USC Trojans of the Pac-10
Conference are set to host the New Mexico State Aggies of the Western Athletic
Conference this evening.
New Mexico State opened its season on Saturday with a 79-52
<< Vols and Skyhawks meet in intrastate matchup
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will try
to remain perfect in the early stages of this new season when they host the
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks this evening at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Skyhawks open
<< Boilermakers take on Ramblers in NIT Season Tip-Off
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will
try continue their impressive start to the season, as they host the Loyola-
Chicago Ramblers in the North Regional finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at
Mackey Arena t
Pens, Malkin shoot for seventh straight win in clash with Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin and the sizzling Pittsburgh Penguins will aim
for a seventh straight victory when they welcome the Minnesota Wild for
tonight's interconference battle at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins have posted a perfect 6-0 r
Habs visit Hurricanes, RBC Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to win back-to-back games
for the first time in over two weeks when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes
for tonight's test at RBC Center.
The Canadiens posted just their second win in six gam
Oilers hope to halt slide in road test against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will try avoid a fourth consecutive
loss when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for tonight's matchup at
Nationwide Arena.
The Oilers were dealt their third straight loss Monday evening in Detroit, a
Flames host Avs to open home-and-home set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames seek their third straight win over the
Colorado Avalanche, as the clubs open a home-and-home set tonight in Canada at
Pengrowth Saddledome.
After dropping five of eight versus the Avalanche last year, in
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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