Friday's NHL betting news & notes
Fri, Mar 16, 2007
By Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Montreal at Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. EDT). The Penguins have won three straight and five of six, while the Canadiens are two points behind eighth-place Carolina in the East.
STARS -Thursday
-Nikita Alexeev, Blackhawks, scored twice, including the deciding goal in the seventh round of the shootout, lifting Chicago to a 4-3 victory over Los Angeles.
-Daniel Sedin, Canucks, scored a power-play goal 1:09 into overtime to give Vancouver a 3-2 win over St. Louis.
-Drew Stafford, Sabres, scored twice for Buffalo in a 5-3 win over Florida.
QUICK KICKS
Chris Neil, Dean McAmmond and Jason Spezza scored goals 1:16 apart early in the third period, leading Ottawa to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. The three-goal outburst beat the previous Senators record for the fastest three goals of 1:20, set by Shawn McEachern, Andreas Dackell and Jason York in a 7-1 win over Atlanta on March 21, 2000.
SNAPPED
Buffalo snapped a season-worst, four-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over Florida on Thursday night.
SWEEP
Philadelphia swept the season series from Atlanta with a 3-2 victory on Thursday night. The Thrashers are 1-10-2 against the Flyers in Philadelphia.
SLUMPING
Washington dropped its ninth straight game with a 4-3 loss to Boston on Thursday night. The Capitals are 0-6-3 in their last nine games. The Bruins swept the season series against the Capitals, who have not won in Boston since 2000 and haven't beaten the Bruins in regulation in 10 games overall. ... Edmonton dropped its ninth straight, 2-1 to Minnesota. The Oilers have been outscored 34-7 during a skid that matches the second longest in club history. They have dropped eight straight since dealing Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders at the NHL trade deadline.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Nathan Horton had two goals for Florida in a 5-2 loss to Buffalo on Thursday night.
SPEAKING
''Mike Dunham is a great goaltender. It doesn't matter who's in net - Mike, Ricky or Martin Brodeur. If you hang him out to dry, there's not much he can do back there. It wasn't his fault.'' - New York Islanders forward Jason Blake after Thursday night's 5-2 loss to Ottawa. Dunham started in goal in place of Rick DiPietro, who is day to day after being hurt in a loss to Montreal on Tuesday night
Friday, March 16, 2007
The goalies below have been confirmed by a source:
Vesa Toskala, San Jose Sharks - Toskala is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Blue Jackets, reports the San Jose Mercury News. We should have stuck with our original guess of Toskala tonight and Evgeni Nabokov last night but an article in the Mercury News swayed us to list Toskala yesterday. In any case, he'll make his return after being shelved due to a groin injury. If Toskala falters, don't be surprised if coach Ron Wilson sticks with Nabokov for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
Marc Denis, Tampa Bay Lightning - Denis is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Sabres, reports the Tampa Tribune.
Johan Hedberg, Atlanta Thrashers - Hedberg is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Rangers, reports the Altanta Journal-Constitution.
Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins - Fleury is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Canadiens, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Jocelyn Thibault recorded a 3-0 shutout over the Devils two nights ago, so owners of both these goalies should be aware that a second straight start for Thibault is a possibility.
Fredrik Norrena, Columbus Blue Jackets - Norrena is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Sharks, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Brian Boucher will get the start on Saturday.
The goalies below have not been confirmed by any sources:
Andrew Raycroft, Toronto Maple Leafs - Raycroft is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Capitals.
Brent Johnson, Washington Capitals - Johnson is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Maple Leafs. Olaf Kolzig returned from a knee injury yesterday but is highly unlikely to start consecutive games. Even at the beginning of the season when he was healthy, the Caps coaching staff almost always split starts between their two goalies on back-to-back nights so we don't see any reason why that will change now.
David Aebischer, Montreal Canadiens - Aebischer is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Penguins.
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers - Lundqvist is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Thrashers.
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres - Miller is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Lightning.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Chicago Blackhawks - Khabibulin is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Ducks.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Ducks - Giguere is the probable starter for Friday's game against the Blackhawks.
Year-to-date: 2017 / 2122 = 95.1%
Stars activate Morrow from injured list
Fri, Mar 16, 2007
By Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars left wing Brenden Morrow was activated from the injured reserve list on Friday, nearly four months after he severed tendons in his right wrist during a game against Chicago.
The 28-year-old Morrow was sidelined Dec. 26 after he was stepped on by a skate. He participated in recent full-contact practices and is expected to play Saturday at Nashville.
Replacing Mike Modano as captain, Morrow has 10 goals and 10 assists in 28 games this season.