Spezza lifts Ottawa over Nashville

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Spezza netted two goals and added an assist, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Place.

Chris Phillips -- playing in his 1,000th NHL game -- contributed in a big way with a pair of goals, while Milan Michalek and Bobby Butler added a pair of assists apiece for the Senators, who snapped a seven-game skid. Alex Auld made 24 saves in the victory.

Martin Erat had a goal and an assist, while Patric Hornqvist and Gabriel Bourque scored and Ryan Suter added two assists for the Predators, who have dropped three of their last four. Pekka Rinne was tagged for all four goals on 29 shots.

Ottawa struck first at 4:46 of the opening period when Spezza accepted a pass on the left wing, crossed the blue line with speed and wired a quick wrister high past Rinne.

Nashville answered to tie the game at 18:46 of the first frame after Bourque buried a wrister past Auld off a nice drop pass in the slot from Jordan Tootoo.

Phillips picked up his first tally of the game at 7:50 of the second frame when he took a feed from Suter and snapped a wrister home from the slot to give the Sens the lead back at 2-1.

But, the Preds tied it at two with a power-play tally at 12:40 of the second frame when Ryan Suter let a simple wrist shot go from the left point that was deflected past Anderson by a perfectly-positioned Hornqvist in front.

The Senators though, responded with a power-play goal of their own with 1:05 to play in the second period as a result of some sloppy play by Nashville in its defensive zone.

After winning a faceoff to the left of Rinne, Nick Spaling attempted to take the puck around behind the net, but it was knocked off his stick and put home by Spezza amid a mad scramble in front.

Ottawa added a second power-play tally at 13:35 of the final stanza when Suter put a slap shot on net from the right point that was stopped by Rinne, but Phillips was there to stuff home the rebound for his second goal of the game and a 4-2 Sens lead.

Erat jammed home a rebound from in close with just 10 seconds left in regulation to pull Nashville to within 4-3, but it was too little, too late as the Sens held on for the win.

Game Notes

Nashville fell to 26-3-3 when scoring more than two goals,..Predators' forward Mike Fisher played his first game in Ottawa since being traded to Nashville last season. Fisher was taken by the Senators in the second round of the 1998 draft and played 10 full seasons with the club. He finished with a plus-1 rating in 17:36 of ice time...Nashville finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Senators went 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

Wwvirtualvegas Hockey Betting News

<< Richards lifts Rangers over Lightning in OT
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Richards scored 2:37 into overtime, lifting the New York Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle also scored for the R

<< Tennessee State shocks Murray State, topples nation's last unbeaten
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - And then there were none. Murray State, the last undefeated NCAA Division I team, fell to Tennessee State, 72-68, on Thursday. The ninth-ranked Racers (23-1, 11-1 OVC) had already clinched the best s

<< Stars jump on Jackets early, hold on
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

<< Clemmensen, Panthers beat Kings for first time in almost a decade
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen made 22 saves as the Florida Panthers earned their first win over the Los Angeles Kings in nearly 10 years with a 3-1 victory on Thursday. Sean Bergenheim, Mike Santorelli and Matt Bradl

<< Jets rally late, beat Capitals in shootout
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Little scored the game-winner in a shootout, as the Jets used a late surge to earn a 3-2 comeback win over the Capitals on Thursday. Trailing 2-0 with less than three minutes to play, Winnip

Indiana pulls away from Illinois >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Zeller dropped a game-high 22 points to lead four Hoosiers in double figures as Indiana rolled past Illinois, 84-71, at Assembly Hall on Thursday. Christian Watford, Victor Oladipo, and Jorda

Canucks keep Wild reeling >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Sedin played two days after taking a puck off his ankle and scored a goal, and the Vancouver Canucks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Daniel Sedin had a goal and an a

Rockets use strong bench effort to down Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola scored 16 points and the Rockets, aided by a strong bench effort, downed the Suns, 96-89, on Thursday. All five Houston bench players who entered the game reached double figures, led by Patric

Detroit shocks unbeaten Green Bay >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay hadn't lost since a setback last February to Detroit. On Thursday night, history repeated itself. Shareta Brown scored 24 points and Senee Shearer added 23, as the Detroit Titans ended

Curry leads Golden State past Denver >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Curry poured in 36 points, including six treys, as Golden State downed slumping Denver, 109-101, at Pepsi Center. Klay Thompson added 19 points off the bench, Dorell Wright had 15 points and Monta Elli

NFL Football Office Pools : NFL Football Contests

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

Welcome to our free football office pool page. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

Football Pickem Pools: Your basic office pool format, where you pick the winner of each game, either against the spread or straight up. Spice up your pool by using confidence ranks, key picks, and other options. Pick 5 pools available. You can print NFL Football Office Pools here. Custom ranks available. Custom point spreads. Use Pro and/or College games, even D1AA games can be included. Many many other options.

Football Survivor Pools: Also known as Knockout, Suicide, Eliminator, Survival and Loser pools. Pick one team each week. If they win you advance to the next round. If they lose, you're out. The catch: You can only pick a team once. Many options like Pick a Team Only [Once,Twice,Unlimited], [1,2,3,4,5] Strikes and You're Out, Double Picks, Bye Weeks, Alias Entries and more. Very easy to set up and manage.

Football Share Pools: Pick college and/or pro football game winners using Vegas odds in our own unique Share Pool format. Accumulate points by picking pointspread and over/under winners. Risk as many points as you want on any game. The person with the most points (shares) at the end wins. Perfect for the Playoffs and Bowl Seasons.

Fantasy Football Pools: Fantasy football pool managers love our easy to use interface and custom settings. Points and head to head leagues, custom points, offline drafts, live scoring, waiver wire, trades and more. Live customer service by email or phone. $50 flat fee.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.