Kovalchuk, Devils clip Pens to tighten Atlantic race

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk posted a goal and two assists and Martin Brodeur stopped 34 shots as New Jersey clipped Pittsburgh, 3-1, at Prudential Center.

Patrik Elias and Andy Greene also scored for the Devils, who have won two in a row and climbed to within two points of Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division lead.

Sidney Crosby tallied the lone goal for the Penguins, who dropped their second in a row after winning four straight. Marc-Andre Fleury was tagged for three goals on 32 shots in defeat.

Greene's sizzling one-timer off a long rebound put the Devils up 2-1 at the 2:06 mark of the third period, then New Jersey assumed a two-goal edge on a disputed play.

Kovalchuk fired a floating wrister from near the bottom of the right circle, and Fleury appeared to have the shot tracked into his glove -- until Devils forward Travis Zajac skated in and pushed the glove away from the puck, allowing it to sail into the back of the net.

Despite Fleury's animated protests that he was the victim of interference, it was 3-1 at 9:59.

The Pens, who failed to convert a pair of power plays in the third, went with an extra attacker for the final 1:29 of regulation to no avail.

Elias ripped a shot past Fleury 1:43 after the opening faceoff, but Crosby converted a 2-on-1 just 42 seconds later.

The Devils had a prime chance to seize control of the game just over four minutes into the second period when Pittsburgh forward Craig Adams was given a major for boarding and a game misconduct for illegally checking defenseman Martin Skoula.

New Jersey failed to score, and didn't test Fleury during the entire advantage.

Kovalchuk was then dragged down from behind on a breakaway with 1:49 left in the second period and was awarded a penalty shot, but wristed the puck into Fleury's pads.

Game Notes

New Jersey has won all five meetings this season, and six of the last seven over Pittsburgh since January, 2009...The Devils play at the Islanders on Saturday and the Penguins are in Tampa on Sunday.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.