12/03/2008 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Shark Tank.
Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for the red-hot Sharks, who won their eighth consecutive game. Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves in the victory.
Nikolai Kulemin and Niklas Hagman scored for the Maple Leafs, who saw their brief two-game win streak halted. Vesa Toskala allowed five goals on 30 shots in the loss.
The game marked the return of longtime Sharks coach Ron Wilson to San Jose. Wilson, who is currently coaching the Leafs, took over as head coach of San Jose during the 2002-03 season and helped engineer a quick turnaround. After finishing that season in last place in the Pacific Division, Wilson's Sharks never finished lower than second place over the next four seasons and he is the club's all-time leader in wins with 206. He was fired in May.
The Sharks quickly grabbed a 1-0 lead on Setoguchi's goal 1:15 into the opening period. Thornton held control at the left point and fluttered a backhand pass towards the near circle. Setoguchi swooped in, gained control and lifted a soft backhander from near the left post that somehow found its way past Toskala.
A rather strange sequence of events led to a 2-0 Sharks lead at the 6:35 mark of the first period. A shot on goal missed high, hit the rear boards, bounced back, hit the goaltender's water bottle on top of the net, then hit the crossbar, bounced into the air and fell into the crease under Toskala. With several players from both teams in the crease fighting for control of the puck, one of Thornton's whacks was eventually enough and the disc slid underneath the Toronto netminder and over the goal line.
"I thought it was going to stay on top of the net, and I took a bat at it and it went in. Lucky bounce," said Thornton.
A pair of San Jose goals within a 68-second span in the latter stages of the first period -- one by Boyle and a power-play tally by Vlasic -- pushed the San Jose lead to 4-0.
"We came out real strong," said Thornton. "Really, the game was over after the first 10 minutes. It was a good game by us."
Midway through the middle session, Kulemin got the Leafs on the scoreboard with his fifth goal of the season via a rebound one-timer from the lower right circle after a shot by Hagman from the high slot was saved.
At the four-minute mark of the final stanza, Pavelski's short-handed goal gave San Jose a 5-1 advantage. Toronto blueliner Tomas Kaberle fell down while skating backwards and the miscue led to a 2-on-1 break. Pavelski skated with the puck down the right-wing side with Milan Michalek on the opposite wing. Pavelski faked a pass across the slot, cradled the puck back to his forehand and lit the lamp from inside the right circle.
Hagman's goal with 34 seconds remaining in regulation capped the scoring.
Game Notes
With this win, the Sharks set a league record for the most standings points (43) after the first 25 games of a season...Setoguchi has 13 goals this season...San Jose is 21-3-1 in 2008-09 and has not lost in regulation since November 9 at Phoenix...The Sharks were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Leafs were held scoreless on their four chances with the extra skater.
<< Jazz fend off Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Korver scored 15 points off the bench
to lead the Utah Jazz to a 99-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Paul Millsap added 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Jazz, who
have won four o
<< Stars win despite Avery's suspension
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabian Brunnstrom's second-period tally proved
to be the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-1,
at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Toby Petersen and Loui Eriksson also scored for the St
<< Lisin nets a pair as Coyotes rally past Kings
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Enver Lisin scored twice in the third period
to lead the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Shane Doan also scored for the Coyotes, who have won three of their last four
games on the
<< Briere returns to lineup for Flyers, but leaves against Bolts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel
Briere returned to the lineup for Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa
Bay Lightning.
Briere missed the last nine and 14 of the previous 16 ga
Lakers aim to bounce back from first road loss vs. Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to rebound from their first
road loss of the season tonight when they resume a three-game trek against the
Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Los Angeles is coming off a tough 118-11
Magic host T-Wolves in Orlando >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to right the ship tonight when
they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Amway Arena.
Orlando had a four-game winning streak come to an end with Monday's 107-88
loss to the defending champion Bo
Streaking Blazers visit Wizards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have been on a roll and will
continue a five-game road trip this evening against the lowly Washington
Wizards at the Verizon Center.
Portland has won five straight overall and is 2-0 so far on th
Cavs shoot for 10th straight home win vs. Knicks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are only two teams in the NBA that are undefeated at
home this season and the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of them. Tonight they
will try to set a franchise record with their 10th straight home win to start
a season vers
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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