Crosby powers Pens over Isles to tie for division lead

Hockey Betting Lines

04/08/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby posted a goal and three assists, as Pittsburgh recorded a spirited 7-3 victory over the New York Islanders in the final regular-season game at Mellon Arena.

Crosby, the 22-year-old Pens captain, is on the cusp of reaching the 50-goal mark for the first time and also eclipsed the 500-point mark for his career. He has recorded four goals and 11 assists in his last six games for 104 total points this season, and took over the NHL goal-scoring lead from Alex Ovechkin by one (49-48).

Bill Guerin tallied twice while Tyler Kennedy added a goal and a helper for the Penguins, who have won four of six and pulled into a tie again for the Atlantic Division lead with New Jersey. The Devils lost to Florida, but hold the tiebreaker after winning all six meetings with Pittsburgh this season.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots for the win.

Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey tallied for the Islanders, who had made a brief but futile charge towards a playoff berth with five wins in their last six games coming in.

Martin Biron started and took the loss after he allowed four goals on 10 shots in the first period. Dwayne Roloson finished the contest by making 22 saves.

Fleury made three successive stops on an Islanders' short-handed break early in the second, but he couldn't stop Bailey's deflection of a Mark Streit shot for a 4-3 game at 6:49.

Guerin was ruled to have made contact with a Crosby slapshot on a Pittsburgh power play with 5:26 to play in the second for a two-goal edge then Kennedy's blast made it 6-3 just over two minutes later.

Guerin tallied once more, at the 1:46 mark of the third period for a four-goal bulge and the home team coasted to victory.

Pittsburgh got off to a hot start after Brooks Orpik rippled the net from the right circle just 23 seconds in, then Alex Goligoski struck from 15 feet out during a power play at 5:01.

Moulson's deflection in the slot pulled the Isles within a goal on a power play at 8:29, but Evgeni Malkin's solo rush down the left wing made it 3-1 for Pittsburgh with 4:45 left in the first.

Okposo's wrister less than two minutes later brought New York back within a goal, but Crosby registered his 49th of the season inside the final minute.

Game Notes

Mellon, once known as the Civic Arena, is the oldest building in the NHL, and has housed the Penguins since their 1967 inception. Pittsburgh will move into Consol Energy Center for next season...Mario Lemieux holds the franchise record with six 50-or-more goal seasons, the last coming in 1996-97...Lemieux also posted six straight 100-point years to begin his career, while Crosby has four in his first five...Pittsburgh has won four of five meetings with the Islanders this season.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.