Bolts nip playoff-bound Sens in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

04/08/2010 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teddy Purcell scored the lone goal in the shootout, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Purcell was Tampa Bay's third shooter and used a forehand-to-backhand move and lifted the puck over Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott's left pad. The game ended after Mike Fisher's attempt at an equalizer was no good.

Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis tallied a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who had lost four of five. Mike Smith stopped 35 shots and then all three shootout chances to notch the victory.

Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who are guaranteed the fifth seed in the East after Pittsburgh beat the Islanders on Thursday. Ottawa's opponent in the first round will be either New Jersey or Pittsburgh -- whichever team does not win the Atlantic Division.

Elliott made 26 saves in defeat.

Trailing by three midway through the game, the Senators rallied to tie the score.

Nick Foligno got Ottawa on the board with the first of the team's three power- play goals at 12:44, and Spezza brought the visitors within one while on the man advantage with his 23rd goal of the year at 18:42.

Fisher completed the comeback 4:16 into the third with another power-play score. Spezza held the disc at the center point and dished down low to Daniel Alfredsson, who passed across the ice for Fisher, who one-timed the puck into the net.

Ottawa had another power play moments later but couldn't convert, and neither team had any major chances in overtime.

St. Louis opened the scoring 8:01 into the game on a backhander from in close that beat Elliott on the short side, and Purcell's power-play marker with 28 seconds left in the opening period pushed Tampa Bay's lead to 2-0.

On another man advantage 3:33 into the second, Stamkos made it 3-0 with his 48th of the year. St. Louis faked a slapshot from the right circle and slid the puck to Stamkos on the left, and Stamkos fired the disc into a wide-open net.

Game Notes

Stamkos is tied with Washington's Alex Ovechkin for second place in goals scored...Ottawa finished its season 18-21-2 on the road and will conclude its regular season Saturday at home versus Buffalo...The teams split the four-game season series...The teams combined for 62 penalty minutes.

Wwwworldgaming Hockey Betting News

<< Panthers topple division-seeking Devils
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Horton scored the game-deciding goal in the third period and Scott Clemmensen made 42 saves against his former team, as the Florida Panthers held off the New Jersey Devils, 3-2. Horton and Michael F

<< Golf Tidbits: Inside the ropes, Tiger hasn't changed much
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As you might have noticed, Tiger Woods returned to action Thursday at The Masters. For Woods, it was the end of a self-imposed "indefinite break" that started soon after his Thanksgiving weekend car accide

<< Crosby hits 50 goals as Pens beat Isles to tie for division lead
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby reached a pair of milestones with a two-goal, two-assist performance, as Pittsburgh posted a spirited 7-3 victory over the New York Islanders in the final regular-season game at Mellon Arena.

<< Robertson makes successful return to Marlins in win over Mets
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Robertson worked his way through five efficient frames, as Florida took the rubber match of a season-opening three- game set with the New York Mets, 3-1, at Citi Field. Robertson (1-0), who opened

<< Oudin wins battle, Vesnina eases into MPS Group QFs
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina and eighth-seeded American Melanie Oudin were among Thursday's second- round winners at the $220,000 MPS Group Championships tennis event. Vesnina vaulte

Orioles hold off Rays to avoid sweep >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in, and the Baltimore Orioles hung on for a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to salvage a game in this season-opening three-game set. Nolan Reim

Bulls beat LeBron-less Cavs to help playoff chances >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joakim Noah's tip-in with 1:21 left ended up being the game-winner after a wild final minute of misses and miscues, as Chicago inched past Cleveland, 109-108, at the United Center. With LeBron James sit

Crosby powers Pens over Isles to tie for division lead >>
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-ol

Modano plays hero amidst fan adulation as Stars clip Ducks in SO >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If this was Mike Modano's final home game in a Stars uniform, it sure was a storybook ending. Modano scored the tying goal with 1:47 left in regulation and netted the winner in the shootout as Dallas o

Boston College, Wisconsin to meet NCAA men's ice hockey final >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Smith notched a pair of goals and one assist, as Boston College dominated Miami-Ohio, 7-1, in a Frozen Four matchup from Ford Field. Joe Whitney added a goal and two helpers for the Eagles (28-10-3)

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.