Panthers, Caps again do battle for first place

Hockey Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another battle for first place in the Southeast Division is on tap tonight, as the Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers at the Verizon Center.

Florida enters tonight with a one-point lead over the Capitals for the top spot in the division. The Panthers trailed Washington by one point when the clubs met last Wednesday and Florida grabbed the division lead with a 4-2 win over the visiting Caps.

Washington has won the last four Southeast titles, while the Panthers have never won a division crown and haven't even qualified for the playoffs since 2000. Florida has taken two of the first three meetings with the Caps this season, but Washington has won three in a row and six of the last seven encounters in D.C.

The Caps have a strong 18-7-1 record on home ice this year, while Florida is just 11-11-4 as the guest.

The Panthers had won their first two games following the All-Star break before getting slammed Saturday in Tampa. The Lightning rode a hat trick from Martin St. Louis en route to the decisive 6-3 victory.

Former Tampa Bay forward Sean Bergenheim ended with a goal and an assist for the Panthers, while Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Fleischmann also lit the lamp. Samuelsson had two goals in last week's win over the Capitals and has four goals and one assist during a four-game point streak.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 27-of-32 shots and was pulled briefly in favor of Brian Foster, who made his NHL debut at the end of the second period. Foster stopped the only shot he faced before Clemmensen returned for the start of the final period.

"We had a tough second period to say the least," Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen said. "We got off to a tough start and I think we were our own worst enemy so that was certainly the difference."

With both Jose Theodore and Jacob Markstrom dealing with knee injuries, Clemmensen has started the last five games for the Panthers. Both Theodore and Markstrom are close to returning, but Foster may be used as the backup again tonight.

The Capitals have lost three of four and five of their last seven games and they split a pair of tests this weekend. Washington shut out the Canadiens in Montreal in Saturday's 3-0 decision, but the Caps were dealt a 4-1 home loss by Boston on Sunday.

The Bruins scored twice in the first period to take an early 2-0 lead and Tim Thomas stopped 35-of-36 shots to make the edge hold up.

Marcus Johansson scored the lone goal for the Capitals in the third period and Tomas Vokoun gave up three goals on 29 shots in the loss.

"We had a lot of chances, but Thomas came up big," said Washington head coach Dale Hunter. "A goalie as good as Thomas can beat you by himself some nights."

Alex Ovechkin fired seven shots on net in Sunday's loss, but the Russian forward has not registered a point in two tilts since serving a three-game suspension. He has 20 goals and 27 assists in 40 career games against the Panthers and has one assist in two tests versus Florida this year.

Caps forward Brooks Laich is not expected to play tonight after suffering an injured left knee against the Bruins. Washington is still without defenseman Mike Green (sports hernia) and forward Nicklas Backstrom (concussion), but defenseman Dmitry Orlov is expected to play despite getting hit in the face with pucks in both games this weekend.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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