Pens' Crosby snaps drought with OT winner over Buffalo

Hockey Betting Lines

12/22/2008 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Crosby's deflection goal 43 seconds into overtime sent Pittsburgh over Buffalo, 4-3, at HSBC Arena.

Early in the extra session, Alex Goligoski gained control of the puck in the left circle and slipped a bouncing pass to the right circle for Evgeni Malkin. His fluttering one-timer knuckled toward the crease, where Crosby tipped it home with his stick just below the crossbar.

For the Penguins captain, it was his first score in 10 games, dating back to a hat trick on November 29 against the New Jersey Devils.

Goligoski picked up two goals and an assist for the Penguins, who rallied from two goals down to win for the third time in five games. Pascal Dupuis also tallied and Malkin added three helpers.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves to earn his 10th win of the season.

Ales Kotalik and Daniel Paille registered a goal and assist each for the Sabres, who have dropped three of four. Ryan Miller only stopped 18 shots in the contest, suffering his fourth defeat in five starts.

Buffalo started quickly, taking a 1-0 lead one minute into the contest when Paille deflected Teppo Numminen's shot home.

Kotalik made it 2-0 5:23 into the second, breaking away from the pack down the right wing for a wrister high over Fleury's glove. Less than a minute later, Dupuis took a lead pass from Miroslav Satan and shoveled the puck past Miller.

Pittsburgh tied the game with 7:37 left in the period. Goligoski rifled a shot through traffic which appeared to be deflected out of the air in the slot. Nonetheless, the rookie was credited with his fifth goal of the season.

Buffalo assumed a 3-2 lead when Clarke MacArthur buried Kotalik's rebound for a power-play goal at 15:58 of the second, but with the Pens on the man advantage, Goligoski managed to flick a wrist shot from the high slot through a screen with 8:43 left in regulation.

Game Notes

The clubs have split four meetings this season...Malkin extended his point streak to nine games (five goals, 14 assists)...Numminen and Adam Mair each had two assists for Buffalo...The Penguins host Tampa Bay on Tuesday and the Sabres are off until Friday at Washington.

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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
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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.