Ovechkin heads NHL's Three Stars

Hockey Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, along with newly minted Maple Leaf goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere, have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending February 7.

Ovechkin took home top honors having led the league in scoring with 10 points during the week, including seven goals, to secure sole possession of both categories for the season at 86 points and 42 goals.

The Russian sniper put the finishing touches on his week with a hat trick in Washington's 5-4 overtime win against defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh on Sunday. The win was the Capitals' 14th straight, matching the third-longest win streak in NHL history.

Giguere earned Second Star honors, and in his first week with a new club. The former Duck was dealt by Anaheim to Toronto on January 31 for fellow netminder Vesa Toskala and proceeded to post consecutive 30-save shutouts in his first two games as a Maple Leaf.

Backstrom matched his teammate Ovechkin with 10 points, with two goals and eight assists, to garner Third Star accolades for the second straight week. He tied a career high with five points in a 6-5 win against the Rangers on February 4 and currently holds an eight-game scoring streak.

Nbcsporta Hockey Betting News

<< Patrick given green light for Daytona Nationwide race
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar series star Danica Patrick will continue to be in the spotlight during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Patrick announced on Monday she will make her Nationwide Series debu

<< Lisicki rolls in Pattaya opener
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Sabine Lisicki highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis event. The German Lisicki was pasting Akgul Amanmuradova 6-0 when the Uzbekista

<< Kostner to remain at Wolfsburg through season
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caretaker manager Lorenz-Gunter Kostner will remain in charge at German champions Wolfsburg until the end of the season. Kostner took charge of the Wolves a couple of weeks ago when Armin Veh

<< City waits on Bellamy injury news
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City are waiting to discover how long Craig Bellamy faces on the sidelines after the striker suffered a knee injury during the 2-1 defeat at Hull City. The 30-year-old Wales internation

<< Dikgacoi faces six weeks out with ankle injury
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi will be absent for six weeks with ankle ligament damage. The South Africa international limped out of Saturday's draw with Bolton

Kansas still No. 1, Syracuse slides up to No. 2 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas remained the top team in the latest Associated Press men's college basketball poll, while Syracuse moved up one spot to No. 2. The Jayhawks (22-1) regained the top spot last week after spending

Safina will skip Dubai >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina will miss next week's WTA Tour event in Dubai because of a back injury. The currently world No. 2 star was forced to retire from her fourth-round match at last month

Connecticut continues to top women's poll >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut remained a unanimous choice as the top-ranked team in women's college basketball, as the Associated Press released its latest poll Monday. The Huskies (23-0) enter the week with a 62-gam

Gainey stepping down as Canadiens GM >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey will reportedly step down from his post, as the team has scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. (et). According to a report by TSN Canada, assistant general

Stricker up to second in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker's victory on Sunday at the Northern Trust Open moved the American to second in this week's world rankings. Tiger Woods remained in first, followed by Stricker, who was third last

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.