Caps hope to get season on track vs. streaking Sens
Hockey Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With just one victory in their last six games, the Washington Capitals are desperate to get their postseason push back on track.
The Caps hope they can bounce back tonight at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place, where they'll try to complete a season sweep of a Senators team that has been red- hot of late.
Washington is 3-0 against the Senators this year and tonight's meeting is the final scheduled encounter of the regular season. All told, the Capitals have claimed six of the last seven matchups in this series overall and two of the last three in Canada's capital city.
However, while the Caps are 1-4-1 in their last six games, Ottawa enters tonight riding a three-game winning streak. The Senators have outscored the opposition by an amazing 16-2 margin over the last three games and Ottawa has also posted a point in five straight tests (4-0-1) since a seven-game slide from Jan. 21-Feb. 7.
This evening's game is also an important battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Ottawa is currently seventh in the conference and five points ahead of Toronto and Winnipeg. Washington is just outside the postseason picture, as it trails the Maple Leafs and Jets by two points.
The Senators last played on Monday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum, where they dismantled the hosting New York Islanders by a 6-0 score. Erik Karlsson totaled four points on two goals and two assists as Ottawa chased Islanders goaltender Kevin Poulin before the game was two minutes old. Poulin was yanked after allowing scores 27 seconds apart to Karlsson and Jason Spezza in the first 1:35 of action.
Spezza finished with two goals and is now leading Ottawa in both goals (27) and points (65) this season. The centerman has been on an absolute tear of late, notching seven goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak.
"We got two days rest. Not many teams get that this time of year," Spezza said after Monday's rout. "And there's a benefit to playing games early on, because we can get some energy to move forward."
Brian Lee and Chris Phillips added scores for Ottawa, which had 11 players record a point in the blowout. Craig Anderson stopped 28 shots to notch his third shutout of the season for the Senators.
Ottawa's current winning streak came in the form of a perfect 3-0 road trip, but the team will kick off a three-game homestand tonight. The Sens have lost five of their last six tests at Scotiabank Place and are 15-11-3 as the host this year compared to a 16-11-5 mark on the road.
Meanwhile, road play has been a trouble spot for Washington all season long and the club will be happy to complete a four-game road trip tonight. The Caps are 1-2 on the swing, dropping them to 10-17-3 on the road compared to a 19-8-2 home record.
Washington was dealt a lopsided loss by the last-place Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, as Eric Staal had two goals and an assist and Justin Peters earned his first career NHL shutout in the 5-0 rout at RBC Center. Caps goaltender Tomas Vokoun lasted just over five minutes, as he was pulled at 5:09 of the first period after goals by Justin Faulk and Anthony Stewart.
Vokoun gave up two goals on seven shots and was replaced by Michal Neuvirth, who made 30 saves on 33 shots the rest of the way. The setback dropped the Capitals to 4-7-3 in their last 14 outings.
"Normally you can try to take some positives out of a game. Tonight, nothing," said the Caps' Troy Brouwer. "You can't wipe it clean because you have to take it in and make sure you know what you're doing wrong, make sure you know what you did wrong. We're going to watch a lot of video, I hope."
Washington's Alex Ovechkin is expected to play tonight despite missing practice on Tuesday for what head coach Dale Hunter called a "maintenance day." The star winger didn't play in the final six minutes of the second period on Monday and although he did return in the third, Ovechkin was seen limping around after the game. Both Ovechkin and Hunter have said that the Russian superstar was not hurt and was instead bothered by an equipment problem.
Ovechkin has just one goal and one assist over his last five games. With 24 goals and 21 assists through 56 games this season, the 26-year-old is on pace for the lowest point total of his seven-year NHL career.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder shoot for a fourth straight win this evening when they welcome the Boston Celtics to Chesapeake Energy Arena. After combining for 91 points on Sunday, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook totaled 62
<< Clippers host Nuggets at Staples Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers aim to halt a two-game skid and
head into the NBA's All-Star break atop the Pacific Division when they host
the Denver Nuggets tonight.
The Clips lead their Staples Center co-tenants, the L
<< Lakers carry recent baggage into Big D
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will attempt to put some off-the-court turmoil
behind them tonight when they visit the impetus for much of the acrimony, the
Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs dethroned the Lakers last season, sweeping them out of
<< Jazz, Wolves square off at Target Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Northwest Division rivals meet at Target Center
tonight when the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves both try to get back to
the .500 mark on the season and stay out of the cellar in the division.
Oklahoma C
<< Pacers pay a visit to Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers try to make it four straight wins this
evening when they visit the hapless Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable
Arena.
The Pacers continued their recent winning ways on Tuesday, as Roy Hibbe
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will resume a team-record nine-game homestand tonight versus the New Orleans Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland is 4-3 on the residency and is coming off last night's 101-100 win over the Cen
Lin, Knicks aim to bounce back vs. Hawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sudden New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin was brought back to
reality when New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams took him to school in
a recent contest at Madison Square Garden.
Arguably one of the fanciest point guards
Blues try to extend home streak vs. struggling Bruins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After closing out 2011 as the hottest team in the league,
the new calendar year hasn't been as kind to the Bruins.
The Blues have yet to drop a regulation game at home in 2012.
St. Louis puts its franchise record 21-game
Howard, Magic visit Deron and the Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to continue their mastery of the
New Jersey Nets when the two clubs clash tonight from the Prudential Center.
Orlando has won eight in a row and 12 of the past 13 matchups between the
teams, and
Bucks and Bulls clash in the Second City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose recently made his return to
the hardwood following a five-game absence due to lower back spasms.
Rose and the Bulls will try to give the Central Division-rival Milwaukee Bucks
a few spasms Wed
FOOTBALL TRASH TALK
NFL Football Trash TalkTrash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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