Ducks slide into St. Louis

Hockey Betting Lines

12/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to avoid a fourth consecutive loss when they visit the St. Louis Blues for tonight's encounter at Scottrade Center.

The Ducks are 1-2-1 on a five-game road trip that ends tonight and they've lost the last three outings on that swing after picking up a win in Edmonton on December 19.

Anaheim is just 8-7-2 as the visiting team this season and will return to Orange County for a three-game homestand, which begins against Columbus on New Year's Eve.

The Ducks earned a point in Saturday's loss as it was handed an overtime loss in Dallas. Mike Modano ripped a one-timer past Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 1:26 remaining in OT to give the Stars the 4-3 victory over Anaheim.

Brendan Morrison lit the lamp twice and Chris Kunitz netted Anaheim's other goal as the club dropped its third straight game by a 4-3 margin. Giguere was tested throughout the night, logging 34 saves.

Meanwhile, the Blues earned an impressive win Saturday even if it was just the club's second victory in its last nine games. St. Louis hosted the San Jose Sharks and beat the NHL's best club this season in a shootout.

Brad Winchester scored the equalizer in the third period and tallied the game- winner in the shootout, as the Blues edged San Jose, 3-2, notching their first win over the Sharks since the 2006-07 season.

St. Louis' David Perron and San Jose's Ryane Clowe were the only players to score through the first four shooters, with each tallying on a backhander. Winchester, going first in the third round, fired a shot under Evgeni Nabokov's glove to give St. Louis the edge. Manny Legace then stopped Joe Pavelski's attempt to seal the win for the Blues.

Perron scored in regulation, while Legace stopped 24 shots for the Blues, who hadn't beaten the Sharks since January 20, 2007. Since then San Jose had defeated St. Louis seven consecutive times -- including a 5-4 shootout victory on November 6.

The Blues are currently last in the Western Conference with 31 points and are 27 points behind the Sharks in the standings.

Saturday's test kicked off a three-game homestand for the Blues that will end Tuesday against New Jersey. St. Louis is 9-7-2 on its home ice this season.

Tonight marks the fourth and final regular-season meeting of the season between the Ducks and Blues. Anaheim has a 2-0-1 record against the Blues with St. Louis picking up an overtime victory on November 21 at Scottrade Center.

The Ducks have won four of the last five meetings, but has lost three straight in St. Louis.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.