Avalanche seek rare successful trip to Vancouver

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sliding Colorado Avalanche will try to post a rare win over the first-place Vancouver Canucks when the Northwest Division rivals meet this afternoon at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Colorado has lost four straight -- all in regulation -- to match their longest skid of the season. The Avs also dropped four straight during an 0-3-1 skid from Nov. 2-8.

If recent history is any indication, the Avs are unlikely to end their slide today, as Vancouver has compiled an 11-0-2 mark in the last 13 meetings in this series. The Canucks have won the last three encounters and have outscored Colorado by a combined 9-0 margin in two matchups this season.

The Avs have also lost five of their last six home games against Vancouver, which currently holds a 10-point lead over Minnesota atop the Northwest standings.

The Canucks had a three-game winning streak snapped by the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, but the shootout defeat allowed Vancouver to extend its run of gaining at least a point to five in a row. The Canucks are 3-0-2 during that run and are 7-2-3 over their last 12 trips to the ice.

Vancouver pushed the Red Wings to overtime thanks to Mason Raymond's goal with 4:24 left in regulation, but the Canucks were denied two points after Pavel Datsyuk scored the winner in the shootout to lift Detroit to the 4-3 triumph. The victory pushed the Red Wings' lead over Vancouver for the No. 1 seed in the West to four points.

Raymond, Alexandre Burrows and Ryan Kesler all scored for the Canucks, while Roberto Luongo made 40 saves in the loss.

"We played good in the third and found a way to tie it up, get a point at least," said Luongo.

The shootout loss ended a six-game homestand (3-1-2) for Vancouver and the Canucks will begin a four-game road trip today. Alain Vigneault's club boasts a strong 16-9-1 record as the visiting team this season.

Meanwhile, Colorado began a four-game homestand on a down note on Thursday, as the Avs lost their fourth straight tilt overall in a 1-0 setback against Minnesota. The Avalanche fired 37 shots at Niklas Backstrom, including 17 in the third period alone, but were still denied a goal. The Wild's Greg Zanon notched the only score of the game in the first period and Backstrom made sure it held up for the win.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 20 saves for the Avalanche and he allowed Zanon to score on a floater from the point.

"That shot went through a bunch of guys and just found the back of the net," said Giguere about the goal. "Most of the times it hits someone, but what can you do."

Colorado is 14-13-0 as the home team this year and will also face Chicago and Carolina during this residency.

The Canucks played the last game without forward Chris Higgins due to flu-like symptoms and he is questionable for today's game. The Avalanche are still without star forward Matt Duchene, who is sidelined with a knee ailment.

Baskteball Hockey Betting News

<< Ovechkin returns as Capitals visit Canadiens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin will try to help the Washington Capitals avoid their first three-game slide in over two months, as the star forward returns from suspension today to battle the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Ovechkin

<< Penguins aim to rebound against struggling Bruins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins had their hot streak doused Wednesday in Toronto and will try to get back in the win column when they visit the struggling Boston Bruins in today's game at TD Garden. The Penguins had posted their s

<< Thunder, Spurs tangle in the Alamo City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have one more game left in the Alamo City before embarking on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, as they close out a three-game homestand tonight versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs have won

<< Russia takes commanding Fed Cup edge over Spain
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova earned dominant straight-set wins Saturday to give Russia a commanding 2-0 edge in its Fed Cup quarterfinal against Spain. Sharapova, last week's Australian

<< Lawrie leads by one in windy Qatar
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Lawrie fired a five-under 67 in breezy conditions Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Qatar Masters. Lawrie, who won both this event and the British Open in 1999, complete

Sens aim to break out versus Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators have matched their longest losing streak of the season, but the Toronto Maple Leafs could play the role of slump-buster this evening. The Sens try to avoid a sixth defeat in a row as they take on a Mapl

Sabres hope to move past Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Buffalo Sabres want to get into the playoff mix, they are going to have to beat teams like the New York Islanders. However, that is not something they have been able to do on a consistent basis as of late. The Sabr

Lightning wrap season series with Panthers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning could very well be chasing the Florida Panthers for a playoff spot for the rest of the season, but tonight will be the final time that they get to help their own cause in this series. The two Southe

Blues, Preds clash in likely defensive battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have an All-Star goaltender who might not even be his club's starter come playoff time. The Nashville Predators are likely to start a netminder this evening who is on the longest winning streak in club

Wild seek to hold off Stars in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wild are coming off one road victory over a team that is chasing them in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota hopes for similar results tonight, but to do that it will have to beat the Stars in Dallas for the first

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.