Caps hope to stay in first as they battle Jets
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02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Washington Capitals will try to post consecutive wins for the first time in over three weeks when they host the Winnipeg Jets tonight at Verizon Center.
The Capitals posted a big win Tuesday against visiting Florida, as the 4-0 victory allowed Washington to vault one point ahead of the Panthers for first place in the Southeast Division. Even though the Caps are leading the Southeast, the club would like to go on a run since it hasn't posted back-to- back victories since a three-game run from Jan. 11-15.
Washington used Alex Ovechkin's first points since serving a three-game suspension in late January to notch the win over Florida. Ovechkin scored twice to give him 22 goals on the season and Tomas Vokoun made 42 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 48th of his career.
Mathieu Perreault and Jason Chimera also scored for the Capitals, who are 3-3-2 in their last eight games. Perreault scored just 13 seconds into the game and Ovechkin's first tally made it 2-0 before the end of the opening period.
"We got two quick goals on them and they had to play a different game," said Caps head coach Dale Hunter. "It ended up being the advantage for us."
Tonight's tilt marks the close of a three-game homestand for Washington, which is 19-7-1 in D.C. this year compared to a 9-14-3 mark on the road. After this evening, the Caps will play five of their next six away from the Verizon Center.
The Jets enter tonight just four points behind Washington for first place in the Southeast and Winnipeg is also five back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg ended a two-game slide and won for the third time in five games with Tuesday's 2-1 regulation win over visiting Toronto. Bryan Little scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Jets midway through the second period and Winnipeg held on for the close victory at MTS Centre.
Chris Thorburn also lit the lamp for the Jets, while Ondrej Pavelec needed to make just 17 saves for the win.
The game also marked the return of Jets forward Evander Kane, who missed the previous seven games with a concussion. Kane leads Winnipeg with 18 goals this year, but he failed to register a shot on goal in nearly 14 minutes of ice time against the Leafs.
Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian left Tuesday's game briefly with a wrist injury before returning and is expected to play tonight.
Like the Capitals, Winnipeg has done most of its damage at home this year, boasting a 16-8-2 mark at the MTS Centre and a 9-16-4 record on the road. The Jets will visit Pittsburgh on Saturday before returning to Winnipeg to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
The Jets are 1-1-1 against Washington this year after they won the final three meetings of last year's season series while they were still known as the Atlanta Thrashers. The Jets/Thrashers franchise has lost 10 of its last 11 games in D.C.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.