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02/11/2012 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils surely won't miss seeing Florida's Kris Versteeg for the rest of the season.
Versteeg put the Panthers ahead in the second period with his fifth goal in four meetings against New Jersey this season, sending Florida to a 3-1 win over the Devils at the Prudential Center.
Former Devils backup goaltender Scott Clemmensen got the better of his former teammate, Martin Brodeur, stopping 27 shots in Florida's second straight win. Mikael Samuelsson added an empty-net goal in the victory.
Brodeur, returning after a one-game absence because of an ankle injury, turned aside 17 shots in New Jersey's second straight loss and first regulation defeat in eight games (5-1-2). Steve Bernier scored the lone goal for the Devils.
Versteeg gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 7:43 of the second period after New Jersey twice failed to clear its own zone.
The Panthers managed to keep the puck in and Stephen Weiss' shot from the top of the slot was deflected by a New Jersey defender. The puck went directly to Versteeg, who snapped a shot from the left circle past Brodeur for his 21st goal of the season.
"It wasn't anything they did... we started to throw the puck away," said New Jersey captain Zach Parise. "It's frustrating because we've been playing really well of late. It wasn't a great effort by us."
Versteeg finished the season series with five goals and one assist. Clemmensen also continued to haunt his old team, improving to 4-0 lifetime against the Devils. He stopped all nine shots he faced in the second period and seven more in the third.
The Devils failed to convert a late power play -- their only chance of the game -- and Samuelsson found the empty cage with 25 seconds remaining.
New Jersey grabbed the lead just 1:39 into the game when Bernier deflected the puck past Clemmensen. Dainius Zubrus intercepted a poor clearing pass along the right boards and sent pass toward the net. The puck first tipped the stick of Alexei Ponikarovsky before Bernier chipped it through the five-hole for his first goal as a Devil.
The Panthers tied it on a power play with 4:52 left in the opening period. Moments after Zubrus took a hooking penalty, Bergenheim deflected Erik Gudbranson's shot from just above the left circle past Brodeur for his 11th goal of the season.
"We came out well, the first 10 minutes," said Devils head coach Pete DeBoer. "We were playing our seventh game in [12] days and I think we ran out of little bit of gas."
Game Notes
The teams split the four-game season series, each winning once at home and on the road. It marked the third straight season-series split between the teams...Florida improved to 12-12-4 on the road this season...The Devils hadn't lost in regulation since a 4-1 setback against Philadelphia on January 21...Parise had a seven-game point streak stopped.
<< Georgia upsets No. 20 Mississippi State in OT
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Robinson netted eight of his 13
points in overtime and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 points and eight
rebounds as Georgia upset No. 20 Mississippi State, 70-68.
Dee Bost had a chance
<< Dortmund maintains lead atop Bundesliga
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund escaped its match at
Signal Iduna Park on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to maintain
its lead at the summit of the German Bundesliga.
Dortmund's 15-game unbeaten run
<< Missouri handles Baylor in Big 12 battle
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Pressey scored 19 points behind four
three-pointers and No. 4 Missouri used a second-half surge to down No. 6
Baylor, 72-57, on Saturday.
Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon added 16 points and six
<< Heels bounce back with solid effort against Virginia
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller had 25 points and No. 5 North
Carolina got a bounce-back, 70-52 win over 19th-ranked Virginia on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half, wiping away the
taste
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Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored in the
shootout and the Boston Bruins beat the Nashville Predators, 4-3, on Saturday
afternoon.
Bergeron, Daniel Paille and Milan Lucic had goals in regulation as the
Islanders down Kings in OT >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Streit netted the game-winning goal 96
seconds into overtime as the New York Islanders downed the Los Angeles Kings,
2-1.
Michael Grabner scored the lone goal in regulation for the Islanders, who
Varejao out indefinitely with wrist fracture >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao
is out indefinitely after an MRI on Saturday showed a non-displaced fracture
of the right wrist.
A timeline for his return to action will be established next we
Malkin's five-point game helps Penguins down Jets >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin had a goal and four assists,
as the Penguins downed the Jets, 8-5, on Saturday.
Kris Letang added two goals and an assist and Jordan Staal scored in his
first game back from a knee in
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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