Lombardi, Boyd help Flames burn Habs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2009 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi and Dustin Boyd scored short- handed goals during the pivotal second period, as the Calgary Flames beat the Canadiens, 6-2, sending Montreal to its eighth loss in 10 games.

Dion Phaneuf scored the go-ahead goal just 32 seconds after Lombardi tied it, as the Flames snapped a season-high four-game skid. Rene Bourque, Mike Cammalleri and David Moss also lit the lamp, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 shots. Lombardi finished with a goal and two assists.

Matt D'Agostini and Tomas Plekanec had first-period goals for the Canadiens, who have lost their last three contests, having been outscored 14-6 during that span. Jaroslav Halak had 35 saves for Montreal in the opener of a six- game road trip.

Down 2-1 to start the second period, the Flames were energized thanks to spectacular short-handed play and 20 shots in the middle period. Bourque was called for interference for banging into Halak, but Lombardi scored at 11:36 on a breakaway, tucking a backhander past the netminder.

A short time later, Phaneuf scored on a shot from the slot through a screen, and Kiprusoff kept the game tied with two minutes left in the second when he made a great sprawling pad stop on Andrei Kostitsyn.

Boyd made it 4-2 with another short-handed goal, this one with 1:17 remaining in the period, another breakaway, for his first goal in 16 games. The goal came with Robyn Regehr in the penalty box for kneeing.

It became 5-2 at 6:57 of the third. Lombardi sent the puck from the left corner toward the slot, where it bounced off Cammalleri before Bourque mopped up with the rebound for his 18th goal of the season.

Moss accounted for the final margin with a power play score at 11:51 of the third.

D'Agostini scored on a snap shot from the right circle 10:17 into the opening period, but the Flames tied it less than three minutes later on Cammalleri's 28th goal of the season when he redirected a dribbling puck in front of the net.

Plekanec's goal, with 1:19 remaining in the first, came off a 2-on-1 break. Alex Kovalev sent a pass from the left circle to below the right one for the goal as Kiprusoff was out of position.

Game Notes

The Canadiens will visit Edmonton on Wednesday, while Calgary's next contest is the same night at Anaheim...Montreal has lost six in a row on the road...The Canadiens were 0-for-4 on the power play, while Calgary was 1-for-5...Roman Hamrlik had two assists for Montreal.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

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"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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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.

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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?''
   
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