Red Wings aim for Game 4 win against Pronger-less Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

05/17/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to grab a two-game lead in the Western Conference finals this evening, when they visit the Anaheim Ducks for Game 4 at the Honda Center.

The Red Wings made a statement in Game 3 on Tuesday night as they routed the Ducks to take a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.

On top of trailing in the series, Anaheim will also be without defenseman Chris Pronger for this evening's tilt, as the Norris Trophy finalist was handed a one-game suspension by the NHL for a blow to the head of Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom in Game 3. Pronger is leading the Ducks with 12 points on three goals and nine assists in the playoffs.

Holmstrom scored twice on Tuesday and Dominik Hasek made 29 saves for his 14th career postseason shutout to lead top-seeded Detroit to the 5-0 triumph in Anaheim.

Holmstrom also added an assist to give him eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 12 postseason games this year.

Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Valtteri Filppula also scored for Detroit, which rebounded from an overtime loss in Game 2 to pull ahead in this set.

The Red Wings have given up just five goals through the first three games of this series and much of the credit should go to Hasek. The 42-year-old goaltender is 10-5 with a 1.52 goals against average and .935 save percentage in this year's playoffs.

The six-time Vezina and two-time Hart Trophy winner stopped 14 shots in the first period on Tuesday, faced only two shots in the second and made 13 saves in the final stanza for his second shutout of this postseason.

Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom also added two more points to his already impressive playoffs in Game 3 as he posted a pair of assists. Lidstrom has notched two points in each of the three contests against Anaheim and has a team-leading 17 points (4g, 13a) in this postseason.

The Swedish blueliner already has more points in this year's playoffs than he did when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup champion team. Lidstrom also holds the team record for points in a postseason by a defenseman as he notched 19 points to help the Red Wings win a Stanley Cup title in 1998.

Meanwhile, the second-seeded Ducks are faced with the tough task of regrouping after Tuesday's debacle.

Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere will especially need to rebound after he was pulled early in the second period of Game 2 in favor of backup Ilya Bryzgalov. Giguere allowed three goals on 13 shots and Bryzgalov stopped 13 shots in relief.

Giguere, the 2003 Conn Smythe recipient, is still having a solid overall playoffs with a 6-3 record, 1.76 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

The Ducks failed to score on four power-play opportunities in Game 3 and have still yet to cash in on the man advantage in this series (0-for-16).

Anaheim is in the West finals for the second straight year and for the third time in the past four seasons. They are trying to make it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2003, when they lost in seven games to New Jersey.

This is the fourth time Detroit and the Ducks have met in the playoffs. The Red Wings swept Anaheim in the first round of the 1997 and 1999 playoffs only to watch the Ducks return the favor with a shocking four-game sweep in the 2003 conference quarterfinals.

This series will head back to Detroit on Sunday afternoon for Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena.

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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.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

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