Johnson, Capitals cool off Devils

Hockey Betting Lines

02/24/2007 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Johnson made 29 saves and four different Washington players netted goals, as the Capitals earned a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils in the opener of a home-and-home series at the Meadowlands.

Milan Jurcina, Alexander Semin, Matt Pettinger and Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Capitals, who halted a five-game losing streak and will try to complete a sweep of the set at home on Sunday. Washington had lost six straight to the Devils and seven in a row in New Jersey.

Cam Janssen and Jay Pandolfo scored for New Jersey, which was coming off a home-and-home sweep of the New York Rangers earlier this week and had a three- game winning streak stopped.

Martin Brodeur made 26 saves in defeat. The Devils were again without leading scorer Brian Gionta, who sat out his third straight game with a groin injury.

Jurcina put Washington in front 8:43 into the game when his wrist shot from the center point deflected off someone in front and skipped past Brodeur.

Johnson stopped all eight New Jersey shots in the opening period and the Caps broke it open with a pair of early goals in the second.

Semin, who assisted on the first goal, made a nifty move to record his 32nd of the season at the 2:18 mark. He took a long clearing pass off the right boards and raced through the right circle toward the net before flipping a backhander over a sprawled Brodeur and under the crossbar.

The Devils were given a power play just under two minutes later, but Washington came away with a shorthanded goal.

Boyd Gordon was the recipient of a turnover in his own zone and cleared the puck. Pettinger, who forced the bad pass, was behind the New Jersey defense and chased it down. He skated through the left circle and lifted a backhander over Brodeur's glove for his 14th goal of the season.

The Devils finally got on the board midway through the second period after killing off a penalty to Janssen. He joined the play out of the penalty box, took a pass in the neutral zone and skated to the top of the right circle before unleashing a slap shot that beat Johnson to the far side.

Washington regained a two-goal margin just 4:22 into the third period. Gordon got the puck to Fleischmann, who raced into the New Jersey zone along the left wing and cut toward the net. Brodeur came out of the crease to make a poke- check and got a piece of the puck, which popped into the air and bounced into the net to give Fleischmann his first goal of the campaign.

The Devils got that one back with 5:58 remaining on Pandolfo's ninth goal, but could not close the gap any further as Johnson stopped 13 shots in the final stanza.

Game Notes

Washington's Alexander Ovechkin had an assist on the first goal to end his point drought of four games...The Caps won in New Jersey for the first time since March of 2002..Pandolfo added an assist for the Devils...Each team was 0-for-4 on the power play.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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