Pavelski picks up 4 points as Sharks top Caps

Hockey Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski totaled four points on two goals and two assists as San Jose dealt Washington a 5-3 defeat at Verizon Center.

Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who rebounded from a 3-0 loss in St. Louis on Sunday.

Joe Thornton added three helpers and Thomas Greiss stopped 39-of-42 shots for his third win in four starts.

Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Schultz and Dmitry Orlov tallied for the Capitals, losers of three straight and eight of 11.

Braden Holtby was shelled for all five scores on 35 shots in defeat. The 22- year-old was called up from Hershey of the AHL prior to the game because Tomas Vokoun was sidelined with the flu.

The visitors turned a two-goal edge into a four-goal margin on scores almost 2 1/2 minutes apart early in the third.

Burns made it 4-1 at 4:36 on his floater from the right point, and Marleau struck once more on the advantage at 7:03 by finishing off a passing play in tight between Ryane Clowe and Thornton.

Washington kept up the pressure, as Hamrlik cut the deficit to 5-2 just after the midway point on a backhander from the right circle and Schultz snuck a shot from the left point home with 5:51 to play.

Holtby was kept on the bench in the final minute but the Caps couldn't produce more offense.

San Jose jumped out to the lead thanks to Pavelski, whose accidental deflection of a Dan Boyle drive from center ice eluded Holtby with 7:48 left in the first period.

Pavelski doubled the Sharks' edge on a power play roughly 3 1/2 minutes into the second, lifting the rebound of a Logan Couture chance under the crossbar from in front.

Marleau pumped in a man advantage score inside of four minutes left for a 3-0 game, but the Caps got on the board just before the buzzer as Orlov's blast trickled between Greiss' arm and body.

Game Notes

San Jose has won four in a row and 16 of the last 17 meetings with Washington...Couture added two assists for the Sharks...Caps star forward and captain Alex Ovechkin was held without a point on six shots in almost 27 minutes of ice time...Prior to the game, the Capitals also recalled forward Joel Rechlicz from Hershey.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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