Caps try to stay hot versus Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/19/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will shoot for a fifth win in six games when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's Southeast Division clash at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Capitals began the month of March with four consecutive losses, but have since won four out of five games. Washington has all but wrapped up its second straight Southeast Division crown, as it is 13 points ahead of second-place Carolina with only a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

Washington has dominated the Lightning recently, going 3-0 against Tampa this season to extend its series winning streak to eight games. The Caps have also won 10 of 13 overall against the Bolts and have taken four straight and six of 10 in Tampa.

The Capitals had a three-game winning streak halted in Monday's 5-1 loss at Atlanta, but rebounded with Tuesday's shutout victory in Florida. Jose Theodore was spectacular between the pipes, stopping all 19 shots, as the Capitals blanked the Panthers, 3-0, at BankAtlantic Center.

Theodore improved to 28-15-4 on the year and collected his second shutout of the season. Brooks Laich, Viktor Kozlov and Mike Green scored for the Capitals, while John Erskine tallied two helpers for Washington.

Green, who leads all NHL defenseman with 25 goals this season, returned to the lineup after missing Monday's game with flu-like symptoms.

Alex Ovechkin failed in his second chance to become the first Capitals player to ever notch three separate 50-goal seasons. The Russian superstar leads all NHL players with 49 goals on the year.

Tonight's test marks the third stop on a five-game road trip for the Capitals, who close out the swing with stops at Carolina and Toronto. Washington is 18-13-4 as the guest this year and has won six of its last seven road tilts.

The Lightning are second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference standings, but have recorded at least a point in three straight games, going 2-0-1 in that stretch.

Tampa was handed a shootout loss Tuesday night against visiting Toronto. John Mitchell scored the game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout, as the Maple Leafs erased a three-goal deficit en route to the 4-3 victory.

Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos and Matt Pettinger scored for the Lightning. Tampa Bay staked Karri Ramo to a three-goal lead but watched it slip away as he allowed three goals on 39 shots with each coming over the final 20:24.

Martin St. Louis added two assists and pushed his point streak to six games. He has four goals and five helpers during the run.

Tampa is playing the second of four straight on home ice tonight and is just 11-14-10 as the host this season. The Bolts have dropped four straight and seven of eight at the Forum.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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