Leafs-Oilers not what it used to be
Hockey Betting Lines
03/15/2010 -
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was a time when the Edmonton Oilers
playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on a Saturday night was a glittering affair.
In the 1980s, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Co. would come in to Maple Leaf
Gardens and dismantle the Leafs, as they did most other teams, but it was OK
because it was a chance for fans to see the Brantford-born Gretz and his fast-
skatin', high-scorin' teammates up close.
There was a buzz in the air, scalpers were giddy with the outrageous premiums
they received for even their lousiest ducats, and transplanted Albertans living
in Toronto could rejoice as their team stuck it to the self-absorbed, big-city
Leaf lovers.
These days, not so much.
Only the truly puck pious - and there are many in Leafs (Abomi-)Nation - could
get excited about Saturday's matchup pitting the NHL's 29th-place team (Leafs)
against the 30th-place team (Oilers). Only the Boston Bruins, who hold
Toronto's first-round pick in each of the next two entry drafts, could muster
excitement for this clunker.
That said, the storyline was Pat Quinn coaching his first game for another NHL
team in Toronto since the Leafs fired him following the 2005-06 season. Not
surprisingly, the barrel-chested Irishman was featured in a welcome-back video
during the first period. It was a nice touch, but the Leafs will likely do a
welcome-back video for Jamal Mayers and Matt Stajan, too, so there you go. And
don't rule out a Pavel Kubina bobblehead at some point.
CROSS-CANADA CHECK-UP
MONTREAL CANADIENS: The Montreal Canadiens are hot. The Habs have won 10 of
their last 14 games and eight of those victories have been backstopped by
Jaroslav Halak. Nothing like a goaltending controversy to send the always-rabid
Montreal hockey media into a full, salivating frenzy. Will Halak stay? Will he
go? Will Carey Price be traded? Who knows? Who cares? As long as the Canadiens
keep winning, fans will love them - win or tie.
OTTAWA SENATORS: From mid-January to the Olympic break, the Sens won an amazing
14 of 16 games, which made my good friend Brett very, very happy. You see, he
is a lifelong Sens fan, and I'm not sure he's ever fully recovered from the
2007 Stanley Cup final and Ottawa's less-than-stellar performance in a five-
game series loss. Since the Olympic break ended, however, the Sens have lost
five of six. In those six games, Ottawa has scored eight goals. The team has
scored more than one goal in only one of those six games since the medals were
presented. Jonathan Cheechoo, after scoring 56 goals in 2005-06, had five in 61
games this season before being dispatched to AHL Binghamton on the eve of the
Olympics. In 13 games with the Baby Sens, Cheech has four goals and four
assists.
CALGARY FLAMES: The Flaming C's have won five of six games as bronze-medal-
winning goalie Miikka Kiprusoff continues his mule-like workload with
apparently few negative effects. The Flames are now one point behind Detroit
for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Anyone else wondering if there is just a wee bit of
awkwardness between Canucks teammates and Olympians Roberto Luongo (Canada) and
Ryan Kesler (USA)? And is teammate Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) looking at Kesler
and saying, "If it weren't for that ridiculous save Louie made in the dying
seconds of the semi-final, it coulda been me in the gold-medal game"? The
Canucks have won eight of their last 12 games and are tied with the surprising
Phoenix Coyotes for third in the West. More importantly, the Canucks survived a
14-game, month-and-a-half road trip because of the Olympics. They welcomed fans
back Saturday with a convincing 5-1 drubbing of the Ottawa Senators in their
first home match since January 27.
---
Stephen Knight is a Toronto-based writer who has written about hockey since
1994.
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
 Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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