Sharks try to bounce back against Avs in Game 4

Hockey Betting Lines

04/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded San Jose Sharks are down 2-1 in their best- of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals against Colorado after losing their second game of the series on a fluke goal.

The Sharks will try to even the series at two games apiece tonight when they visit the eighth-seeded Avalanche for Game 4 at the Pepsi Center.

The last two games of the series have ended in overtime, with the Sharks winning Game 2 on an OT goal by Devin Setoguchi. San Jose lost the opener of this series in the final minute of regulation when Colorado's Chris Stewart was credited with the game-winner when his centering pass caromed off San Jose defenseman Rob Blake's skate and into the goal.

Sunday's Game 3 victory was even more heartbreaking for the Sharks. After heading into OT with the scored tied at 0-0, Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle made a monumental mistake that cost his team the game just 51 seconds into the extra session. Avs rookie Ryan O'Reilly was credited with the game's lone tally when Boyle inadvertently backhanded the puck past his own goaltender, a bewildered Evgeni Nabokov.

In his own zone, Boyle took a pass from Douglas Murray in the left corner and tried to send the puck around the boards as O'Reilly pursued on the forecheck. The puck may have deflected off the stick of O'Reilly before beating Nabokov on the short-side.

"I really don't know what happened," admitted Boyle.

"I was watching the puck," Nabokov said. "The puck was supposed to go behind the net, so I took my eyes off it. To be honest, I didn't even see where the puck went into the net."

The miscue overshadowed a brilliant game by Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson, who stopped all 51 shots sent his way in the 1-0 win. Anderson has faced an astounding 129 shots in this series and has stopped 122 of them for a superb save percentage of .946.

Nabokov, meanwhile, stopped just 15 shots before his teammate sent one past him.

The Sharks are trying to avoid losing to an eighth-seed in the opening round for the second straight year. Last year, the San Jose entered the playoffs fresh off a 117-point season that netted them the Presidents' Trophy and high expectations, but the Sharks dropped the first two games against the Anaheim Ducks and wound up losing the series in six.

Despite winning the last three Pacific Division titles the Sharks have been a disappointing playoff team in recent years, having not made it past the second round of the postseason since losing to Calgary in the 2004 Western Conference finals.

San Jose may receive a boost in its comeback attempt if star winger Dany Heatley is able to return tonight. Heatley was a late scratch in Game 3 due to an undisclosed injury, but could be back in the lineup for tonight's test.

Heatley was second on San Jose with 39 goals during the regular season and third on the club with 82 points.

Colorado is back in the playoffs just one season after finishing last in the Western Conference with 69 points. The Avs could easily be up 3-0 in this series, but Joe Pavelski sent Game 2 to OT by scoring with just 31.3 seconds left in regulation. Setoguchi then gave San Jose the 6-5 win with his power- play tally in the extra session.

While the Sharks could be without Heatley again tonight, Colorado is also dealing with its share of injuries. Peter Mueller, who had 20 points in 15 games for Colorado after coming over in a trade with Phoenix, has been out since suffering a concussion in a regular-season game against the Sharks on April 4. Mueller, who sustained the concussion on a hit by San Jose's Blake, is sidelined indefinitely.

In addition to Mueller, Colorado forwards Milan Hejduk, Kevin Porter and Ryan Stoa are all dealing with upper-body injuries. Hejduk and Porter are questionable for tonight, while Stoa is doubtful.

The Avalanche are trying to become the third eight seed in five seasons to knock off a top-seeded club. These two clubs are meeting in the postseason for the fourth time, with the last matchup coming in 2004. The Sharks won that series, 4-2, in the semifinals before losing in six games to the Flames in the conference finals.

The Avs were 24-14-3 as the home team during the regular season, while the Sharks had a strong 24-14-3 road record.

Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday in San Jose.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.