Malkin scores twice, Pens double up Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.

The Penguins bounced back from the two quickest goals by one player in Tampa Bay history to improve to 2-0 on a three-game homestand.

Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang had one goal and two assists apiece in the win and Brent Johnson made 21 saves. James Neal had three assists.

Malkin shot on an empty net as time expired and missed a hat trick by inches as the puck hit off the post.

Steve Downie scored two goals 11 seconds apart in the first period to set a franchise record and give the Lightning a 2-0 lead, but they never found the back of the net again in their fourth loss in six games.

Mathieu Garon gave up four goals on 41 shots and Teddy Purcell had two assists for Tampa Bay.

Johnson got a piece of Downie's first goal, on a slap shot from above the left circle, but it knuckled through him for a 1-0 Lightning lead 9:58 into the game.

Seconds later, Purcell slid the puck through the crease at the end of a 3-on-2 rush and Downie was there to hammer it in.

Malkin scored his first goal on a power play 6:06 later on a one-timer to get the Penguins on the board. They tied it just 56 seconds into the middle period when Kunitz split four defenders and beat Garon five-hole after carrying the puck into the zone himself.

Letang had the eventual game-winner at 4:28 of the second, beating Garon from the slot, and Malkin made it 4-2 midway through the period when he hustled to the left side of the net for a seeing-eye pass from Kunitz that set him up perfectly.

Game Notes

Jason Wiemer held the previous Tampa Bay record for fastest two goals at 16 seconds in a game against New Jersey on October 3, 1997. The team record for time between goals is nine seconds, also against New Jersey on January 9, 2004...The teams split two prior meetings this season in Tampa Bay. They will meet again on February 25 in Pittsburgh...The Lightning have lost three in a row at Pittsburgh.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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