Gonchar caps Penguins rally over Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Gonchar notched the game-winning score early in the third period, as Pittsburgh clipped Tampa Bay, 2-1, at St. Pete Times Forum.

Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who snapped a two-game slide and have won five of their last seven.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which moved four points ahead of idle New Jersey (87-83) in the race for the Atlantic Division crown.

Vincent Lecavalier provided the lone strike for the Lightning, who slid to their eighth loss in 10 games.

Antero Niittymaki was solid in defeat, stopping 37-of-39 shots for Tampa Bay, which remained in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Rangers.

Dupuis knotted the game 2:20 into the third, when he followed a strange carom off the back boards from Jordan Staal's deflected chance and slipped the puck into an open net past a diving Niittymaki.

Gonchar put the Penguins ahead at 5:17 on a power play, when his blistering point shot clanged off the right post and in through a screen.

Fleury came up with four big stops -- all but one of the Lightning's total shots in the third -- on a Tampa power play with 3:40 left in regulation to keep it a one-goal margin, including a sprawling right-pad stop on Lecavalier from the right side.

Niitymaki wasn't able to head to the bench for an extra skater until 46 seconds remained, and the home team didn't threaten in the Penguins' end.

Niittymaki was good on all 13 shots he faced in the first period, and Fleury was equal to his 10 shots faced.

Lecavalier snapped a scoreless tie at 8:09 of the second period, and Pittsburgh came up empty on 11 shots in the middle 20 minutes.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh has won two of three this season over Tampa Bay and five of the last seven meetings...Fleury has won four of his last five starts...The Penguins continue their five-game road trip on Wednesday at New Jersey, and the Lightning host Phoenix on Tuesday.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.