Stars return home to face Williams and Kings

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Stars haven't done much to further their playoff chances since the Olympic break, but an upcoming six-game homestand for a team that has been strong this year as the host could do the trick.

Dallas begins that residency tonight at American Airlines Center looking for its first win of the season over the Los Angeles Kings, who will have forward Justin Williams back in the lineup when they seek a fifth straight victory over the Stars.

Having dropped four of five since the break, the Stars find themselves seven points back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 16 games to go. Dallas went 1-2-0 on a recent three-game road trip, which included a big shootout win over Washington on Monday before Wednesday's disappointing 5-3 setback to Buffalo.

The teams combined for six goals in the first period on Wednesday, with the Stars netting three of those tallies. Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist in the frame, while Toby Peterson and Steve Ott also scored. However, the Sabres got the only goal of the second period and then capped the scoring with an empty-net goal in the third.

Dallas fell to 11-17-7 on the road this year as compared to 18-8-5 at home, where the club has won seven of its last 10.

"Things are going to be extremely tough. It's 12 points, and those are huge. It's our season," Ott said of Dallas' upcoming six-game homestand. "If we don't get the ship in the right direction here on our homestand, we may as well call the season."

Marty Turco made 38 saves and Brad Richards had an assist to give him a goal and five assists over a five-game point streak as well as three goals and 10 helpers over his last 11 contests.

Richards has four assists in four games versus the Kings this year while James Neal has three goals in the four meetings. However, the Stars are 0-2-2 versus the Kings this season and they have also lost six of seven and eight of the last 10 meetings.

Los Angeles has also won three straight and five of its last six at Dallas.

The Kings come into this one having lost three of four, but they did earn a point last time out with a 3-2 overtime setback to the Blackhawks. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar scored less than two minutes apart in the second period, but a turnover by Brad Richardson in overtime set up the Blackhawks' winning goal.

Jonathan Quick made 40 saves for Los Angeles, which is fifth overall in the West, two points back of Phoenix. However, Quick left the team on Thursday after his wife went into labor with the couple's first child and will miss tonight's game. Either backup Erik Ersberg or the recently recalled Jonathan Bernier will start tonight.

Los Angeles will also get Williams back into the lineup much earlier than expected. The 28-year-old has been out since suffering a broken leg on December 26 that was expected to sideline him for up to three months. Williams has eight goals and 16 assists in 33 games and will go right back onto the first line.

"He's going to go right back with [Ryan] Smyth and Kopitar tomorrow, and get him right into the heat of the battle," Kings head coach Terry Murray told his team's Web site on Thursday. "Take advantage of a fresh player. It will be like adding a new guy through a deal, really."

Kopitar has been red-hot as of late, as he has five goals and four assists over a career high-tying eight-game point streak. The forward also has 14 goals and 14 helpers over his last 22 games and six goals in four contests versus the Stars this year.

Alexander Frolov has added a pair of goals and four helpers in the season series. He scored and set up two other goals in a 5-1 victory at Dallas when the clubs last met on March 2.

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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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