11/17/2008 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, and the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, at Joe Louis Arena.
"It's nice to get that first (shutout) one here to get rid of the butterflies early," Conklin said. "I had to make a couple of tough saves on (a 5-on-3 Oilers power play), but for the most part we were solid in our end. That's as good as we've been all year."
Conklin moved to 5-1-0 on the year with his fifth career shutout, while Niklas Kronwall's first-period power-play goal proved to be the game-winner for Detroit, which has gotten at least a point in six straight games. Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler and Johan Franzen also scored, while Henrik Zetterberg notched two assists in the win.
"I thought we played well tonight," said Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. "We didn't give up much. We looked good on special teams. We talked about (tightening up defensively) but that's just talk. You have to do it. We were disappointed with our third period last week. Tonight was much better. We didn't have many turnovers. You want to make plays, but if they're not there, you can't force things."
Sheldon Souray had a team-high four shots for the Oilers, who have lost three straight and five of seven. Dwayne Roloson allowed four goals on 41 shots in defeat.
"The difference was the second period," said Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish. "We have five or six red zone chances where it's just us and the goalie and we don't hit the net. And then Samuelsson scores for them to make it 2-0, and then they get another goal and the game was over."
Detroit took advantage of an early 5-on-3 power play. Hudler passed it out in front to Zetterberg, who kicked the puck over to Kronwall. Kronwall was able to cradle the puck in the open ice and wrist it past Roloson from in close for the lead at 6:11.
The Red Wings were able to kill off a 5-on-3 advantage late in the opening period, and the hosts took a 1-0 lead to the second frame.
Detroit grab a 2-0 lead three minutes into the middle period. Brett Lebda circled around the defense and passed it into the middle. Samuelsson tipped the pass between the legs of a defender and over Roloson's shoulder for the goal.
The Red Wings took a commanding 3-0 advantage, as Hudler's slap shot tipped off Souray and past Roloson's stick at 14:18. Franzen's backhand tally in the third capped the scoring for Detroit.
Game Notes
Detroit will next play the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday, but the Oilers will take on Columbus Tuesday night before the rematch with the Red Wings...Edmonton failed on each of its five power-play chances, while Detroit converted one of its five opportunities...Edmonton's Fernando Pisani left the game in the third period with a broken left ankle. He was battling Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom for a loose puck early in the third and slammed his ankle awkwardly into the boards. He was helped off the ice by teammates...Franzen has scored 37 goals in his last 44 games.
<< Austrie, second-ranked Huskies roll past Hartford
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Austrie scored 21 points, and the
second-ranked Connecticut Huskies routed the Hartford Hawks, 99-56, in early-
season action at XL Center.
Kemba Walker had 21 points, while Jerome Dyson added
<< Nielsen's shootout tally gives Isles win over Canucks
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal in the
shootout, and the New York Islanders edged the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1.
Joey MacDonald stopped 31-of-32 shots for the Isles, who won their third
straight af
<< Zherdev's shootout goal lifts Rangers over Senators
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone shootout goal
and the New York Rangers edged the slumping Ottawa Senators, 2-1, at Madison
Square Garden.
Zherdev was the first participant, and he snapped a wrister betwee
<< Wright leads the way as No. 22 Georgetown slips past Jacksonville
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Wright scored 16 points, hauled in six
rebounds and doled out four assists to lead 22nd-ranked Georgetown in a 71-62
victory over Jacksonville at the Verizon Center.
Greg Monroe added 14 points and
Houston's McGrady leaves game early, Artest follows suit >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady left
in the third quarter of Monday's 100-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder
with a knee injury and forward Ron Artest came out in the final minute after
twistin
Jazz beat Suns >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles scored 21
points apiece to lead the injury-ravaged Utah Jazz to an impressive 109-97
victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Utah, playing without star guard Deron Williams (ank
Setoguchi and Marleau lead Sharks past Preds >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau both
registered a goal and an assist, as the San Jose Sharks bested the Nashville
Predators, 4-1, at the Sommet Center.
Jody Shelley and Tomas Plihal also scored
Dawson wins battle of kickers; Browns edge Bills >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal gave the
Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 45-yard attempt
wide right in the final minute as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win
over th
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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