Ruutu leads Penguins over Devils

Hockey Betting Lines

02/17/2007 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarkko Ruutu scored a pair of goals to guide the Pittsburgh Penguins past the New Jersey Devils, 5-4, at Continental Airlines Arena.

Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist while Marc-Andre Fleury came up with 27 saves for the Penguins, who have won five in a row and have now registered a point in 15 consecutive contests. With the victory, Pittsburgh pulled within five points of the Devils for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Brian Rafalski and Patrik Elias had a goal and an assist each for New Jersey, which has dropped two of its last three outings. Martin Brodeur had an uncharacteristic night, allowing five goals on 24 shots.

Pittsburgh jumped all over the Devils from the start, and built up a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.

The first goal of the contest came just 3:02 in, as Josef Melichar's shot from the left point was deflected in front by Ruutu before slipping past Brodeur.

The road team struck again just over two minutes later to establish a 2-0 advantage. Seconds after the Devils were whistled for a penalty, Robert Scuderi took a feed from Melichar just above the right circle and fired a shot that made it through traffic in front and in.

The Penguins upped their lead to 3-0 with 2:06 remaining in the opening stanza, when Michel Oullet corralled the puck and fed a blind backhanded feed in front that was tapped in by Jordan Staal.

Rafalski put his club on the board 7:29 into the second with a wrister from the right circle, but Crosby countered with his 26th goal of the season to re- establish a three goal edge.

Elias then cut the deficit to 4-2 with 7:26 remaining in the middle stanza, only to see Ruutu counter with a rebound putback just over four minutes later.

New Jersey made things interesting down the stretch, however.

Zach Parise netted his 23rd marker of the season at the 2:38 mark, then a fluky goal by Travis Zajac made it a one-goal game with 11:10 remaining. The centerman cruised into the zone and released a seemingly harmless slapshot from just inside the blue line that caromed off the glove of Fleury and in.

The netminder and his defense rebounded to pitch a shutout the rest of the way, though, to seal the win.

Game Notes

The last time the Penguins lost in regulation was January 10 versus the Florida Panthers...This was Ruutu's first two-goal game of the year...Pittsburgh finished 1-for-3 on the power play, while New Jersey went 1- of-4.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

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