Kings try to match record streak in test with Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Anze Kopitar leading the offense and Jonathan Quick playing strong in net, the Los Angeles Kings have posted seven straight wins for the first time in nearly 18 years.

Los Angeles will try to match the longest winning streak in club history tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in the continuation of a three-game homestand at Staples Center.

The Kings have strung together their best winning streak since a franchise record-tying eight consecutive victories from February 23-March 9, 1992. They can record their third-ever eight-game win streak with a fifth consecutive victory over the Ducks tonight.

Los Angeles' current win streak over Anaheim includes a pair of victories this year, including a 4-0 triumph at home on January 14 in which Quick made 22 saves in his first and only shutout of the season. That win was also the Kings' second straight and third in their last four at home over the Ducks.

Quick, who is 4-0-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average lifetime versus the Ducks, has been in net for each of Los Angeles' last seven wins overall, matching the club record held by Kelly Hrudey and Robb Stauber. Quick has a 1.95 GAA over his win streak and made 20 saves in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

Ryan Smyth had a third-period goal while Kopitar scored short-handed in the middle frame. Kopitar has a point in each game over the Kings' win streak, posting five goals and six assists.

"We are just finding ways to win games right now," said center Jarret Stoll. "We did a good job of supporting each other, getting on the forecheck, and having good sticks."

Los Angeles, which has won four of its last five at home, is two points behind Phoenix for the fourth spot in the Western Conference and set a franchise mark by reaching 34 wins in just 56 games this year.

The Kings, though, could be up against a red-hot goaltender tonight in the Ducks' Jonas Hiller, who has won three straight starts while posting a 0.65 GAA in that span. He has stopped 79-of-80 shots faced in two starts since signing a four-year extension with Anaheim on Friday, including a season-high 46 saves in last night's 3-1 win over Detroit.

"We had a good start and that gave us a lot of confidence," Hiller said. "It's fun to play if you get a lot of shots, but it's also a little tiring."

Bobby Ryan, Kyle Chipchura and Ryan Whitney lit the lamp for the Ducks, who returned to Honda Center after going 3-3-0 on their season-long six-game road trip and won their ninth straight at home. However, they hit the road again tonight before heading back to Anaheim to face Los Angeles again on Monday.

This is not a home-and-home set, though, as the Kings host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

The Ducks moved into a tie with Dallas for 10th overall in the West with 61 points, three behind a trio of teams for the final two playoff spots in the conference.

While Hiller has played well as of late, he is just 4-4-0 with a 2.08 GAA in his career versus the Kings, taking both losses this year while posting a 4.61 GAA.

Betosports Hockey Betting News

<< Wild return home to battle improving Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A few days ago, the Minnesota Wild thought they drew the perfect opponent to begin their critical five-game homestand in the Edmonton Oilers. However, with Edmonton suddenly playing well and Minnesota facing some issues in ne

<< Avalanche try to keep rolling in visit to Nashville
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finishing with the fewest points in the Western Conference last year, some fresh faces have helped the Colorado Avalanche put together a quick turnaround. Colorado will try to win for the eighth time in its last 11 g

<< Blues take aim at visiting Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One night after defeating the second-place team in the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues will try to knock off the top dog when the San Jose Sharks skate into the Scottrade Center this evening. The Blues tuned up for

<< Isles, Lightning battle in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning were the two worst teams in the NHL last season, but both find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race heading into tonight's clash from the St. Pete Times

<< Blue Jackets aim to turn the page versus visiting Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will begin life after Ken Hitchcock tonight, when they welcome the Dallas Stars for a battle at Nationwide Arena. Hitchcock was relieved of his head-coaching duties on Wednesday, less than a seas

Cardinals sign CFL standout Baggs >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have signed linebacker Stevie Baggs to a one-year contract. Baggs spent his last four seasons in the Canadian Football League, including the past two with Saskatchewan as a defensiv

Bucs name Van Pelt quarterbacks coach >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finalized their 2010 coaching staff on Thursday, naming former Buffalo offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt as the team's quarterbacks coach. Van Pelt spent the past four seasons

United signs Pontius to new contract >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United signed 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year finalist Chris Pontius to a new contract on Thursday. United originally selected Pontius with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. He play

New England names Myles assistant coach >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution named Stephen Myles assistant coach on Wednesday. Myles, 48, comes to New England from the David Beckham Academy in Los Angeles, where he has been the assistant director of

N.Y.'s Goldthwaite out six weeks after surgery >>
Secaucus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York defender Kevin Goldthwaite underwent successful surgery Tuesday to remove scarring in his adductor tendon and will be out six weeks. Goldthwaite, 27, was New York's Defender of the Year in

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.