Gustavsson Leads Point Into Trip

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Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20-of-21 shots for the Penguins, who have been held to one goal or fewer in five straight games.

 

The Panthers began a three-game homestand in their last trip to the ice and skated away with a 2-1 victory over Vancouver. Scott Clemmensen made 25 saves and Marcel Goc netted the game winner for Florida as Monday's victory over the Canucks improved the Panthers' record on home ice to 11-4-5.

 

"We believe that we can beat anyone in the league on any given night," Clemmensen said. "Vancouver's one of the best teams in the league and we think we can beat them and we showed it tonight. It's the mentality of this team. We don't expect to compete, we expect to win."

 

The Panthers are currently playing without top goaltender Jose Theodore (right knee) and key forwards Sean Bergenheim (lower body), Jack Skille (shoulder), Marco Sturm (head) and Scottie Upshall (upper body).

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to get back in the win column tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for tonight's clash at Rexall Place. The Ducks had won three straight before dropping a 1-0 overtime decision Thursday in Calgary. The three-game winning streak was Anaheim's longest since a four-game stretch from Oct. 8-17.

 

Hiller made 18 saves in the loss for the Ducks, who fell to just 3-10-6 as the guest this season. Anaheim is playing the middle portion of a three-game road trip tonight and will close the swing Sunday in Vancouver.

 

Hiller sat out Anaheim's previous game due to a lower-body injury and it's unclear if he'll be able to start on back-to-back days this evening. Jeff Deslauriers served as the backup on Thursday and could get the call this evening.

 

Still, the setback dropped the Oilers to 4-14-2 in their last 20 games. Edmonton also failed to rebound from a 1-6 road trip as it dropped the opener of a three-game homestand to fall to 10-6-3 as the host this season.

 

"We came back from 1-0 in the third. It's not like we had a 3-1 lead and gave it up," said Edmonton's Taylor Hall, who had an assist. "When you're losing going into the third and you come out with a point, it's not always a bad thing."

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to sweep a home-and-home series with the Sabres and also extend their longest win streak of the season when they visit Buffalo's First Niagara Center for tonight's Northeast Division clash. After ending December on an 0-2-1 slide, the Maple Leafs have posted four straight victories to begin 2012. The current run has featured a pair of shutouts, including a 2-0 win over the visiting Sabres on Tuesday.

 

Toronto has missed the postseason in each of the previous six seasons, but is currently sitting seventh out of eight playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference.

 

James Reimer entered the season as the team's No. 1 goaltender, but Gustavsson has forced Toronto head coach Ron Wilson to alter that dynamic recently.

 

With the Maple Leafs playing tonight and again on Saturday against the New York Rangers, Reimer could get a start this weekend, but Gustavsson is expected to get the call again tonight.

 

The Sabres, meanwhile, have lost three straight, six of seven and nine of their last 11 games. Buffalo is currently 11th in the East and is eight points behind Toronto in the standings.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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