Morrison stars as Canucks edge Avs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Morrison scored two goals and picked up an assist to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at General Motors Place.

Matt Cooke added a goal and two assists for the Canucks, who have won four straight. Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist while Roberto Luongo ended with 32 saves.

Andrew Brunette tallied twice for the Avalanche, who have lost two in a row.

Jose Theodore started between the pipes for Colorado and allowed five goals on 20 shots.

With the game tied at 3-3 after two periods, Vancouver opened up a two-goal lead striking twice in the first four minutes of the final frame.

Sedin scored 1:31 into the third to put the Canucks in front at 4-3. Sedin stripped Colorado's Ken Klee in front and fired the puck into the net.

Shortly after Sedin's tally, Morrison netted his second goal of the game to make it 5-3. Markus Naslund controlled the puck in the high slot and slid a pass down in front to Morrison, who slammed the disc home.

Colorado pulled to within a goal at 6:04 after Ian Laperriere unleashed a wrister into the top right corner of the net.

The Avs failed to net the equalizer as they could not get the puck past Luongo down the stretch.

The Avalanche struck first and grabbed a 1-0 lead just 2:49 after the game's opening faceoff. From the right point, Karlis Skrastins ripped a slap shot that Brunette tipped past a screened Luongo.

Vancouver tied things at 1-1 after Daniel Sedin rammed home a loose puck in the crease at 6:14 of the first period.

A short-handed tally by Brad Richardson at 10:51 of the first put the Avs in front at 2-1. Ben Guite intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and raced into Vancouver zone up the left wing. From down low, Guite centered a pass to a streaking Richardson, who backhanded the disc through the legs of Luongo.

Cooke's sixth goal of the campaign evened the score at 2-2 at the 17:36 mark of the first.

The Canucks took a 3-2 lead 8:17 into the second stanza. Morrison battled for a loose puck in the crease and after two swipes, managed to push the disc over the goal line.

Brunette's second goal of the contest made it 3-3 at 13:36 of the second.

Game Notes

The Canucks are now two points ahead of Calgary for the top spot in the Northwest Division...Colorado's Paul Stastny picked up an assist to extend his point-scoring streak to eight games...Vancouver went 1-for-4 on the power play while the Avs went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

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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