12/02/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski scored power play goals 81 seconds apart early in the third period, rallying Toronto to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Jeff Finger added an empty-net goal and Vesa Toskala came up huge by stopping 32 shots, including all 26 he faced over the final two periods.
"Vesa kept us in there and I think you give him a lot of credit there for the whole game," said Finger. "He gave us some time to get our legs back and he kind of answered in the second and third."
The Maple Leafs had lost five in a row before making a change at general manager, and they've since won two straight with Brian Burke as the new GM. Also, Toronto won for the first time at the Staples Center. The Maple Leafs played there for only the third time since it opened. Their previous win in Los Angeles came March 12, 1998 at the Great Western Forum.
"The early part of the game was a matter of us going post to post and finding our legs," said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "The Kings were all over, but once we settled down we got back into our 'throw the puck back into the net' kind of a game and obviously we got some huge saves and with goaltending like that you have a very good chance of winning."
Alexander Frolov scored on LA's first shot of the game, but the Kings had a two-game win streak broken. Jason LaBarbera made 27 saves.
LaBarbera stopped all 17 shots he faced over the first two periods, but the Kings were hurt by tripping penalties to Sean O'Donnell and Dustin Brown in the first two minutes of the third.
"It's tough when you take two penalties right away," said LaBarbera. "We talked about that right before we went out there; try to keep your sticks on you because we were the ones who got two calls there at the end of the second. Unfortunately it went against us and they scored two goals."
Toronto tied the game while on a two-man advantage. Niklas Hagman shot the puck from the right side of the net. The disc deflected high into the air and bounced in the crease. Stajan barely got his stick on the puck and it trickled into the net at the 2:09 mark.
Los Angeles then turned the puck over in its own end. John Mitchell had the puck in the right corner and delivered a pass to Grabovski in front for a successful deflection.
The Toronto netminder stopped a close-in try from Brad Richardson with 4 1/2 minutes left, although Richardson didn't get much on the shot.
The Kings pulled LaBarbera with over a minute left. Matt Greene's shot from the high slot with nearly 45 seconds left was deflected wide of the net.
Finger then iced the victory with 11 seconds remaining.
"To go into the third period up 1-0 and end up down two men so quickly, it was unfortunate," said Kings coach Terry Murray. "The game was going pretty well. Both teams worked hard, battled hard, some great opportunities at both ends. I think both goaltenders were tremendous tonight. It's unfortunate that it ends the way it did on a 5-on-3. We had our opportunity later and we weren't able to get much generated to get an opportunity to tie the game up."
Just after the game started, Frolov was sent on a breakaway off a pass from Greene and deposited a backhander over the right pad of Toskala with only 57 seconds expired.
Game Notes
Frolov has scored in four of the last five games...Toskala is 7-2 lifetime against the Kings...Toronto started a three-game western road trip with contests at San Jose and Phoenix upcoming...Frolov has a team-leading nine goals...The Kings were 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Leafs were 2-for-5.
<< Marvelous Monday night debut: Slaton carries Texans past Jags
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Slaton was ready for prime time with 130
yards on the ground and two touchdowns, and the Houston Texans opened up the
offense in their first-ever Monday Night Football appearance, leading to a
30-17 v
<< Former NHLer Martin dies in drowning accident
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hubert "Pit" Martin, who spent 18 years in the
NHL with four clubs, including more than 10 seasons with the Chicago
Blackhawks, passed away Monday after a drowning incident in Canada.
The 64-year-ol
<< Avs use big second period and then hold off Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny had two goals and an assist, and
capped a Colorado scoring binge with the eventual game-winner late in a four-
goal second period as the Avalanche topped the Minnesota Wild, 6-5, at Xcel
Energy
<< A's don't offer arbitration to Thomas
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics declined to offer salary
arbitration to any of their four free agents, including designated hitter
Frank Thomas.
Left-handed pitcher Alan Embree, right-handed pitcher Keith Fou
Phillies pass on arbitration for Burrell, Moyer >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pat Burrell era in Philadelphia took
one step toward its possible conclusion after the World Series champion
Phillies balked at offering he and 16-game winner Jamie Moyer arbitration
prior t
Mets' Perez offered arbitration >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez was offered
salary arbitration prior to the midnight (et) deadline Monday night.
The 27-year-old left-hander has until the conclusion of Sunday to accept the
arbitration of
Pulley, Guyton highlight MEAC All-Conference Team >>
Virginia Beach, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina State running back Will
Ford was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive
Player of the Year and Morgan State's Jarrell Guyton earned the Defensive
Player of the Year
Knicks welcome Blazers to MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will continue a five-game road
trip this evening against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Portland has won four straight overall and opened the trek with Sunday's 96-85
victory over
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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