Oilers hoping to end longtime suffering in Minnesota

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last thing that the Edmonton Oilers need at this point in the season is a trip to Minnesota. The road-weary club will try to snap its 12-game slide in the Twin Cities, where the Wild shoot for a third straight victory tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

The Oilers have lost all three games thus far on their swing despite scoring 11 goals. Edmonton, though, has allowed 15 goals on the trek to run its overall road losing streak to five games. The team has also dropped 16 of its last 17 on the road, where it is just 8-23-3 this season.

Edmonton made a stop in Columbus on Monday and was dealt a 5-3 setback. Robert Nilsson and Aaron Johnson had a goal and an assist each and Dustin Penner also scored for the Oilers, who have lost four straight overall. Devan Dubnyk added 24 saves in the setback.

"Early on in the game we got wide open," Oilers head coach Pat Quinn said. "It was like line rushes for both teams. We had chances going their way, too. A lot of missed positioning. It was a competitive night. Certainly at the start of the third period our veterans let us down a little bit. Two quick [Columbus] goals in the first few minutes, both [on] turnovers and bad checking. It's disappointing."

Already with the likes of Nikolai Khabibulin, Ales Hemsky and Sheldon Souray on injured reserve, the Oilers scratched Ladislav Smid (neck), Patrick O'Sullivan (hand), Ryan Jones (MCL) and Fernando Pisani (groin) last night due to injuries.

Edmonton has also dropped five of its last seven overall, but one of those two victories came against the Wild on March 5, when the Oilers managed a 2-1 shootout triumph. Mike Comrie had the lone goal in regulation for Edmonton and also scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout.

The Wild and Oilers have split their four meetings so far this year, with each club winning twice on home ice. Minnesota has also won seven of its last 11 versus Edmonton and hasn't lost at home to the Oilers since Jan. 16, 2007, outscoring them 43-14 as the host in that span.

Guillaume Latendresse scored for the Wild in the March 5 loss to the Oilers, part of a span in which he has scored nine goals over 13 games. The forward has a career-high 25 goals on the season, with 23 of those coming in 43 games since being acquired by Minnesota from Montreal on Nov. 23.

Latendresse also had a goal in Sunday's 4-2 win over St. Louis, Minnesota's second victory in a row after an 0-2-2 skid. Mikko Koivu had a goal and two assists, while Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen both scored and added a helper.

Minnesota, which improved to 22-9-3 at home this year, enters this game eight points back of a playoff spot with 14 games to play.

"We have to win the games coming up," said Wild goaltender Josh Harding after making 35 saves. "We were ready to play, and we got a big win. [The Blues are] a great hockey club -- you got to give them all the credit in the world. Fortunately, we came out on top."

Harding made his third straight start in place of Niklas Backstrom, who is unlikely to play again tonight due to a groin injury.

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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.