Bruins shoot for seventh straight win in visit to Carolina

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12/27/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will aim for their seventh consecutive victory when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes for this evening's matchup at RBC Center.

The Bruins, who lead the Eastern Conference and Southeast Division with 54 points, haven't lost since falling at Washington on December 10. In addition to winning six straight, Boston has also posted a 20-2-1 record in its last 23 outings.

Boston is 2-0 so far on a five-game road trip that will keep the team busy for the rest of the calendar year. The Bruins are 12-4-3 as the visiting club and have won three straight and five of their last six on the road. Boston will visit Atlanta on Sunday before stopping in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

The most-recent victory for the Bruins came Tuesday evening at New Jersey. Tim Thomas made 25 saves for his third shutout of the season, as Boston notched a 2-0 win over the Devils at the Prudential Center.

Milan Lucic and David Krejci lit the lamp for the Bruins. Phil Kessel, who was sporting an NHL-best 18-game point streak coming into the game, was held pointless in the victory.

Lucic is now tied for the longest point streak in the NHL at eight games, while Krejci has reached the scoresheet in six straight tests. Todd White of Atlanta also has an eight-game point streak.

Carolina won for the second time in three games on Friday night, as they edged the Thrashers in Atlanta. Eric Staal's third-period hat trick helped the Hurricanes overtake Atlanta, 5-4, at Philips Arena.

Staal scored his first goal of the game at 7:27 of the third period to knot the score at 3-3. After Bryan Little gave Atlanta a 4-3 edge, Staal then scored two more goals in a span of just over one minute around the midway point of the period to put the 'Canes ahead for good.

Chad LaRose and Patrick Eaves notched the other two goals for the Hurricanes, who have earned points in eight of their last 10 games, going 5-2-3 during that span.

Ray Whitney collected three assists, while Cam Ward made 27 saves to pick up his 12th win of the season. Whitney has recorded a point in five straight games and has two goals and seven helpers during the run.

This evening's test marks the first of a three-game homestand for the Hurricanes, who are 9-8-1 as the host this year. Carolina has won three in a row on home ice after dropping its previous five tests in Raleigh.

Boston earned a 4-2 home win over the Hurricanes on December 20 in the first of four meetings between the clubs this year. The Bruins have won the last two encounters, but Carolina has still taken six of nine matchups in the series. The Bruins have won two of their last three games in Raleigh.

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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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