Tavares scores twice as Islanders handle Canucks
Hockey Betting Lines
03/17/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie John Tavares posted two goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place.
Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who have won three straight following a four-game winless skid. Dwayne Roloson was strong with 35 saves, while Dylan Reese and Freddy Meyer also scored for the victors.
With 67 points and 12 games remaining in the season, the Eastern Conference playoff race is taking shape with the Islanders on the outside looking in. New York sits seven points behind the current eighth-seeded Boston Bruins.
Kyle Wellwood and Alexandre Burrows scored for the Canucks, who saw their seven-game home win streak halted and failed to record at least one point for only the second time since the Olympic break (6-2-1). Roberto Luongo allowed four goals on 12 shots through two periods before being pulled in favor of Andrew Raycroft, who ended with seven saves.
After Colorado's win in St. Louis earlier Tuesday, Vancouver's lead atop the Northwest Division was trimmed to three points.
The Islanders opened the scoring at the 6:22 mark of the first period on Reese's first career goal. The rookie defenseman held control at the centerpoint and released a wrist shot that made its way through traffic and past Luongo.
A roughing minor called on Vancouver's Mikael Samuelsson at 11:29 led to New York's second goal.
Only 16 seconds into the power play, Tavares scored his 19th goal of the season. He held control along the goal line to the right of the net and passed to Blake Comeau in the low slot. Comeau's one-timer was saved, but the rebound was put home by Tavares from the right post.
Moulson, who had earlier in the game hit the post with a wrister from the left circle, lit the lamp at the 15:30 mark of the second period for a 3-0 Isles lead. From the bottom of the right circle, Tavares' blind backhand pass perfectly found the stick of Moulson, who redirected it into the back of the net from the top of the crease.
However, only 65 seconds later, Wellwood cut the Vancouver deficit to two.
Exactly two minutes after Wellwood's tally, the hosts drew within 3-2 via Burrow's 32nd tally of the campaign. The play was made possible by Daniel Sedin, who held control behind the net and sent a beautiful backhand pass from a sharp angle to the cutting Burrows, whose backhander from the goal mouth beat Roloson.
New York regained its two-goal advantage with eight seconds remaining before the second intermission. Tavares streaked down the right-wing side and attempted a stuffer at the near post. The puck trickled past Luongo's far pad and deflected off the leg of Meyer, who was falling down in the crease.
Roloson was solid down the stretch and stopped all nine shots he faced throughout the final stanza before Tavares' empty-netter capped the scoring.
Game Notes
The Isles halted their nine-game road skid...Despite the loss, Vancouver is still 25-8-1 at home this season...The last Islanders victory in Vancouver was on March 19, 1999...New York was 1-for-4 on the power play and held the hosts without a goal on both of their chances with the extra skater.
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the Lakers past the Kings, 106-99, at ARCO Arena. The win was LA's fourth straight and 50th of
<< Suns go off for 152, blow out Timberwolves
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson led eight Phoenix players in
double figures with 27 points as the Suns lit up the scoreboard with a 152-114
win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center.
Amare Stoudemire netted 2
<< Anthony, Nuggets hand Wizards ninth straight defeat
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and grabbed 12
rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets battled back to upend the Washington Wizards,
97-87, at the Pepsi Center.
J.R. Smith added 17 points off the bench and Nene
<< Stars crush Sharks in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored a
pair of goals, as the Dallas Stars demolished the Western Conference-leading
San Jose Sharks, 8-2, at American Airlines Center.
Brad Richards had a goal and tw
<< Wozniacki, Dementieva, Jankovic reach Indian Wells QFs
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark,
fourth-seeded Russian star Elena Dementieva and No. 6 seed Jelena Jankovic of
Serbia were each victorious in fourth-round play Tuesday at the $4.5 million
BNP Par
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer was upset by 27th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in third-round action, while fourth-seeded Andy Murray and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick moved into the fourth round Tuesday at the $4.
Bell signs offer sheet with Eagles >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles signed restricted
free agent running back Mike Bell to an offer sheet on Thursday.
The New Orleans Saints now have seven days to match the deal, which the
Philadelphia Inqui
Ark-Pine Bluff beats Winthrop in NCAA opener >>
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -When it mattered most, Arkansas-Pine Bluff turned into kings of the road.Losers of their first 11 games - all on the road - the Golden Lions turned their first trip to the NCAA tournament into one worth the extra packing. Allen Sm
Hughes, Bohannon may give Badgers tournament edge >>
MILWAUKEE (AP) -It's perhaps the most oft-repeated nugget of conventional NCAA tournament wisdom and it bodes particularly well for Wisconsin this year: Experienced guard play can be a decisive edge.The Badgers start one of the tournament's most exp
Lobos' NCAA history rife with stories of infamy >>
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico has one of the most famous arenas in college basketball and a devoted legion of hoops-crazy fans.Something the Lobos have never had? Two straight victories in the NCAA tournament.``Never gotten out of the second ro
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.