Gainey and Habs try to build momentum against Isles

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A sudden coaching change produced an instant boost for the Montreal Canadiens. The embattled club will now try to build off that encouraging victory when the New York Islanders invade the Bell Centre this evening.

Just one day after general manager Bob Gainey replaced Guy Carbonneau with himself behind the bench, the Canadiens rallied behind captain Saku Koivu to overtake the visiting Edmonton Oilers in overtime on Tuesday.

Koivu scored the game-tying goal with 4:35 remaining in regulation, then later netted the winning marker on a power-play opportunity 1:40 into extra time to give the Habs a thrilling 4-3 victory.

The win followed Sunday's 3-1 road ousting of Dallas in Carbonneau's final game and was the sixth in eight tries for Montreal. The surge has the Canadiens fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 79 points, although only three points separate the team from the ninth-place New York Rangers.

The Canadiens appear to have an opportunity to distance themselves from the pack, as Tuesday's contest was the first of nine home tilts over a 10-game stretch. Montreal has posted an excellent 21-6-4 record as the host this season and has won four in a row on home ice.

The Islanders did defeat the Habs in their previous trip to the Bell Centre this season, however, having earned a 4-3 shootout win there on November 24. New York had lost six straight times to Montreal prior to that breakthrough, though, and are 2-7-0 over their last seven games as the visitor in this series.

In addition, the Islanders come in on a seven-game road losing streak and are a woeful 6-23-3 away from home on the season. The team has dropped 21 of its last 22 matchups in enemy arenas (1-19-2).

New York's road woes continued with Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss at Toronto, in which the Islanders failed to hold onto a one-goal edge after two periods.

Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau scored 45 seconds apart in the first period for the lone New York goals, while Joey McDonald made 25 saves in a losing cause.

Comeau is riding a five-game scoring streak and has tallied three goals and three assists during the run, while Okposo -- the seventh overall selection in the 2006 draft -- has a goal in three consecutive games.

The Islanders had won four of their last five tests prior to Tuesday's defeat and had a two-game win streak halted by the Maple Leafs.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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