Cleary's hat trick paces Red Wings past Blue Jackets
Hockey Betting Lines
12/29/2006 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Cleary had a hat trick, tallying the game-winning goal with 5:19 remaining in regulation as the Detroit Red Wings needed a late rally to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-4, in a Central Division matchup at Nationwide Arena.
Pavel Datsyuk also had a pair of goals, while Robert Lang added three assists for Detroit, which has won four of its last five games. The Red Wings were bolstered by the return of Lang, who was back in the lineup after exiting Wednesday's game against Minnesota with the flu.
Henrik Zetterberg and Danny Markov also scored and Chris Osgood made 21 saves between the pipes.
Ron Hainsey, David Vyborny, Dan Fritsche and Adam Foote scored for Columbus, which has lost two of three. Fredrik Norrena surrendered six goals on 35 shots.
With his team trailing 4-3, Datsyuk's eighth goal of the season was the start of four straight third-period goals by Detroit. The center made the play by himself, as he eluded a diving defenseman just inside the blue line, weaved between a couple players and found a seam, beating Norrena through the five- hole to make it a 4-4 game with 8:36 remaining in the contest.
A few minutes later, an initial wrist shot by Lang over the glove of the Columbus netminder looked to be the deciding goal in the contest. After the game, the official scoring was changed to reflect that Cleary tipped the disc, giving him three goals on the night and 17 on the season.
Datsyuk's quick deflection through the netminder's skates gave the Red Wings a two-goal cushion with 1:45 to play, and Markov added an empty net goal just 12 seconds later.
Detroit blew a three-goal lead early on.
Markov ripped a shot from above the left faceoff circle that Norrena deflected, and Lang got a piece of the disc before Cleary, battling against Anders Eriksson in front, converted on the rebound to put Detroit up by a 1-0 margin at 4:21 in the opening period.
Cleary scored his second of the night with four minutes left in the stanza. On nearly the same play that netted the first score, Brett Lebda rifled a slapshot at the net that Lang managed to collect before sending a backhand pass to Cleary. The right winger was all alone in the slot and wristed a shot past Norrena to give Detroit a 2-0 lead with four minutes left before intermission.
Zetterberg wristed a shot into the top right corner of the net, over the glove of the sprawling Norrena, to make it a 3-0 game at 8:45 in the second.
Hainsey finally put the Blue Jackets on the board with 7:28 remaining to cut the deficit to two goals. Eriksson started the play by faking a shot from just off the blue line and then dished to Hainsey. With traffic in front of the crease, the puck skipped between several players and beat Osgood for the 3-1 score.
Columbus struck again just 1:28 later, as Vyborny stole the puck during a scrum in the corner of the offensive zone, skated past Osgood and then lifted a backhand shot underneath the crossbar for his 100th career NHL goal and 100th as a Columbus Blue Jacket.
A power play goal by Fritsche tied the game at 3-3 at 3:15 in the final stanza. With Lang off for holding, Detroit won the draw in the neutral zone before the Jackets put the puck in deep. Seconds later, Fritsche flicked a wrist shot toward the net that eluded Osgood, finding room between the netminder's glove and the near post.
"Detroit is an East-West team, and they move the puck unbelievably, laterally across the ice" said Fritsche. "Their puck movement is the best in the league, by far. You just have to be patient and make sure you are sound defensively."
Foote's blazing slapshot from the point gave Columbus its first lead of the contest just over two minutes later. The goal once again came on the man- advantage, as Foote bested Osgood on a 51-foot slapshot to make it 4-3.
"Obviously things were going wrong (at that point)," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. "Things were going bad and it would have been easy for us to fold, but we didn't. We scored and got it started, and we went from there. In the third period we decided that we weren't going to lose."
Game Notes
The Red Wings have won 26 of the 33 all-time meetings with the Blue Jackets, losing only five in regulation and another in a shootout. One other contest ended in a tie...Blue Jackets netminder Pascal Leclaire had arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday and is expected to miss at least six weeks. Ty Conklin was recalled from Syracuse to serve as Norrena's backup...Vyborny has 16 points in his last 11games (6G, 10A)...Columbus went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Detroit converted on 1-of-3 chances.
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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