Habs edge Bruins, win fifth straight

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Kostitsyn scored a pair of goals and Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots, as Montreal edged Boston, 3-2, at Bell Centre.

Andrei Markov netted the other goal for the Canadiens, who won their fifth straight game and pulled into a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia.

Halak posted his 22nd victory of the season and has won each of his last four starts.

Blake Wheeler and Milan Lucic tallied for the Bruins, losers in three of their last four. Tuukka Rask allowed three goals on 27 shots in defeat.

The Habs went up 3-1 at 1:41 of the third period, when a dump-in by Hal Gill to the right of the Bruins' net was misplayed in front by both Rask and a Boston defenseman. Kostitsyn, who was gliding through the slot, shoveled the loose puck into the open net.

Lucic did bring the Bruins back within a goal on a screen shot from the low slot at 11:46 after circling from the right wing into the slot, but the visitors did not solve Halak further.

Markov put the Canadiens on the board when his floater from the point on a power play hit a Bruin in the slot and changed direction at 6:02.

Montreal went up 2-0 with 40 seconds left in the period, as Markov skated behind the net and dished in front for a successful tip by Kostitsyn.

Wheeler cut Boston's deficit in half 1:12 into the second period, but Halak halted the other four Bruins shots in the frame to keep it a one-goal contest.

Game Notes

Montreal won five of the six meetings this season...The Canadiens play in Manhattan against the Rangers on Tuesday, and the Bruins travel to New Jersey on Monday.

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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.