Lightning and Stars collide in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Tampa Bay Lightning conclude a three-game homestand this evening, when they welcome the Dallas Stars to the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Lightning come into the game as winners in 10 of their past 13 games to rocket past the struggling Atlanta Thrashers for the top spot in the Southeast standings. Tampa Bay currently holds a one-point edge over the Thrashers, but have played one fewer game.

On Sunday, Brad Richards had a goal and three assists as Tampa Bay bested Pittsburgh, 5-1. The team dropped the opener of its stand against Boston on Friday.

Martin St. Louis posted a goal and an assist while Ruslan Fedotenko and Eric Perrin each finished with two assists in the win over the Penguins for the Lightning, who have won 12 straight against Pittsburgh.

Paul Ranger, Filip Kuba and Vincent Lecavalier also scored and Johan Holmqvist needed to make just 17 saves for head coach John Tortorella's 200th win with Tampa Bay.

Both Richards and Lecavalier are currently riding eight-game point streaks. Richards has three goals and 12 assists over his burst that includes at least an assist in each game, while Lecavalier has seven goals and seven assists over his streak.

The Lightning are now 18-14-0 as the host this season and has won six of their last seven at home, the but will kick off a lengthy six-game road swing in Washington on Thursday.

Dallas is in a divisional battle of its own as it is currently tied with the San Jose Sharks for second place in the Pacific Division. Both teams trail the Ducks by seven points for the lead in the standings.

The Stars recorded a 2-1 overtime victory over Vancouver on Sunday. Philippe Boucher tied the game in the final minutes of regulation and Jere Lehtinen sent the Stars home as winners after scoring with 43 seconds left in overtime.

Marty Turco was solid in goal, stopping 17-of-18 shots for Dallas, which has won two straight games and three of its last four.

Center Eric Lindros (lower body and flu) is questionable for tonight's tilt.

The Stars are 16-12-2 on the road this season and will play in Florida on Thursday.

Dallas carries into the contest a seven-game road winning streak against the Lightning. The Stars have also won 11 of the last 14 overall meetings in the series.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.