Sharks continue trek with test in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After splitting the first two tests of an epic nine-game road trip, the San Jose Sharks will travel to the Sunshine State for tonight's battle against the Lightning at Tampa Times Forum.

Thanks to a tennis tournament currently taking place at HP Pavilion, the Sharks have been pushed to the road for the majority of February. San Jose began its swing this past Sunday in St. Louis and the club won't play at home again until Feb. 28 against Philadelphia.

After dropping a 3-0 decision to the Blues, San Jose bounced back with Monday's victory in Washington. The 5-3 decision over the Capitals was just the second win in five games for the Sharks, who are currently three points ahead of Los Angeles for first place in the Pacific Division.

Joe Pavelski was the offensive star in Monday's victory, as he totaled four points on two goals and two assists in San Jose's win at Verizon Center.

Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who went 3-for-6 on the power play one night after getting shut out by the Blues.

"The message changed, and it was up to them to bounce back and respond the way they did," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan.

Joe Thornton added three helpers and Thomas Greiss stopped 39-of-42 shots for his third win in four starts. The victory also improved San Jose's road record this season to 13-8-4.

The Sharks have dominated the Lightning in recent years, winning two straight and six of the last seven meetings in this series. San Jose posted a 7-2 home win over Tampa back on Dec. 21 with Logan Couture scoring twice for the Sharks in that lopsided victory.

San Jose had won three straight in Tampa until a 5-2 loss at the Forum on Oct. 22, 2009.

The Lightning have lost two straight and are just 2-3-2 in February after closing January on a season-high five-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay, which is 15-9-2 at home compared to a 9-17-4 road record, began a four-game homestand on Tuesday and was dealt a 4-0 setback by the Ottawa Senators. Jason Spezza notched a hat trick for the visitors and Craig Anderson made 28 saves to record the win.

Mathieu Garon allowed three goals on 26 shots in the loss, which was Tampa's first shutout defeat since dropping a 3-0 decision in St. Louis on Nov. 12.

"I think we missed a lot of opportunities that could have gotten everyone rolling. We definitely got a lot of chances to get back in the game," Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier said.

Lightning defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron (back) and Matt Gilroy (upper body) have missed the last four and two games, respectively, and both players are questionable for tonight.

Tampa Bay is tied with Buffalo for 13th in the East and is 10 points out of a playoff spot.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.