Boyle's hat trick helps Lightning past struggling Rangers

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12/24/2006 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Boyle netted his first career hat trick, with all three goals coming in the third period, as the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a stunning comeback to defeat the New York Rangers, 4-3, at St. Pete Times Forum.

Boyle, who is only the second defenseman in Tampa Bay history to record a hat trick, also notched an assist on Vincent Lecavalier's game-tying goal as the Lightning won their third straight game, equaling their best win streak of the season. Tampa Bay had gone 1-7-1 in its last nine games before the three-win stretch.

Marc Denis allowed three goals on just 16 shots in two periods of play before Johan Holmqvist took over netminding duties in the third and made 12 saves to ice the win.

Martin Straka had a goal and an assist, and Blair Betts and Aaron Ward also tallied for the Rangers, who dropped their fifth straight contest. New York last dropped five in a row to close the 2005-06 regular season.

Henrik Lundqvist returned to the lineup after battling the flu and made 22 saves, but stopped just six of ten shots in the final stanza amidst the Rangers collapse.

Trailing 3-0 heading into the final period, Tampa Bay's offense exploded for three goals in under five minutes to tie things up before grabbing the lead for good later in the stanza.

Boyle started things off by scoring on the power play with 1:02 expired in the period.

He followed up that effort just 1:27 later with another marker, then assisted on Lecavalier's power-play goal that tied the score at 5:56.

Boyle completed the hat trick on a wrist shot from the slot to make it 4-3 with 8:57 left.

Amazingly, New York outshot Tampa Bay 12-10 in the final period and also pulled their netminder with under a minute remaining, but couldn't get off a shot with the man-advantage.

New York finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Lightning went 2-for-6.

Given a 5-on-3 for over a minute, the Rangers cashed in just 42 seconds later with their first score of the contest. Brendan Shanahan fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that was blocked, but the rebound came out to Straka just inside the right circle and he was able to bang the puck into empty net at 16:37 in the first period.

The Blueshirts struck again with just 52 ticks remaining in the period, off a turnover just inside the blue line. Betts corralled the puck and fired a 49- foot slapshot that flew over the glove of Denis for the 2-0 advantage.

New York took a 3-0 lead on Ward's third tally of the season and his first since October. Nylander started the play, sliding a pass to Straka after striding across the blueline. Straka played the puck off the boards before sending a cross-ice pass to Ward, who beat Denis on a one-timer at 8:17 in the second period.

Game Notes

Lecavalier has a point in 11 of his last 12 games, recording 11 goals and 10 assists in the stretch...Brad Richards had a pair of assists for Tampa Bay...Michael Nylander also returned for New York after missing three games with the flu...The Rangers are 3-1-2 in their last six matchups with the Lightning, but have lost in five of their last seven visits to Tampa...Tampa Bay has the weakest penalty-killing team in the NHL, allowing a goal in one out of every four power-plays against them this season...The official attendance was 20,122.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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