Caps lose Ovechkin but beat Blackhawks with furious four-goal rally

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicklas Backstrom scored twice, including the winning goal at 3:10 of overtime, as the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3, at United Center.

Backstrom, Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr scored 2:16 apart in the third period to erase a 3-0 deficit. Jose Theodore made 20 saves for the Capitals, who have already secured their third consecutive Southeast Division title and lead the NHL with 101 points.

Washington mustered the comeback without captain Alex Ovechkin. He missed the majority of the contest after receiving a major and a game misconduct for shoving Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell, who crashed violently into the end boards from behind at the 12:16 mark of the first period. Campbell's right shoulder appeared to absorb most of the collision. He did not return to the game.

Jonathan Toews had a pair of goals for Chicago, which was coming off a tough 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Blackhawks surrendered two goals in the final 2:04 against the Flyers, including Chris Pronger's game-winner with 2.1 seconds left.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots to take the loss.

Washington got on the board when Laich converted a Mike Green rebound for a power-play goal at 5:29 of the final period.

David Steckel won a race to negate an icing and quickly centered the puck to Fehr, who tied the game at 7:45, just 13 seconds after Backstrom cashed in a friendly carom off the lively end boards.

The Swede struck again in overtime, pushing the puck down the left side on an odd-man rush and slipping a shot through the pads of Niemi after dangling the puck around a defenseman.

Chicago took advantage of a breakdown in coverage to open the scoring at the seven-minute mark of the first period.

Following a faceoff win by Toews in the Washington zone, Patrick Kane, who saw a nine-game point streak end in the loss to Philadelphia, moved the puck over to defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson at the left point. Hjalmarsson then fed an uncovered Toews for a successful one-timer below the right circle.

Ovechkin's day ended prematurely several minutes later.

The chief scoring chance during the extended power play belonged to Alexander Semin. The Washington sniper had a breakaway in the final minute, but Niemi made a left pad save.

Unfortunately, for Semin, his momentum carried him into the rookie Finn, which resulted in a goaltender interference penalty and a brief two-man advantage for the Blackhawks.

Toews' 5-on-3 tally gave Chicago a two-goal lead with 3:06 to play in the opening frame. A redirection from the high slot by John Madden made it 3-0 at 6:54 of the second period.

Game Notes

Theodore improved to 14-0-2 in his last 16 decisions...Washington had lost three of four on the road...Capitals forward Boyd Gordon appeared in his 300th career game...Right winger Marian Hossa and defenseman Kim Johnsson were out of the lineup with upper-body injuries for Chicago...The Capitals reached the 100-point plateau in Game 69, setting a new franchise record first established in 1985-86 when the Caps reached the mark in Game 74 that season.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.