Sliding Ducks host Predators

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks aim for their first win in nearly a month tonight when they host a Nashville Predators club that is struggling to hold onto one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference.

The Ducks have dropped four straight (0-3-1) since the Olympic break, meaning they haven't won a game since February 14. Anaheim will try tonight to avoid matching its longest losing streak of the season, an 0-2-3 stumble from November 29-December 6.

The Ducks began their current seven-game homestand at Honda Center with a shootout loss to Montreal on Sunday prior to Tuesday's 5-2 setback in Columbus on Tuesday.

Anaheim trailed 3-0 going into the third period before goals by Lubomir Visnovsky and Ryan Getzlaf in the frame pulled it within one. However, the Ducks failed to get any closer.

Jonas Hiller allowed three goals on 20 shots but was pulled in the second period. Curtis McElhinney, who was acquired last week from Calgary for Vesa Toskala, made his debut with the Ducks and turned aside seven shots in relief.

Anaheim, which was without Teemu Selanne because of flu-like symptoms, lost for the third straight time at home since a franchise-record 11-game home winning streak and have fallen nine points behind Nashville and Calgary for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

"You can't come out of a break looking for a playoff run and then drop four straight," said Bobby Ryan, who had two assists. "It's unacceptable."

Nashville will look to take advantage of slumping Anaheim tonight in an effort to strengthen its playoff bid. The Predators have lost three of their last four and are a mere one point up on the ninth-seeded Red Wings in the standings.

The Preds were in San Jose last night and took a two-goal lead into the third period before getting outscored 6-1 in the final frame on the way to an 8-5 setback.

Patric Hornqvist and J.P. Dumont each had two goals for Nashville, while Dan Ellis was victimized for six goals on 23 shots before he was relieved by Pekka Rinne late in the third. Rinne faced only two shots and yielded the goal to Marleau.

"There were sort of horrendous things that happened," said Preds head coach Barry Trotz. "The goaltender misplays the puck and they get it, then we come back and show come character and tie it, 5-5. Then a really bad goal for the sixth, and that sort of destroyed us at that point."

Nashville fell to 1-1 on a four-game road trip while losing for the eighth time in its last 11 games as the guest.

The Ducks have won two of three versus the Predators this year as well as six of nine and eight of the last 12 meetings. Nashville has also dropped two straight and eight of its last nine in Anaheim.

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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.