Eriksson leads Dallas into Ottawa

Hockey Betting Lines

12/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a season filled with losses and injuries, Loui Eriksson is providing the Stars with a little bit of excitement. The 23-year-old will try to light the lamp for a third straight game tonight in Dallas' road matchup with the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

Eriksson followed up the third two-goal game of his season with his first- career hat trick on Thursday in a 6-5 shootout win over Columbus. The Swede's five-goal outburst over his last two games has given him a career-high 17 markers on the season. He netted 14 goals in 69 games last year after notching six in his 59-game rookie season in 2006-07.

Brad Richards also scored on Thursday in addition to posting three assists. He found the back of the net as Dallas' first skater in the shootout as well and Mike Ribeiro, who had a pair of assists in regulation, later sealed the win with a goal of his own in the extra session.

Marty Turco made 23 saves prior to the shootout, though Columbus felt he was bailed out by a bad call. The Blue Jackets' Manny Malhotra appeared to have won the game 13 seconds into overtime, but it was ruled by the officials that he used a kicking motion to direct the puck into the net.

Dallas' victory was its second in a row and sixth in its last nine games, though the team is still last in the Pacific Division with 30 points just one season after its run to the Western Conference finals.

However, injuries to Jere Lehtinen (upper body), captain Brenden Morrow (knee) and Sergei Zubov (hip) amongst others have slowed down the club. Zubov, in fact, will undergo surgery that will sideline him indefinitely.

Steve Ott (hand) and Joel Lundqvist (shoulder) were activated from injured reserve prior to Thursday's game, with Lundqvist providing two assists.

Dallas is 6-9-1 on the road this year and will also host Toronto on Tuesday.

Goal scoring has been a problem for Ottawa this year, including last night when they were handed a 5-1 setback by New Jersey. It was the Senators second straight loss and fifth in six games. They are getting outscored 20-8 over that time span.

Jarkko Ruutu had the only goal for Ottawa, a short-handed tally off assists from Chris Kelly and Chris Phillips. Alex Auld surrendered all five goals on 26 shots in the loss.

The defeat dropped the Senators to 3-8-2 on the road this year, but the club is a much better 8-6-3 as the host. However, following tonight's game Ottawa will play its next eight games on the road and won't return to Scotiabank Place until January 10.

The Stars have won three of their last five versus the Senators, but lost the most recent matchup, 4-2, in Dallas on December 7 of last season.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.