Canes aim for longest win streak of the season

Resurgent 'Canes aim for longest win streak of season vs. Devils

Not many people were thinking playoffs for the Hurricanes after the season's first two months, but a possible postseason berth is getting a little closer to Carolina's reach.

The 'Canes shoot for a season-high fifth straight win and sixth in a row on home ice tonight versus the New Jersey Devils at RBC Center.

Carolina seemed buried in the standings at the end of November thanks to a 5-17-5 start. However, the Hurricanes are 18-13-2 since the start of December and are now within 10 points of a playoff spot. The club has netted 15 goals over its second four-game win streak of the season, giving it a win in eight of its last 10 games following Thursday's 4-3 overtime win versus Buffalo.

The Hurricanes fell behind by two goals in the first period, but Brandon Sutter and Ray Whitney both scored on the power play, with Whitney lighting the lamp with just two seconds left in the frame. Sutter later capped off his first career three-point night by notching his second assist of the game on Sergei Samsonov's game-winner 1:47 into overtime.

"Before we scored the power play goals and Sutter's line goes out and [Tuomo] Ruutu throws a couple hits and we draw a penalty and end up drawing another one, that for me was a turning point because we weren't really skating the way we were going to need to," said 'Canes head coach Paul Maurice.

Manny Legace ended with 30 saves and he has started three of the four games since Cam Ward was sidelined with a back injury. Legace has allowed seven goals over his personal three-game win streak.

Jussi Jokinen added an assist to give him six goals and three helpers over an eight-game point streak. He'll try to keep that run going tonight in the finale of a three-game homestand for Carolina, which will play four of its first five games after the Olympic break on the road.

The Hurricanes made a trade on Friday to bolster their blueline, sending center Matt Cullen to Ottawa for Alexandre Picard and a 2010 second-round draft pick. Cullen, who was on Carolina's Stanley Cup-winning club in 2006, had 12 goals and 28 assists in 60 games this year with the 'Canes, while Picard notched four goals and 11 assists in 45 games with the Senators.

Meanwhile, New Jersey comes to town having snapped a three-game slide with last night's 5-2 victory over Nashville. The win improved the Devils to just 5-9-2 over their last 16 games, but they did up their lead over the second- place Penguins to two points in the Atlantic Division after Pittsburgh lost in overtime to the Rangers Friday night.

Skating in his fifth game since being acquired a little over a week ago from Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk had the go-ahead goal in the third period. He also added an assist after going pointless in his previous three games.

Jamie Langenbrunner had a goal and two assists for the Devils, while Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias all had a goal and an assist. Martin Brodeur made 19 saves in the victory.

Tonight marks the first meeting this season between the Devils and Hurricanes in Carolina. New Jersey took the first two matchups at home, giving them a three-game win streak in the series, but it has lost three in a row at RBC Center.

The Devils have also lost five straight on the road overall.

NHL to open 2010-11 season in three European cities

NHL to open 2010-11 season in three European cities

New York, NY (Sports Network) - The NHL will continue its recent trend of playing season-openers in Europe, announcing Tuesday that six teams will play in three cities to start the 2010-11 campaign.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild will play a pair of games in Helsinki, Finland on October 7 and October 8. The Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks will square off for two games in Stockholm, Sweden on October 8 and October 9, while the Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes will take the ice for two games in Prague, Czech Republic on October 9 and October 10.

It will mark the fourth consecutive year that NHL teams will travel overseas to begin the season.

"The Premiere Games are a highly anticipated part of our season launch, and we are extremely pleased that six teams -- more than ever -- will open their season in Europe," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. "With these games, nearly half of our clubs will have participated in Premiere -- a testament to how excited our teams are to be playing before our outstanding fans in Europe."

Detroit and St. Louis opened this season with two games in Stockholm while Chicago and Florida met for a pair of games in Helsinki. Prague hosted the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning for two games to start the 2008-09 season, while Ottawa and Pittsburgh also opened that season with a two-game set in Stockholm.

The NHL also began the 2007-08 season in London, as the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings met for a pair of games. For more great news and information check out our friends at: bet on sports com

UFC Fight Night 20 Recap

UFC Fight Night 20 Recap - Does Maynard Get a Title Shot vs. BJ Penn?

by Nick Meyer

To tap, or not to tap? That is the proverbial question that Efrain Escudero faced on Monday night as opponent Evan Dunham cranked on his arm, threatening with all his might to break it.

Escudero waited as long as he possibly could, but the betting underdog Dunham had the arm-bar in so tight that there was no escaping with the limb intact.

Escudero, the betting favorite and former Ultimate Fighter winner, had no choice but to tap, but by then, it looked like some potentially serious damage had already been done. Escudero winced in pain on the mat as Dunham did a victory dance, cementing the most memorable (and cringe-worthy) highlight of Ultimate Fight Night 20.

From that point on, the action shifted to the main event of the evening as Gray Maynard attempted to avenge the only loss of his MMA career (albeit not an official one because of its Ultimate Fighter TV show status) against fellow lightweight Nate Diaz.

Maynard and Diaz slugged it out for three rounds with the fight only hitting the ground for a few sparse moments despite that area being both guys' strengths.

In the end, Maynard won a split decision, but he wasn't overly impressive in doing so. Now, the big question on every UFC fan's mind regarding the lightweight division is whether or not Maynard will be granted a title shot against BJ Penn at the recently announced UFC 112 event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Maynard didn't do well against Diaz compared with how he did against the likes of Jim Miller, fellow contender Frankie Edgar, and Roger Huerta, but Diaz's length seems to be a tough matchup for him along with his jiu-jitsu prowess.

Would Maynard give BJ Penn a fight? That's for the UFC to decide now as they look to fill what could be an exciting UFC 112 card in a unique venue in the Middle East.

Right now, Maynard has the edge over Edgar for the title shot, but some feel Edgar could be better-suited to give Penn some competition. The MMA betting community will find out soon which of these soon-to-be-huge underdogs will get the title shot against Penn.

Also taking home big wins at UFC Fight Night 20 were Amir Sadollah and Aaron Simpson.

Simpson, an intriguing middleweight prospect, got caught up in a war with the underdog Tom Lawlor that looked like a potential loss. But Simpson managed to gain control using his impressive takedowns and some well-placed shots before squeaking out a controversial split-decision that the crowd in Fairfax, Virginia couldn't help but boo.

Former TUF winner Sadollah was much more impressive on the night in the welterweight division, however, as he dominated Brad Blackburn for much of the fight, handing his opponent his first UFC loss.
Sadollah showed off his impressive head movement, quickness, and muay thai skills, blasting Blackburn with a big knee late in the fight and also with a big left hand earlier on. Each blow stunned Blackburn and scored big points on the judges' scorecards.

Sadollah, the slight betting favorite going in, stayed out of trouble for most of the fight and nearly finished Blackburn a couple of times.

Next up for UFC fans will be UFC 109: Relentless on February 6 in Las Vegas. The betting action should be fierce for the main event featuring Randy Couture and Mark Coleman on the BetUs.com Sportsbook, so check it out today and get ready another round of intense MMA action in the weeks to come.

NHL Predators Road trip against the Calgary Flames

Preds end road trip against sliding Flames

(Sports Network) - The Nashville Predators will attempt to wrap a three-game road trip perfect this evening as they take on the Calgary Flames, who will be trying to avoid a fifth loss in six games.

The Predators visit Pengrowth Saddledome off road wins over Vancouver and Edmonton. Nashville has won four straight and 10 its last 13 on the road (10-2-1), including Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the Oilers.

Ryan Jones notched a career-high three points off a goal and two assists, while Shea Weber and Marcel Goc scored 28 seconds apart early in the opening frame to set the tone. Weber, Goc, J.P. Dumont and Patric Hornqvist all ended with a goal and a helper each, while Pekka Rinne made 38 saves.

"We did a pretty good job of getting the lead early and Pekka kind of held us in it after that," Weber said.

Weber's two-point night gave him three goals and eight assists over his last eight games, while Hornqvist has five goals and three assists over his last six games. Hornqvist, who leads the team with 18 goals, also has 12 tallies and six helpers over his last 15 contests.

Nashville, which has won six of its last eight overall, was without captain Jason Arnott for a third game in a row because of an upper-body injury.

Still, the Predators improved to 17-7-2 on the road this year and are tied for fourth in the Western Conference with 59 points. Nashville is also nine points behind first-place Chicago in the Central Division.

The Flames have just one fewer point than the Predators, but enter tonight tied with the Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division. Colorado has gained on Calgary because the Flames have lost four of their last five and are 0-1-1 on a three-game homestand that concludes tonight.

After a shootout loss to Colorado on Monday, Calgary was dealt a 3-1 setback by visiting Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Mark Giordano scored the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 24 shots for the Flames, who have lost three straight at home and are 12-9-3 as the host this year.

"We had 18 or 19 quality scoring chances tonight and we were only able to capitalize on one of them," said Calgary coach Brent Sutter. "One goal a night is tough to win games."

Calgary hopes that Jarome Iginla is able to shake off his recent slump, as the Flames captain has zero points in his last five games and just one goal over his last 10 contests. Iginla, though, has three goals and six points in three games versus the Predators this year, as well as 26 goals and 24 assists in 39 career contests against them.

Iginla had two goals and an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Predators at home on December 19, just Calgary's second loss in the last six meetings at Pengrowth Saddledome.

The Flames have sandwiched a pair of road victories over Nashville around that loss to give them six wins and their last seven meetings with the Predators overall.

Kiprusoff has been in net for all three games of this season's series, going 2-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average with a 22-save shutout on November 30.

Rinne was on the other end of that blanking in his lone start versus Calgary this year, making 25 saves, while Dan Ellis has started the other two games, going 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA.

Merry Christmas from Coopers Sports Picks

Merry Christmas from your friends and family here at Cooper's Pick. Hope you have a lovely holiday and don't forget to check your live odds and check your winning sports picks list twice!

Atlantic lead on line in Pens-Devils clash

TSN- The battle for supremacy in the Atlantic Division has been slanted one way so far this year. The Pittsburgh Penguins will try for their first win in three games versus the New Jersey Devils this year in tonight's battle of division co-leaders at Mellon Arena.

The Penguins and Devils are both tied for the most points in the NHL with 51, good enough for a 16-point advantage over the third-place New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division.

However, while Pittsburgh has won seven of its 10 games versus division foes this year, two of those losses have been at home to New Jersey by 4-1 margins. The Devils are 6-3-0 versus the Atlantic Division this year and have won eight of their last 11 in the Steel City.

These two clubs will meet for the first time this year in New Jersey on December 30.

Both teams come into this matchup riding impressive win streaks. The Devils are in the midst of their second four-game winning streak of the season, while the Penguins have won five straight overall.

Pittsburgh has been doing its damage in the shootout, where it has won its last two games and is 6-0 this year. Kris Letang scored the lone shootout tally in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Buffalo, while Marc-Andre Fleury halted all three Buffalo skaters in the final frame to cap his 31-save effort.

"I think our side did awesome," Fleury said. "Guys played really hard to the end and in overtime. They blocked a lot of shots and they took the rebounds away from me, so that was big."

Chris Kunitz had the lone regulation tally for the Penguins, who went 0-for-5 on the man advantage but also held the Sabres scoreless on their eight power- play attempts.

The Penguins have now won seven of their last nine at home and begin a three- game residency tonight.

Pittsburgh has an outstanding 12-5-1 mark at home this year, but welcomes a New Jersey squad to town that is 12-2-1 on the road. New Jersey has won three straight as the guest and kicked off a three-game swing with a 5-4 victory in Atlanta on Saturday.

New Jersey fell behind 3-1 in the first period, as Martin Brodeur allowed three goals on six shots before getting the early hook. He was making his 12th straight start and first since setting a new NHL record for most regular- season appearances by a goaltender with 1,030. Yann Danis came on in relief in his first appearance since November 21 and made 19 saves on 20 shots.

Brian Rolston, Rod Pelley and Dean McAmmond all scored in the second period and McAmmond capped a four-goal burst with another marker in the third. Pelley, meanwhile, notched his first goal since November 23, 2007 versus Atlanta.

"We changed goalies to be different," said New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire. "I thought it was a good opportunity to put Danis in. The guys kept working hard. It's a great win for us because of the situation. Our first period was probably our best period."

New Jersey's Patrik Elias added an assist to run his point streak to seven games. He has four goals and eight points on the run.

Coyotes sign D Eriksson

The Phoenix Coyotes on Monday signed veteran defenseman Anders Eriksson and recalled him from San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 34-year-old Swede had a goal and two assists in eight games with the Rampage. He spent the majority of the 2008-09 campaign with Calgary's AHL affiliate, the Quad City Flames.

Originally selected by Detroit with the 22nd overall pick of the 1993 draft, Eriksson has registered 22 goals and 149 assists in 552 career NHL games with the Red Wings, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Columbus and Calgary.

He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1998.