Maple Leafs aim to stay hot versus Thrashers

Hockey Betting Lines

12/22/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will aim for their fifth win in six games when they head south to face the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena.

The Maple Leafs picked up an impressive two points Saturday in Pittsburgh, as they pounded the Penguins, 7-3.

Nik Antropov had a goal and two assists to lead Toronto to the easy win at Mellon Arena. The Leafs led 3-1 after the first period and held a 5-1 advantage after 40 minutes of play.

Pavel Kubina and Alex Ponikarovsky each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs.

Vesa Toskala made 20 saves in the win and improved to 13-9-5 this season.

The Finnish backstop has an excellent career mark against the Thrashers, going 5-0-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and ,926 save percentage in six games.

Toronto is capping a three-game road trip tonight and is 7-8-2 as the visiting team this season. The Leafs have lost three of their last five games away from the Air Canada Centre.

The Thrashers have won two of their last three games, but are just 3-7-2 in their last 12 games overall.

Atlanta earned a victory its last time out, defeating the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning by a 4-3 score on Saturday.

Kari Lehtonen was the star for the Thrashers as he made his first appearance in almost two months and stopped 36 shots. Lehtonen had been battling a back injury and hadn't played a game since October 30.

Joseph Crabb, Todd White, Eric Perrin and Slava Kozlov each had a goal for the Thrashers.

White has recorded a point in five straight games and has three goals and four helpers during the stretch.

The Thrashers, who have lost seven of their last eight home tests, are wrapping a three-game homestand tonight. Atlanta is just 6-8-2 as the host this year.

Atlanta has won five of the last eight meetings with the Maple Leafs, including a 6-3 victory in Toronto on November 25. However, Toronto has won two straight and seven of its last nine in Atlanta.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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