A Cyber Bookie

Capitals crush Thrashers with onslaught of offense

Hockey Betting Lines

01/09/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Knuble and Alexander Semin each scored two goals, and Washington continued its dominance in the Southeast Division with a 8-1 drubbing of Atlanta at Philips Arena.

Nicklas Backstrom and David Steckel also scored for the Caps, while Jeff Schultz had two assists and a plus-five rating in Washington's ninth win out of 10 division contests.

Michal Neuvirth made 38 stops in the victory for the Capitals, who got at least one point from 16 different skaters.

"(Atlanta) beat the Rangers (in its last game), and we knew they'd come out hard," said Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau. "But it's tough. I've been in those slumps. When you get behind, you just know you're not going to be able to catch up. It's pretty tough to stay motivated."

Maxim Afinogenov had the only goal for the Thrashers, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Johan Hedberg allowed four goals on nine shots before being pulled in favor of Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 24-of-28 shots in defeat.

"The lesson learned tonight is that we need to play better," Hedberg said. "Coming out tonight after a win and losing is very frustrating. We have to move on and get back to work and hopefully get something going."

Washington got out to a big lead and never looked back.

The Caps won an offensive zone draw, and Schultz sent the puck across the ice to Tom Poti, who unloaded a shot from the point. Knuble was there to tip it in just 4:44 into the contest.

Atlanta went on the power play late in the first period with a chance to tie, but Semin doubled Washington's lead with a shorthanded tally at 16:47.

Colby Armstrong was called for a tripping penalty in the final minute to give the Capitals their first power play, and Backstrom converted the chance with 19 ticks on the clock for a 3-0 lead after the opening stanza.

Less than five minutes into the second period, Alex Ovechkin fired a weak shot that was pushed away by Hedberg's pad. The disc went right to Knuble, who fired it into the net for a 4-0 lead at 4:43.

Atlanta finally got on the board after a Afinogenov tally with under six minutes left in the second, but the Thrashers still faced a three-goal deficit heading to the third.

Tomas Fleischmann sent a perfect pass across the slot for Semin's one-timer to make it a four-goal game at 6:58 of the third, and Steckel scored with 10:25 left for a 6-1 game.

Poti got on the board for Washington with 3:52 remaining on a power play to snap a 72-game goal-less drought, and Jason Chimera got his first goal with the Capitals 42 seconds later to cap the scoring.

Game Notes

Semin scored his first career shorthanded goal and added an assist...Washington leads the season series, 3-0, with all three games being played in Atlanta.

For those that feel that a site like My Sportsbook is only a sportsbook we would like to introduce you to a place where a single login allows you to not only bet on every major sporting event in the world but also to bet on horses at over 90 different tracks or play at over 20 Las Vegas style table games in their top online casino. My Sportsbook has won many awards for it's site design and ease of use as well as it's 24/7 customer support. Get all your gaming done in one spot - try My Sportsbook Today!

Since 2000, Best eCasino has maintained a 98.5% payout rate on all their more than 20 Las Vegas style games. Each of their award winning games including, blackjack (and blackjack super 7s), Baccarat, Roulette and Craps are available as either a downloadable program or as java programs that can be played directly within your browser. Don't know how to play a certain game? Read the details and strategy here and start with their Play for Fun section which allows you to practice a game before taking on the casino. Let's see any Vegas casino do that...

Best eCasino doesn't stop there, they now offer horse wagering and sportsbook lines to round off all the online gaming industry have to offer. They are consistently at the forefront of the industry with new innovations consistently starting with their site. These guys are the entrepreneur's of the online gaming world and they set the standard for others to follow. So bet with a leader that's backed by the largest online gaming company in the world with 24 hour customer support, Best eCasino.