Giroux's OT winner nets Game 3 win, halves Flyers' series deficit

Hockey Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Claude Giroux's tally at the 5:59 mark of overtime lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals from Wachovia Center.

The play began with Danny Briere carrying the puck down the left wing. He stopped below the circle, and dished to the point for Matt Carle. The young defenseman's slap-pass found Giroux in the slot for a deft deflection that managed to trickle through Blackhawks netminder Antti Niemi and in.

Giroux finished with a goal and two assists for the Flyers, who got back in the series after a pair of one-goal defeats in Chicago to start the best-of- seven set and look to tie things up in Game 4 on Friday.

Scott Hartnell added a goal and one helper while Ville Leino and Briere also tallied. Michael Leighton stopped 24-of-27 shots for the win by Philadelphia, which had lost seven straight championship-round games dating back to Game 6 of the 1987 Finals against Edmonton.

Patrick Kane, Brent Sopel and Duncan Keith tallied for the Blackhawks, who could have taken a near-insurmountable 3-0 series edge with a victory.

Niemi yielded four scores on 32 shots in defeat.

The game-decider came less than a minute after the Flyers thought they had walked away with a key victory. Just after the five-minute mark of the extra session, the home team had a potential game-winner wiped out by replay.

Chris Pronger sent a lead pass to the left wing side for Simon Gagne, who pushed the puck into the Chicago zone to Jeff Carter. He dished back to Gagne, whose floater caromed on net. The disc hit the right post and slid all the way to the left side and parallel to the goal line, where Niemi covered up. Although Carter came in late to poke it into the cage, play was ruled to be dead at that point.

The Flyers were awarded the game's first advantage when Chicago forward Marian Hossa was called for slashing, and Philadelphia cashed in on the back end of the two-minute minor.

Stationed in the high slot, Giroux fed to Braydon Coburn for a blast from the right point which Niemi stopped but could not control. Hartnell, while falling in front, pushed the puck across the crease to the left side for Briere, who swept the puck into an open net at 14:58.

For Briere, it was his team-best 11th score of the playoffs.

Mike Richards missed a golden chance from the right circle with an open net on a power play early in the second period and the Blackhawks responded when Keith's point drive deflected off the stick of Carter for a 1-1 tie at 2:49.

Philly took a 2-1 edge on a man advantage just prior to the midway point of regulation on a play which was reviewed minutes after it occurred. Chris Pronger unleashed a shot from the point which knuckled in on net after a deflection from Hartnell and trickled through Niemi.

The puck rolled on edge and was swept away quickly, but a relatively brief review determined that the disc was fully over the line at 9:55.

Chicago didn't convert on a power play with a little more than five minutes to play in the second when Leighton was given a delay-of-game call for pushing his net off the moorings, but nevertheless tied the game, 2-2, at 17:52 when John Madden won a right-circle faceoff to Sopel, who pushed a long shot through traffic and in.

Kane gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the contest, 3-2, at the 2:50 mark of the third period, taking a stretch pass from Jonathan Toews up the middle and scoring stick-side on the forehand.

Only 20 seconds later, Leino was right on the doorstep to slam home the rebound of a failed Giroux opportunity.

Game Notes

This was Giroux's first-ever overtime goal, and his three points were his first time on the scoresheet in the series...It was also the Flyers' first overtime win in the Cup Finals since Bobby Clarke scored in Game 2 of the 1974 series against Boston...Briere has five points (2G, 3A) in the Finals...Philadelphia improved to 3-1 in OT during these playoffs, while Chicago fell to 2-1...Chicago had been an NHL-best 7-1 on the road in this postseason, and has won seven in a row away from home prior to Wednesday...Philadelphia upped its home mark to 8-1 and has won six in a row in the Quaker City...Kane's goal was his first point in the series, and Toews' assist on the goal was his first point in the series...The Blackhawks haven't won in a Cup Finals extra session since May 4, 1971, Game 1 of that set against Montreal.

Wwwmegasports Hockey Betting News

<< Texas scores early and often to down ChiSox
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Treanor homered and drove in four runs, while Michael Young had three hits and three RBI, leading the Texas Rangers in a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox in the middle contest of a three-game set at U.S.

<< Hunter, Angels continue dominance of Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Torii Hunter went 3-for-5 with a homer and drove in three runs as the Angels topped Kansas City, 7-2, in the third installment of a four-game series. Scott Kazmir was charged with five hits and

<< Carpenter masterful again as Cards down Reds
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter allowed only one run in eight strong innings, earning his eighth consecutive winning decision against the Reds in a 4-1 Cardinals victory. Carpenter (7-1), who has not lost to Cincinnati

<< Lee, Pence guide Astros over Nationals
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence drove in two runs apiece, and the Astros came away with a 5-1 win against Washington in the continuation of a four-game series at Minute Maid Park. Lee's two-run homer in th

<< Crawford connects for slam in ninth as Rays top Jays
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Crawford hit a grand slam as part of a six-run ninth inning, as the Tampa Bay Rays came back to earn a 7-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber match of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.

Brewers surge late to down Marlins, Gallardo homers >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gomez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and George Kottaras followed with a two-run homer in Milwaukee's 7-4 triumph over the Florida Marlins. Yovani Gallardo (6-2) pitched seven strong i

San Jose, Columbus battle to draw >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes battled to a 2-2 draw in Major League Soccer action on Wednesday night. Each team scored a goal apiece on each side of the half, with the 'Quakes answering

Cain strong again as Giants avoid sweep against Rockies >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain threw eight strong innings and Aaron Rowand cracked the go-ahead two-run double in the fifth inning in San Francisco's 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. Cain (4-4) allowed four hits and a

Mariners beat Twins in first game after Griffey's retirement >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki delivered a slow-rolling infield hit to end an 11-pitch at-bat and score the game-winning run, as the Mariners picked up a 2-1 win against Minnesota amid the announced retirement of surefir

Twins put Cuddyer on bereavement list >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer was put on the bereavement list following Wednesday's 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Mariners. Cuddyer will miss the next four games due to the death of his fathe

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.