Capitals, Thrashers aim to extend respective winning streaks

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03/16/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Facing the possibility of playing again without star winger Ilya Kovalchuk, the Thrashers might want to ask the Capitals if they can borrow from their surplus of talented Russian skaters.

Washington's duo of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin will attempt to deny Atlanta a franchise-record sixth straight win tonight in a Southeast Division battle at Philips Arena.

While Kovalchuk could miss a second straight game because of an upper-body injury, the Capitals aren't short on overseas talent. Both Semin and Ovechkin scored in the shootout of Saturday's 5-4 victory over Carolina and combined for six points in regulation.

Semin notched a goal and three assists to give him 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) over a nine-game point streak. Ovechkin, meanwhile, ended with an assist in addition to netting his league-leading 49th goal. He is just one tally shy of becoming the first Washington skater to ever post three 50-goal seasons and has 23 goals and 45 points in 27 career games against Atlanta.

Ovechkin has scored more goals in his career against the Thrashers than any other club and has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games he has played in overall.

Mike Green also had a goal and an assist, as he leads all defenseman with 24 markers and 60 points. Jose Theodore halted 28 saves in helping Washington to its third straight win and halt a four-game home losing streak.

The Capitals did play a second straight game on Saturday without both Donald Brashear (knee) and Sergei Fedorov (illness) and both are questionable for tonight.

Having ended its home skid, the Capitals bring a five-game road winning streak into tonight's battle, its first such run since 2000-01, and begin a five-game road trip. The club is one victory shy of the franchise-record six-game road winning streak set in 1983-84.

The Southeast Division-leading Caps are 17-12-4 as the guest this season and are one point back of New Jersey for the second seed in the East.

The Thrashers were able to extend their win streak to five games on Saturday without Kovalchuk. Todd White tied the game with 3.5 seconds left in regulation to extend his point streak to five games (2 goals, 3 assists) and Brett Sterling notched the lone goal of the shootout in a 4-3 victory against Buffalo.

Kovalchuk, who leads the team with 36 goals and has 21 tallies and 49 points in 40 games versus Washington, will be re-evaluated today and is questionable.

Slava Kozlov and Marty Reasoner scored for the Thrashers, who also won five in a row from November 2-14 and have never before won six consecutive games in club history.

Kari Lehtonen halted 34 shots in the win for Atlanta, which is 13-18-2 at home after having won four of its last five as the host.

The Capitals have won four of their last five versus the Thrashers but have lost three of their last four trips to Atlanta.

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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.