11/22/2008 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vincent Lecavalier scored twice to lead Tampa Bay over Nashville, 4-1, at St. Pete Times Forum.
Vinny Prospal and Mark Recchi also tallied for the Lightning, who gave interim head coach Rick Tocchet his first win in three games since taking over for the fired Barry Melrose on November 14.
"It's great. It's like scoring your first NHL goal," Tocchet said of his first coaching victory.
Ryan Malone returned from a four-game absence to record three assists but left the game late with an undisclosed injury. Steven Stamkos registered two helpers for Tampa Bay.
Mike Smith stopped 34 shots for his fifth win of the season.
Jordin Tootoo collected the lone goal for the Predators, who have dropped two in a row after winning three straight.
Dan Ellis took the loss by allowing all four scores on just 24 shots.
"They won the game because of everything we did," groused Nashville head coach Barry Trotz. "We turned pucks over, we made bad decisions, we gave them a 5- on-3 power play."
The Bolts struck for two quick goals a little more than two minutes apart early in the first period as Lecavalier scored at 4:57 on the power play and 7:05 at even strength.
Tootoo answered for the Preds at 10:40, but Tampa regained a two-goal edge on Recchi's marker with 7:43 left in the first.
Prospal gave Tampa a three-goal advantage at the 6:32 mark of the middle period and Smith closed out the contest by stopping all nine shots he faced in the third.
"It felt pretty good to get a lead tonight and Smitty just played unbelievable," said Lecavalier. "When you get three goals (in the first period) on a team a lot of the time it's going to take the wind out of a team."
Game Notes
Tampa Bay has won four straight matchups and is 6-1-1 (one tie) against Nashville dating back to the 2001-02 season...Recchi's goal gave him 1,394 career points, tying him for 19th on the all-time list with Luc Robitaille...Predators forward Jason Arnott returned to the lineup after leaving Monday's game in San Jose with a neck strain in a scary collision with the Sharks' Joe Pavelski...Lightning forwards Chris Gratton (lower body injury) and Gary Roberts (upper body injury) did not play.
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Andrew Lovedale scored 20 and hauled in a game-high 15
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The Hor
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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