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02/06/2007 -

Andrew Raycroft may have struggled with the pressure of playing in Toronto early this season. His play like that of the rest of his team, has picked up considerably of late.

Raycroft and the Maple Leafs seek a season-high fifth straight victory Tuesday when they face the St. Louis Blues for the first time in more than three years.

Raycroft, acquired from Boston on June 24 for goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask, allowed four goals or more in half of his first 10 starts with Toronto (26-21-6) and had an unimpressive 3.12 goals-against average in October. His early season performance more resembled the netminder that had a 3.71 GAA in 30 games with the Bruins last season than the one that won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2003-04.

A week off during the All-Star break appears to have been beneficial for Raycroft, who is 4-0 with a 1.22 GAA since then. He made 30 saves in regulation and overtime before denying the final four shootout attempts he faced in a 3-2 victory at Ottawa on Saturday.

"We're not winning solely because of Andrew but we couldn't win without him,'' Toronto coach Paul Maurice told the team's official Web site.

Captain Mats Sundin scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the Leafs matched their four-game win streak from Nov. 4-11.

Making Toronto's recent play even more impressive is the caliber of forwards currently missing from their lineup. Darcy Tucker, among the league leaders with 13 power-play goals, hasn't played since Jan. 1 due to a left foot injury. Kyle Wellwood, sixth on the team with 31 points, has missed six weeks following hernia surgery and Michael Peca has been sidelined since Dec. 22 with a broken right leg.

"We've just had the attitude that we have no choice and we can't dwell on the guys who are not in the lineup," Jeff O'Neill said. "Every line is different with the skill level, but every line is on the same page as far as the plan goes. We have a group confidence now. We know what is going to happen out there."

This will the Leafs' first meeting with the Blues since a 3-2 overtime loss on Dec. 9, 2003. Toronto hasn't played at St. Louis since Nov. 9, 2002.

Manny Legace turned away 22 shots as St. Louis (21-24-8) halted a three-game skid Saturday with a 2-0 victory over visiting Dallas. Blues coach Andy Murray started his top goalie after Legace allowed four goals in each of his last two games.

"I put Manny back in tonight because I think he felt like he had a subpar performance in Detroit," Murray said. "It's a real testament to him, that he stepped up and got it done."

Although they remain a longshot for the playoffs, the Blues already have matched their win total from last season.

Keith Tkachuk's third-period goal came on the power play, a rarity of late for St. Louis. The Blues has scored only once in their last 22 man-advantage opportunities entering Saturday.

"For us to get a power-play goal when we struggled as we did in Detroit, is great," Murray said. "It was a typical Keith Tkachuk goal scored about two feet from the net."

The Blues are 5-0-1 in their last six meetings with the Maple Leafs.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards