The Lightning are in the Southeast Division basement and will likely stay there. Tampa Bay has lost their last three games and have only recorded one win in their last 13 games. During their three-game slide the Lightning have been outscored 8-4, and in their last 13 games their offense has been pathetic while getting outscored 47-29.

The Lightning and Penguins are meeting up for the first time this season, but last season Pittsburgh took three of four from the Lightning. Get your NHL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.

The Islanders are coming off a horrible game where they allowed 11 power plays and were blown out 7-1 by Buffalo on Monday. It does not help that the Islanders are 1-6 in the last seven meetings in Tampa Bay.

Get your NHL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook now.

Tampa Bay has a new head coach in Barry Melrose, a new superstar in the making in Steve Stamkos, and a renewed sense that they can return to their championship form of a few years ago.

The Penguins and Lightning, who square off tonight, both have some of the best young players in the game. The difference? The Pens have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who are already proven All Stars and on the rise, while Tampa's No. 1 draft pick Stamkos is for now just a lot of hype and potential. Based on the shootout winner that Stamkos scored on Saturday to beat the Pens 5-4, the hype is already starting to pan out.

Considering the Bolts won on Saturday without many of its top veterans, most notably new captain Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, one would have to think preseason wins are more valuable to the Lightning than the Pens. Get all your NHL Hockey Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook today!

Early-season value: With all the offseason moves there’s bound to be at least a few teams that the books are either over or under valuing. If you can catch on to these teams before the books do there’s cash to be made.

Betting the schedule: The schedule can sometimes give you a sizable advantage when making your NHL wagers. Teams playing three games in four nights often tend to lose that third game, while long West Coast road trips can also play havoc on East Coast teams. Look for any blip in the schedule that can be exploited.

No ties: Since the introduction of the shootout a few years ago the old NHL tie is long gone, so you don’t have to worry about losing money on a tie game.

Value in hot goaltenders: If a goalie is so hot he’s melting the ice there can be great value there if you get lucky and his team is visiting one of the top teams in the league.

Puckline betting: By betting the puckline you can actually make some real profit on big favorites by taking the set spread. If you’re looking for real profits, the puckline is your best option.

The Leafs sucking can make you money: Everyone knows the Leafs suck. Now you can make money off their crappy play by betting against them all winter.

Be like Gretzky: Unfortunately we’re not talking about The Great One, but instead about his wife, Janet. When hockey season rolls around you can wager on the NHL just like Janet Gretzky without the embarrassing police investigations

Fighting: It likely won’t do anything for your bankroll, but who doesn’t like a good fight?

Young stars: The NHL is bursting with young talent these days, led by Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin, and that means solid games and solid wagering for bettors

The surprise team: Every year recently there’s been at least one surprise team in the NHL. Last year it was Montreal. If you can predict who this year’s Montreal might be it could be worth a ton of cash.

NHL futures? We've got 'em. Place your bets today and get a jump-start on the hockey season.

The club announced on Wednesday that Lecavalier has signed a monster nine-year, $77 million deal that will keep him in Tampa until he's 37.

The Lightning's No. 1 draft pick in 1998, he has one more year left on his current four-year, $27.5 million contract, and he would have been an unrestricted free agent in July 2009. At 28, Lecavalier already has his name on the Stanley Cup, when the Lightning won in 2004. He holds the franchise records for points (602); goals (273); and games played (710).

While hockey is still in its offseason, there are plenty of betting options available to sports enthusiasts. Check out the Bodog Sportsbook today for everything you need to make some money!

Picked first overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning was Sarnia Sting center Steven Stamkos. After that it was all defensemen as the Los Angeles Kings' selection of Drew Doughty triggered an avalanche of linemen getting nabbed early.

Zach Bogosian fell to the Atlanta Thrashers while Andrew Pietrangelo was selected fourth by the St. Louis Blues.

Minutes before the New York Islanders were slated to pick fifth, the Toronto Maple Leafs managed to convince them to ship the pick their way in turn for the seventh pick and additional second- and third-round picks. With the selection the Leafs chose yet another defensemen Luke Schenn.

Other transactions of note include the Calgary Flames shipping Alex Tanguay for the right to Montreal's 25th pick, with which they chose Greg Nemisz and Phoenix swapping for Olli Jokinen.

Additionally, Philadelphia's RJ Umberger will find his way to Columbus while Mike Cammalleri will head to Calgary.

All in all there were 12 defensemen taken in the first round of the draft and an impressive 11 players from the Ontario Hockey League. The Western Hockey League supplied nine of the first round picks.

The second day of the two-day event is already underway as the league looks to wrap up its second through ninth rounds today.

For those not in the know, "Seen Stamkos" is the clever marketing campaign from the Tampa Bay Lightning, focusing on likely No. 1 draft pick Steve Stamkos from the Sarnia Sting. Stamkos, a gifted scorer who put up 105 points in 61 games for Sarnia last season, is widely regarded as the finest talent in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and will almost certainly be chosen first overall by the Lightning tonight.

The NHL 2008 Entry Draft takes place in Ottawa's Corel Center this evening. Tampa Bay will choose first overall, followed by the Los Angeles Kings. Atlanta will choose third, St. Louis fourth, the New York Islanders fifth, Columbus Blue Jackets sixth, Toronto Maple Leafs seventh, Phoenix Coyotes eight, Nashville ninth and the Vancouver Canucks at 10.

If you're interested in the NHL Draft or any other big sporting events over the weekend, why not head to the Bodog Sportsbook and check out all the sports betting action on the table? Get in on the game now!

Martin Brodeur notched his 37th win of the season. (AP Images)

The Devils are back in first place.

After ceding the top spot in the Eastern Conference to Pittsburgh two weeks ago, New Jersey reclaimed its perch when Patrik Elias tallied with 58 seconds to play in overtime on Friday night. The Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, in Newark, N.J., to climb over their idle Atlantic Division rivals from Pennsylvania.

Elias converted on a 2-on-1 break with Zach Parise. His shot got by new Lightning goalie Karri Ramo, who faced 32 shots. Martin Brodeur won his 37th game of the season and only had to contend with 22 shots from Tampa Bay.

New Jersey paid -240 on the puckline (meaning a winning hockey bet of $240 would net $100). The Devils have 84 points, one more than both Montreal and Pittsburgh.

In other NHL action on Friday:

Edmonton 2, Columbus 1: Although the Blue Jackets tied the game on a Dan Fritsche goal with less than a second to go in the third period, the Oilers eventually came away with the win when Andrew Cogliano scored in overtime. His goal came 1:53 into OT as the Oilers notched a road win that paid +125.

Atlanta 3, Minnesota 2: The Thrashers finally won a game. Erik Christensen’s shootout goal snapped an eight-game skid for Atlanta, which was a home underdog at +120.

Bet on the NHL!

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ryan O'Byrne fights Tampa Bay Lightning center Craig MacDoanald. (AP Images)

There was drama in front of the crease during the first period of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens hockey game at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.

However, the Lightning, the worst team in the Eastern Conference, prevailed with a 3-2 win over the Canadiens. Vaclav Prospal scored two of Tampa Bay's goals, one of which was the game-winning point scored 12 minutes into the third. Even after the Canadein's Tomas Plekanec regained Montreal's lead with a power-play goal, Prospal tied the game 2-2 with 41 seconds left in the period.

This marks the third consecutive loss for the Canadiens, two of which were against the worst teams in the East, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For Ryan O'Byrne and Tom Kostopoulos, who scratched for the fourth time in 15 games, the rough loss came on the heels of their embarrassing purse snatching incident. If you haven't heard, both players were arrested outside a Tampa Bay nightclub on Monday for snatching a woman's purse. Eh?

Get all your NHL betting in the Bodog Sportsbook today.