11/15/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to extend their five-game winning streak, as they visit the New York Rangers tonight for a clash at Madison Square Garden.
Boston has been getting incredible goaltending over its current run, outscoring opponents 21-6 over its first five-game winning streak since posting six victories in a row from February 19-March 1 of last season.
Though goaltender Tim Thomas is among the league leaders in goals against average (.176) and save percentage (.946), the Bruins ended a 12-game losing streak to Montreal on Thursday with a 6-1 home win that featured 27 saves by backup Manny Fernandez.
Stephane Yelle had his first three-point game since February 18, 2000 while with Colorado, scoring twice while adding an assist in the win over the Canadiens.
Marco Sturm also lit the lamp twice for the Bruins, winners of eight of their last nine. Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic also tallied once each for Boston, which hadn't beaten Montreal since a 3-1 victory on March 3, 2007.
Boston, which is 5-2-2 on the road this year, will likely go back tonight to Thomas since the netminder has posted a 1.30 GAA over his last three starts -- all wins. He is just 2-4-2 with a 3.27 GAA in eight career starts versus the Rangers, though. Fernandez, meanwhile, is 3-3-0 with a 2.63 GAA in six starts against New York.
The Rangers won for just the second time in six games on Wednesday, defeating the New Jersey Devils, 5-2. Nikolai Zherdev scored twice, while Lauri Korpikoski, playing in just his ninth career game, netted his first NHL goal.
Michal Rozsival and Chris Drury also lit the lamp for the Rangers, who were without center Scott Gomez due to a leg injury. Gomez is probable for tonight's game.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots to earn his 10th win of the season. He has a 1.99 GAA and .929 save percentage in 16 starts this year in addition to an impressive 8-1-2 mark in 11 games versus Boston, posting a 1.32 GAA and three shutouts in that timeframe.
The Rangers are 7-3-1 this year at home and begin a three-game residency tonight that will also feature visits by Ottawa and Vancouver.
New York has taken nine of the last 12 meetings with the Bruins and Boston has dropped five of six in the Big Apple.
<< Habs try to continue regular-season dominance of Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the Canadiens stumbled in the playoffs last season
versus the Flyers, they've had no problem beating them in the regular
season. Montreal will try to top Philadelphia for an eighth straight time
tonight in a battle bet
<< Blazers pay a visit to Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to get back on the
winning track tonight, when they resume a five-game road trip against the
Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.
Portland had a four-game winning str
<< Celtics, Bucks square off at Bradley Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics will hit the road tonight against the
Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Boston went 2-1 on a three-game homestand and had a six-game winning streak
stopped with Friday's 94-85 loss to the Denv
<< Hornets hit the road to Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets will hit the road this evening for
a showdown with the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
New Orleans completed a three-game homestand with a 2-1 mark and recorded an
87-82 victory over the Po
Jazz wrap up trek against surging Cavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz will try to close out an unsuccessful road
trip on a positive note when they visit LeBron James and the streaking
Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
Utah opened the 2008-09 season with five s
Pens host Sabres aiming for sixth straight win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The scorching Pittsburgh Penguins will aim for a sixth
straight victory tonight, when they welcome the Buffalo Sabres for a matchup
at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins have used comebacks in their last two victories, but also bl
Blue Jackets make a stop in Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will aim for their fifth victory
in six games when they visit the Minnesota Wild for tonight's matchup at Xcel
Energy Center.
The Blue Jackets are coming off a blowout victory in Buffalo on Friday
Slumping Stars visit Coyotes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars will try to snap a three-game losing
streak and win for just the second time in seven games when they visit the
Phoenix Coyotes for tonight's Pacific Division matchup at Jobing.com Arena.
The Stars made it
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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