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Devils shoot for another win in CalgaryHockey Betting Lines03/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils got off to the kind of start they wanted following the Olympic break. Their finish, though, could use some work. New Jersey hasn't won consecutive games in nearly two months, a feat it will try to accomplish tonight in a matchup with Calgary at Pengrowth Saddledome as the Flames try to beat the Devils at home for the first time in exactly seven years. The Devils were 5-10-2 over their final 17 games before the break and faced a stiff challenge in their first game back on the ice Tuesday. Against San Jose, New Jersey scored the game's first four goals, getting second-period tallies from Ilya Kovalchuk, Dainius Zubrus and Mark Fraser, and Martin Brodeur carried a shutout into the third period. Travis Zajac then lit the lamp in the third frame before the Sharks scored three times in a 2:46 span midway through the period. Brodeur and company held on for a 4-3 win though, with the Devils netminder making 17 saves in helping his team snap a six-game road losing streak. Kovalchuk and Zajac both added assists for the Devils, who are now a point behind the Penguins for first place in the Atlantic Division after Pittsburgh beat the New York Rangers last night. "This last 20-game stretch for us, we feel it's really going to dictate how we're feeling and what kind of team we're going to be heading into the playoffs," Fraser said. "So definitely, it's a bonus for us to start it off on a positive." New Jersey added depth for its stretch run in acquiring defenseman Martin Skoula from Toronto on Wednesday for a 2010 fifth-round draft pick. Skoula is expected to be with the club tonight. The Flames were much more active at the deadline. After having already acquired Ian White, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik in deals that sent Dion Phaneuf and Olli Jokinen out of town before the Olympics, Calgary completed its first trade ever with Edmonton in getting defenseman Steve Staios. That wasn't the last of the 2009-10 overhaul of the Flames, as they swapped backup netminders with Anaheim, getting Vesa Toskala for Curtis McElhinney, while also acquiring defenseman Andy Delmore from Detroit for forward Riley Armstrong. Finally, Calgary traded forward Dustin Boyd to Nashville for a draft pick. Staios did not play in Wednesday night's 4-0 loss to Minnesota, Calgary's fourth setback in its last five games. Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 17-of-21 shots for the Flames. "I am not pleased with the way we played tonight," Flames coach Brent Sutter said. "It's unacceptable; every game is such a big game for us. It was like a river hockey game out there. I don't know what to say, I am surprised by what took place here tonight. We need to have guys pay a bigger price." The Flames, who fell to 1-2-0 on a four-game homestand and have lost nine of their last 12 at home, trail Detroit by a point for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Calgary will try to defeat New Jersey at home for the first time since March 5, 2003 though the clubs have met in Alberta just once since. The Devils earned a 1-0 overtime triumph in Calgary on December 23, 2007 and then picked up their second straight victory in the series with a 3-2 home victory on March 10 of last season.
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Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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