Ducks battle Avs in Anaheim

Hockey Betting Lines

03/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to continue heading in the right direction when they host the Colorado Avalanche tonight at Honda Center.

The Ducks have won three straight, giving the club its longest winning streak since a season-best five-game stretch from Jan. 5-13.

Even with another victory today, Anaheim has an uphill battle to make the playoffs as it trails Detroit by nine points for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Colorado enters Sunday in seventh place in the West -- three points ahead of Detroit. The Avalanche also trail Vancouver by six points for first place in the Northwest Division.

The Ducks and Avs have split a pair of meetings this year, but Anaheim has dominated the recent series, winning nine of the last 11 matchups. Colorado has also been defeated in six of eight and eight of its last 11 trips to Orange County.

Tonight also marks the finale of Anaheim's seven-game homestand. The Ducks are 3-2-1 on the residency and have a 22-11-3 home record this season. The club will begin a three-game road trip Tuesday in Calgary.

Anaheim earned its most recent victory in dramatic fashion on Friday, picking up the 5-4 overtime win on Saku Koivu's goal 14 seconds into the extra session at Honda Center.

In OT, Bruno Gervais tried to force a pass that Koivu picked off. The Finnish veteran then skated into the New York zone and snapped a wrister into the left corner of the net.

Lubomir Visnovsky scored twice, including the tying goal with 32 seconds left in regulation, while Jason Blake and Matt Beleskey each lit the lamp for the Ducks.

"We need every point," said Visnovsky. "The last three games we've won have been great for the team. We have confidence. Tonight was a crazy game. For me, every puck was bouncing off my stick and I was not very comfortable with the puck. But it doesn't matter because the team wins and everything is OK."

Jonas Hiller gave up three goals on 17 shots and was pulled halfway through the second period. Curtis McElhinney finished the game in net and stopped 13 shots to get the win.

Anaheim winger Teemu Selanne remains at 599 career goals. Should he get to 600, he will be the 18th player in NHL history to reach that mark and if he gets to 601, he will tie Jari Kurri for most goals ever by a Finland native. He finished Friday's game with two assists.

The Avalanche had a three-game winning streak halted its last time out, losing to visiting Calgary in regulation. Rene Bourque tallied twice and Vesa Toskala made 32 saves to lead the Flames to Wednesday's 3-2 victory.

Chris Durno and Milan Hejduk scored for the Avalanche and Craig Anderson took the loss despite 31 stops.

"We can't afford to get comfortable out there, no matter what the reason is," Avs center Paul Stastny said.

Stastny added an assist in Wednesday's loss to push his point streak to nine games. He has five goals and 11 helpers during the run.

Colorado is playing the first of two straight on the road tonight and will visit Los Angeles on Monday. The Avs are 18-13-4 as the guest this season.

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Betting the NFL preseason

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.