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03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have goaltender Michael Leighton to thank for keeping them alive in the postseason race. However, the team will be without its waiver-wire gem when it goes for its first win at Dallas in over 13 years in this evening's matchup versus the Stars.
The Flyers signed Ray Emery this past offseason to be their No. 1 netminder and also added Brian Boucher to serve as the backup. Emery, though, battled injuries throughout the season and is currently out with a hip problem and Boucher has struggled at times. That has left the bulk of the starting duties to Leighton, who was claimed off waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15.
Leighton responded by going 16-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average in 27 games with the Flyers, making his 15th straight start on Tuesday night at Nashville. The netminder did not finish the game, though, as he exited the first period with a high ankle sprain that has him day-to-day.
Boucher replaced Leighton, who is slated to have an MRI on Thursday, and gave up a goal just 20 seconds into his appearance. However, he settled down to make 24 saves and help the Flyers earn a point in a 4-3 shootout setback.
Jeff Carter scored 1:21 into the game, but the Flyers trailed 3-1 after the first period. Simon Gagne and Chris Pronger then scored 3:04 apart in the third frame to force OT before the Predators scored the lone shootout goal.
Gagne scored for the seventh time in nine games for the Flyers, who are 3-2-2 over their last seven games but fell a point back of the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference's sixth seed.
Boucher is likely to receive his first start since Dec. 21 tonight, and Tuesday's relief appearance was just his fourth since that span.
"I don't have a lot of evidence to go on as far as playing-wise in the last three months, but I've played in a couple games here since the break in some relief roles, and I feel good about myself," Boucher told the Flyers' Web site. "I anticipate doing a good job with our team continuing to push forward."
Philadelphia fell to 0-1-0 on a four-game road trip and have dropped four straight as the guest. The Flyers will try to snap that skid in Dallas, where they haven't won since Dec. 6, 1996. Philadelphia is 0-4 with a pair of ties in six trips since.
The Flyers did post a 6-3 home win over the Stars on Jan. 12, getting a goal and an assist from Gagne as well as 27 saves by Leighton. That gave the Flyers back-to-back wins over the Stars since going 0-2-0 with three ties in the previous five meetings between the clubs.
Marty Turco allowed five goals on 19 shots in the loss and was given the night off on Tuesday versus San Jose. It didn't matter who was in net, though, as the Stars exploded for a season-high goal output in an 8-2 triumph to make head coach Marc Crawford the 15th coach in NHL history to reach 500 victories.
Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow both scored a pair of goals, including a short-handed tally by each player, and had two assists apiece, while Brad Richards had a goal and two helpers. Brandon Segal scored for the fifth time in seven games since being acquired off waivers from Los Angeles and Kari Lehtonen stopped 45 shots in his second start with Dallas.
"We had some bounces go our way, and got chances early," Morrow told Dallas' Web site. "Kari gave us some confidence and made some really big saves, and we snapped the puck around pretty good. I don't know where it came from, but pretty much every scoring opportunity we were able to execute."
Dallas, which is expected to start Lehtonen again tonight, won for only the second time in eight games since the Olympic break and are seven points behind Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Stars snapped a four-game home losing streak and are 1-1-1 on a six-game homestand.
<< Surging Wild head to Nashville for key late-season clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators are riding
three-game winning streaks, but only one club is in the playoff picture.
The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena
versus the
<< Devils visit surging Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although it's highly unlikely to result in a playoff spot,
the Toronto Maple Leafs have put together one of their best stretches of the
season over the past week. They'll try to sustain that newfound momentum into
a three-gam
<< Thrashers host Sens in battle between struggling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling Eastern Conference inhabitants get
together for a key late-season matchup tonight at Philips Arena, where the
Atlanta Thrashers hope to strengthen their fading playoff hopes when they take
on the visiting
<< Again without Ovechkin, Capitals visit Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals hardly seemed to miss Alex
Ovechkin on Tuesday night and the Southeast Division champs will shoot for
another win this evening without the Russian superstar.
Ovechkin will complete a two-game suspen
Irish and Monarchs open tournament play in New Orleans >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to a late run down the stretch, the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned the six seed in the South Region and will
open the NCAA Tournament with a first round meeting against the 11th-seeded
Old Dominion Mo
Hoyas and Bobcats clash in Midwest Regional >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-seeded Ohio University Bobcats are
out to continue their magical run tonight, as they lock up with the third-
seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the
Dunkin' Donuts Cen
No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA
Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in
the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in
Oklahoma City
No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSU >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats begin play
in the 2010 NCAA Tournament with first-round clash against the 16th-seeded
East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the East Region.
The winner of this clash will take
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.
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