Leafs to honor Sundin before hosting Habs
Hockey Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the best rivalries in professional sports will be rekindled tonight in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Montreal Canadiens for a Northeast Division clash at Air Canada Centre.
Before the old Original Six foes take the ice, however, the Maple Leafs will honor one of their all-time great players, Mats Sundin. The Swedish centerman will have his No. 13 jersey raised to the rafter in a ceremony prior to tonight's game.
Sundin is Toronto's all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987) and is sixth on the Maple Leafs' list in games played (981). The 40-year-old played his final NHL season with Vancouver in 2008-09 and he posted 564 goals and 1,349 points in 1,346 games with Toronto, Quebec and the Canucks.
The Maple Leafs enter tonight holding onto the eighth and final playoff seed in the East and are nine points ahead of Montreal in the conference standings, but the Canadiens have fared better in recent games. The Habs have won three in a row for the first time in months, while Toronto has suffered consecutive regulation losses on the heels of a three-game win streak of its own.
The Leafs are 2-1-0 against Montreal this year and each club has four wins over the last eight encounters in this series. The Canadiens have won two of the last three meetings at the ACC.
Montreal recorded a 4-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Thursday, giving the Habs their first three-game winning streak since a season-best four-game stretch from Oct. 26-Nov. 4. Max Pacioretty netted his first career hat trick to help lift the Canadiens at Nassau Coliseum. The big night pushed Pacioretty's team high in goals to 22 on the year.
Scott Gomez also scored -- his first goal since February 5, 2011 -- and Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadiens. Gomez goal drought has been a big story in Montreal, where fans have been less than thrilled with the highly-priced forward's lack of production.
"Obviously I want to score," said Gomez. "But the team has to win."
The victory improved Montreal's road record to 11-13-2 this season.
On the injury front for the Canadiens, defenseman Yannick Weber is questionable for tonight after missing the last game with a knee injury.
The Maple Leafs, who are just one point ahead of Washington for the eighth seed, are back for one home game after going 0-2 on their recent tour of Winnipeg and Philadelphia. After today's test against the Habs, Toronto will head out on a three-game swing.
Toronto was dealt a 4-3 loss by the Flyers on Thursday, as Scott Hartnell led the way for Philadelphia with a goal and an assist.
Tyler Bozak scored twice in the loss, while former Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul also tallied a goal. James Reimer stopped 35 shots in a losing effort.
"We didn't really start playing until the beginning of the second period. They had us on our heels," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.
The Maple Leafs have won their last three home games and are 16-8-4 as the host this year.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Buffalo Sabres will try to post their longest winning streak of the season tonight, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at First Niagara Center. Buffalo has notched wins in its last three outings and is one
<< Americans again stun Federer-led Swiss for Davis Cup win
Fribourg, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Davis Cup team
clinched a stunning first-round win against Switzerland on Saturday when the
doubles tandem of Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish notched a four-set victory over
the Swi
<< Gaels seek redemption in WCC clash with Broncos
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the West Coast
Conference spectrum meet in Moraga, California tonight, as the Santa Clara
Broncos have come to challenge the 16th-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels.
Santa Clara has had a
<< ACC matchup pits top-25 foes in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a deflating last second loss to
rival Duke, the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels seek a quick turnaround,
as the welcome the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers to Chapel Hill this
afternoon for a k
<< Second-ranked Orange host Huskies in Big East affair
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their sights still set on a Big East
crown, the second-ranked Syracuse Orange welcome the defending national
champion Connecticut Huskies to the Carrier Dome this afternoon.
The Orange won their fourth st
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to boost their playoff chances against a tough opponent, as they visit the St. Louis Blues for tonight's clash at Scottrade Center. The Avalanche enter today tied with Dallas for the ninth s
Wild try to halt slide vs. Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will try to snap a three-game losing
streak tonight when the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets come to town for a battle
at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild have gone 0-2-1 in their last three games after winning
Surging Coyotes host skidding Blackhawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will try to extend their season-high
win streak to five games when they host the sliding Chicago Blackhawks in
tonight's clash at Jobing.com Arena.
Phoenix has posted four straight victories for the fir
Canucks roll into Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canucks have been piling up the points lately and
Vancouver will try to keep that trend going tonight, when it visits the
Calgary Flames for a Northwest Division clash at the Saddledome.
The Canucks, who lead the divis
Paul has quickly turned Clippers into a contender >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I haven't seen any signs of the meek
inheriting the earth just yet unless Matthew was talking about the Los Angeles
Clippers.
The NBA's resident doormat has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in
almo
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.