New For Lundqvist Conference

Hockey Betting Lines

New York comes into this rematch well-rested -- having been off since Wednesday -- and atop the Eastern Conference standings with 69 points, three up on both Northeast Division-leading Boston and fourth-seeded Philadelphia.

 

Lundqvist was again the star in the Rangers' most recent trip to the ice, backstopping his club to a 1-0 shootout win at Buffalo. Lundqvist made 34 saves through overtime and stopped four of the five skaters he faced in the tiebreaker. Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan had shootout tallies on the Sabres' Ryan Miller.

 

The blueliner was cleared to return after missing 19 games in a row with a separated shoulder, though New York head coach John Tortorella said he isn't sure if Eminger will in fact play today.

 

The Flyers head to Madison Square Garden after a frustrating 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Devils on Saturday in which they fell behind early before battling back to make a game of it. Philadelphia gave up the game's first six goals, including two in the final minute of the first period, and seemed to lose its composure on the Devils' second goal.

 

The Flyers eventually got goals from Wayne Simmonds -- his career high-tying 16th of the season -- Jaromir Jagr, Giroux and Jakub Voracek in the third, but couldn't extend their five-game point streak (3-0-2). Philly outshot New Jersey 24-1 in the third frame, setting a new franchise mark for largest single-period shot differential according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

 

Sergei Bobrovsky got the start and gave up six goals on 23 shots. Ilya Bryzgalov halted all eight shots he faced in relief.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of streaking Atlantic Division rivals square off this afternoon as the New Jersey Devils try to match their longest winning streak of the season against the rolling Pittsburgh Penguins. After dropping their final three games before the All-Star break, the Devils have responded with three straight victories to pull within three points of the Penguins for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

 

The Devils stretched their winning streak on Saturday with a 6-4 win over the hosting Flyers, scoring the game's first six goals before getting outshot 24-1 in a third period that also featured all four of Philadelphia's goals. Still, two power-play goals from Kurtis Foster and a goal and two assists by Ilya Kovalchuk was enough to help the Devils sneak out a win.

 

New Jersey now looks to match its season-high four-game win streak from Dec. 12-17 despite still having a number of injured players out of action. That list includes Travis Zajac, Henrik Tallinder, Adam Henrique, Adam Larsson and Ryan Carter.

 

Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke scored goals and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for his ninth straight win. It is the second-longest win streak of his career behind only an 11-game run from Nov. 17-Dec. 11 of last season.

 

Malkin's 28th goal of the season -- second most in the NHL -- was also his league-leading 60th point. He has points in eight of his last 10 games, with 15 in that span.

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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.

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