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03/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose hopes a game against the NHL's cellar dwellers can help them snap their worst losing streak of the season as the Sharks visit the Edmonton Oilers tonight at Rexall Place.
The Sharks have lost five straight contests and the last four setbacks came in regulation.
In part due to the swoon, San Jose's lead atop the Pacific Division is now just one point over Phoenix, which will aim for a ninth straight win when it visits Dallas tonight. Chicago has also taken advantage of the Sharks' slide and is now a point ahead of San Jose for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, the Oilers are last in the NHL with just 51 points so far during an injury-plagued season. San Jose has won all three meetings with Edmonton this season and has taken six straight overall in the series.
The Sharks also have won four in a row at Rexall Place and have five wins in their last six trips to Edmonton. The Oilers' last win in this series came on the road on Dec. 6, 2008.
San Jose has tied its longest losing streak of the season but the club's current 0-4-1 slide is worse than the 0-2-3 spell it went through back in December. The Sharks haven't gone six straight without a win since going 0-7-3 from Nov. 5-30, 2005.
The Sharks have lost each of their last two games by one-goal margins and are now 0-4-0 on a six-game road trip that is set to end Tuesday in Minnesota. Overall, San Jose still has a strong 21-12-2 record as the guest this year.
San Jose was dealt a 4-3 loss Friday in Calgary as Eric Nystrom's second- period goal proved to be the difference for the Flames. The Sharks mounted a valiant comeback attempt in the third period but came up short.
Manny Malhotra and Dan Boyle scored in the third to pull the Sharks to within a goal. Dany Heatley had the other goal for San Jose and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 20 shots.
"When we make a mistake it seems to find its way to the back of the net," said San Jose head coach Todd McLellan.
The Oilers were able to halt a five-game losing streak Friday night against Detroit despite blowing a late lead in the 3-2 home victory. Gilbert Brule netted the deciding goal in the shootout and rookie goaltender Devan Dubnyk picked up his first NHL win in his 14th career game.
The Oilers were less than a second away from a regulation win, but Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski scored to send the game to overtime.
Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Whitney both tallied in the first period for Edmonton. Dubnyk finished with 31 saves, 16 of which came in the third period.
The Oilers are 14-18-4 as the host this year and began a four-game homestand on Friday.
<< Thrashers try for home-and-home sweep in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will try to punctuate their newfound
success against the Flyers by sweeping the season series in tonight's finale
of a home-and-home set at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.
The Thrashers were swept in
<< Coyotes visit Dallas with shot at ninth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will try to match another franchise
record tonight and also take a shot at first place in the Pacific Division
when they visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
The Coyotes have already set
<< Streaking Preds make a stop in St. Louis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Nashville Predators will aim for a sixth
straight victory when they visit the rival St. Louis Blues for tonight's
Central Division battle at Scottrade Center.
The recent hot streak has helped solidify Nashville
<< Panthers host Bolts in Sunrise
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Southeast Division foes with fading playoff
chances will meet tonight in Florida, as the Panthers host the Tampa Bay
Lightning at BankAtlantic Center.
The Lightning are six points behind Boston for the eighth and
Suarez leads Ajax into second >>
Waalwijk, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Suarez scored two more goals to
raise his Eredivisie-leading total to 29 and Ajax hammered RKC Waalwijk 5-1 on
Sunday at Mandemakers Stadion to move into second in the Dutch top flight.
First-pl
Davies tops Oosthuizen in Morocco >>
Rabat, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rhys Davies fired a seven-under 66 Sunday to
come from behind and win the Hassan II Golf Trophy.
Davies, who led after the second round, completed his first European Tour
victory at 25-under-par 266.
The
Rooney, Park lead United over Liverpool >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wayne Rooney scored his 26th EPL goal,
Ji-Sung Park added the match-winner, and Manchester United edged Liverpool 2-1
at Old Trafford on Sunday to move back into first place.
United regained the lead
Johnson, Syracuse have little trouble downing Gonzaga >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Johnson poured in a career-high 31 points
and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading Syracuse to an 87-65 victory over Gonzaga in
the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Andy Rautins scored 24 for Syracuse (30-4
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.
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