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02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Buffalo Sabres will try to open a four-game homestand on a positive note when they host the Boston Bruins this evening at First Niagara Center.
The Bruins, meanwhile, will try to record consecutive wins for the first time in nearly a month when they take the ice tonight in western New York.
Buffalo has posted a 3-0-1 record in its last four games after losing five straight and eight of nine prior to the recent hot streak. The Sabres still have plenty of work to do if they want to break into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, however, as Buffalo is currently 14th in the conference and 11 points out of a postseason berth.
The Sabres are 11-9-6 as the host this year and will also welcome Dallas, Tampa Bay and New Jersey during their homestand.
On the other hand, the Bruins are leading the Northeast Division with 68 points, although a 5-5-1 record in their last 11 games hasn't helped inspire confidence in the defending Stanley Cup champions. Boston is coming off a decisive victory Sunday in Washington and tonight the B's will try to record two wins a row for the first time since beating Winnipeg and Montreal on Jan. 10 and 12, respectively.
Boston is 2-0 against the Sabres this year and has scored 10 times over those meetings. The clubs haven't faced each other since Nov. 23, when Benoit Pouliot notched the winning goal in a 4-3 shootout decision for the Bruins.
Buffalo had won four straight against Boston heading into this year's season series and the Bruins have lost seven times in their last 11 trips to First Niagara Center.
The Sabres have gone the distance in their last two trips to the ice, losing a 1-0 shootout to the New York Rangers last Wednesday before posting a 4-3 shootout win Saturday against the Islanders.
Brad Boyes netted the game-winning goal to lift Buffalo to the win Saturday at Nassau Coliseum. The Sabres were down 3-1 after one period, but Derek Roy cut the lead to one late in the second and Paul Gaustad notched the equalizer at 11:14 of the third stanza.
In the shootout, Boyes picked up the puck and moved in slowly on Isles netminder Al Montoya. Boyes waited for Montoya to make a move and fired a quick wrist shot past the glove side. Jason Pominville sealed the victory with a goal in the second round of the shootout, while Ryan Miller stopped attempts from P.A. Parenteau and Frans Nielsen.
Boyes added an assist, while Nathan Gerbe also scored in regulation for the Sabres. Miller, a former Vezina Trophy winner, made 35 saves to improve his record this season to 14-15-3.
"Our defense was in really good position tonight," Miller said. "We made it hard for them to get the looks they wanted. "We blocked a few shots and I was able to get an eye on a few of them."
Buffalo has played the last two games without leading goal scorer Thomas Vanek (upper body) and he is expected to be out until at least this weekend, when the Sabres host Dallas on Friday and Tampa Bay on Saturday. Vanek is leading the Sabres with 19 goals and is second on the team with 41 points.
In injury news not involving players, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff broke three ribs after colliding with defenseman Jordan Leopold at practice on Monday. Ruff was unable to return for Tuesday's practice, but he may coach tonight's game. Ruff is currently the longest-tenured coach in the NHL and hasn't missed a game since March 20, 2006, when he skipped a game in Atlanta to deal with a family matter.
The Bruins scored twice in the opening period against Washington on Sunday and eventually built a 3-0 lead before completing the 4-1 decision. Tim Thomas stopped 35-of-36 shots by the Capitals to help lead Boston to the win.
Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley each had a goal and an assist while Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin also scored for the Bruins, who had lost three of four coming into Sunday's tilt. Patrice Bergeron had two assists in the contest.
"I think we had a lot better effort today than we have in the past couple of games," said Boston head coach Claude Julien. "We did some more things on offense and defense and had good goaltending. The guys competed hard for all 60 minutes."
Bruins forward Nathan Horton has missed the last five games with a concussion and he'll sit out a sixth straight test tonight. Horton, who has 17 goals and 15 assists in 46 games this year, has resumed skating, but there is still no timetable for his return.
Boston is 16-7-0 as the road team this year and is completing a brief two-game swing tonight. The Bruins' next two tilts will be on home ice against Nashville and the Rangers.
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ACC heavyweights square off in Chapel Hill >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the greatest rivalries in all of
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ranked Duke Blue Devils and fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels square off
in ACC action
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15th-ranked Seminoles set sights on Eagles >>
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles
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tonight as they head to the Conte Forum to take on the Boston College Eagles.
This will be
Top-25 matchup pits Orange against Hoyas >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas will attempt
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the two square off in a Big East battle at the Carrier Dome.
This will be the 87th en
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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