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12/27/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will kick off a four-game road trip when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for this evening's battle at Mellon Arena.
The Canadiens have played just one road game so far in December and that was a 3-2 loss in Carolina on December 16. Montreal is 7-5-2 as the visiting team this year and has lost two straight and six of nine on the road.
Montreal has notched a point in three straight tests, but had a two-game winning streak halted in last Sunday's overtime loss to visiting Carolina. Tuomo Ruutu scored 1:43 into OT to lift the Hurricanes to the 3-2 decision at the Bell Centre.
On the winner, Ruutu slipped by several players as well as Habs goaltender Carey Price on a wraparound. The puck trickled through Price's pads and settled near the left post before Ruutu dove forward and knocked the disc into the net.
Matt D'Agostini and Robert Lang netted a goal each for the Canadiens. Price made 24 saves in the loss, Montreal's fourth in six outings.
Price was making his first start since December 6, as he had battled the flu originally before also sustaining a lower-body injury. He is 13-4-5 this year and 2-0 in his career against the Penguins.
The Penguins picked up a victory on Friday night as they shut out the Devils in New Jersey. Pittsburgh has alternated wins and losses over its past eight games and is 5-6-1 in December.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 37 shots he faced to post his first shutout of the season, as Pittsburgh clipped New Jersey, 1-0, at the Prudential Center.
Ruslan Fedotenko provided the lone goal for the Penguins, who have won three of five and moved past the Devils for third place in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh heads into Saturday's action with 42 points and is three behind Philadelphia for second place.
The Penguins are capping the 2008 calendar year with back-to-back home tests. Pittsburgh is 8-6-2 as the host this season and has dropped two straight and three of four at the Igloo. The club will also host Boston on Tuesday night.
Tonight's test marks the first of four encounters between the Pens and Habs this year. Pittsburgh won the last two meetings of 2007-08, but Montreal has still taken five of nine in the series.
Montreal has also picked up wins in two straight trips and five of its previous eight stops in the Steel City.
<< Rolling Magic pay a visit to Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Orlando Magic shoot for their seventh
straight win Saturday when they begin a three-game road trip against the
hapless Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.
The Magic finished a perfect
<< Hawks continue homestand with Bulls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks resume a season-long eight-game homestand
Saturday when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to Philips Arena.
The Hawks improved to 5-1 on the residency Tuesday when Joe Johnson recorded
his second career
<< Bobcats welcome Nets down south
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats will try to extend their winning
streak to a season high three straight games tonight when they welcome the New
Jersey Nets to town in the back end of a home-and-home set.
The Bobcats will also h
<< Hapless Wizards host lowly Thunder
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The woeful Washington Wizards aim to snap an eight-game
skid Saturday when they welcome the hapless Oklahoma City Thunder to the
Verizon Center.
The Wizards dropped their latest affair on Thursday when Clev
Sliding Blue Jackets welcome Flyers to town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to avoid a fourth
straight loss and snap a lengthy scoreless drought when they invite the
Philadelphia Flyers for tonight's interconference matchup at Nationwide Arena.
The Blue Jackets h
Rangers, Devils tangle at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to avoid losing three
straight games for the first time this season when they welcome the rival New
Jersey Devils for an Atlantic Division showdown at Madison Square Garden.
The Devils and Ran
Bolts host Panthers in home-and-home finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will shoot for a home-and-home
sweep as well as their third consecutive victory overall when they welcome the
Florida Panthers for a battle at St. Pete Times Forum.
The Lightning edged Florida in a
Stars begin homestand vs. Ducks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their best offensive output of the year, the
last-place Dallas Stars begin a three-game homestand tonight against the
visiting Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center.
Just one season removed from a Western Co
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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