Devils hold off Flyers for 6-4 win
Hockey Betting Lines
02/04/2012 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurtis Foster scored two power-play goals
and collected an assist, as the New Jersey Devils fended off a valiant
comeback effort by the Philadelphia Flyers to escape the Wells Fargo Center
with a 6-4 win Saturday afternoon.
When Foster struck on another two-man advantage, his tally gave the visitors a
6-0 cushion. And the contest hadn't even reached the midway point.
New Jersey goaltender Johan Hedberg made 17 saves through the first two
periods, but was beaten four times on 24 shots in the third. Ultimately, the
Flyers rally fell short.
Ilya Kovalchuk registered a goal and two assists for the Devils, who have won
three in a row after going into the All-Star break with three consecutive
losses.
Sergei Bobrovsky surrendered six New Jersey goals on 23 shots and was replaced
by Ilya Bryzgalov in the second period. Bryzgalov finished with eight saves --
he needed to make only one in the third -- for Philadelphia, which had gained
at least a point in its previous five games (3-0-2).
Wayne Simmonds put the Flyers on the board 3:58 into the third and they scored
their next three goals in a 4:08 span to create doubt in the game's outcome.
After Jaromir Jagr notched his first goal since December 29 at Pittsburgh,
Claude Giroux scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot. Jakub
Voracek buried a rebound at 13:31, and the Flyers relentless pressure led to
New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene tripping Jagr with 23 seconds remaining.
But the Devils overcame a flurry with Bryzgalov on the bench.
New Jersey was scoreless in 14 power-play chances in three previous meetings
this season against the Flyers, but snapped its drought on a two-man advantage
as Patrik Elias fed Foster for a one-timer at the 3:05 mark of the first
period.
Later in the frame, the Devils appeared to catch a break with the Flyers on a
power play as no whistle blew when Dainius Zubrus knocked down Giroux at the
point. The non-call led to an odd-man rush, and Kovalchuk wound up scoring New
Jersey's NHL-leading 12th short-handed goal with 57 seconds remaining.
Zubrus lit the lamp with just 0.4 seconds remaining to give New Jersey a 3-0
lead after 20 minutes.
To make matters worse for Philadelphia, Scott Hartnell took a high-sticking
penalty just as Zubrus scored, and Devils captain Zach Parise banged home his
own rebound for a power-play goal 38 seconds into the second period.
Alexei Ponikarovsky beat Bobrovsky 59 seconds later, and Foster put New Jersey
up 6-0 at 8:22 of the middle stanza.
Game Notes
Ponikarovsky registered his 300th career point with the secondary assist on
Zubrus' goal...New Jersey was 4-for-7 on man advantage and now has scored a
power-play goal in a season-high four consecutive games...The Flyers were 1-
for-7 on the power play. They have at least one power-play goal in six
straight...The Devils have won their last three games in Philadelphia.
<< Pens edge Bruins for ninth win in 10 games
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves as the
Pittsburgh Penguins edged the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at TD Garden.
Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke tallied goals for the Penguins, winners in nine
of their last 10 ga
<< No. 6 Baylor holds off Oklahoma State
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11
rebounds as No. 6 Baylor survived to take a 64-60 win over Oklahoma State.
Pierre Jackson scored 16 points while Quincy Acy added 11 points and 12
rebounds
<< Boynton helps Florida down Vanderbilt
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Boynton scored 18 points, as No. 12
Florida earned a 73-65 win over No. 25 Vanderbilt in Saturday's hard-fought
SEC showdown.
Bradley Beal added 16 points and seven rebounds while Erving Walker
<< Irish down No. 15 Marquette for fourth straight win
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Connaughton drained five three-pointers
en route to a game-high 23 points, as Notre Dame earned its fourth straight
win and snapped Marquette's seven-game winning streak with a 76-59 victory
over th
<< Florida State holds off Virginia
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Okaro White scored 13 points and pulled
down five rebounds off the bench as No. 21 Florida State held off 16th-ranked
Virginia to earn a 58-55 victory at Tucker Center.
Xavier Gibson added 10 points
Youzhny to face Lacko for Zagreb crown >>
Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny and Lukas Lacko were
semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Zagreb Indoors
tennis tournament.
The third-seeded Youzhny eased into the title match with a 6-3
Capitals shutout Canadiens on road >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves to record his third
shutout of the season, as the Washington Capitals snapped a four-game road
skid with a 3-0 victory over Montreal.
Dennis Wideman, Matt Hendricks and Alexan
U.S. takes a 2-0 lead over Belarus at Fed Cup >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Christina McHale and Serena
Williams were both winners on Saturday to give the U.S. a 2-0 advantage over
Belarus in a Fed Cup World Group II matchup.
This is the first-ever Fed Cup meetin
Ohio State tops Wisconsin to remain atop Big Ten >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Sullinger had 24 points and 10 rebounds,
as No. 3 Ohio State edged No. 19 Wisconsin, 58-52, in a matchup of Big Ten
elites.
The Buckeyes (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) entered Saturday just a half game ahead
PSG tops Evian to maintain lead in Ligue 1 >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG maintained its three-point lead atop
Ligue 1 on Saturday with a vital 3-1 win over Evian at the Parc des Princes.
It was a resilient performance from the home side, as Evian took the lead just
before
NFL Football Betting Online
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.
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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