Blues, Preds clash in likely defensive battle

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have an All-Star goaltender who might not even be his club's starter come playoff time.

The Nashville Predators are likely to start a netminder this evening who is on the longest winning streak in club history.

That could make goals at a premium Saturday night in this big Central Division matchup between the Blues and Predators in Nashville.

St. Louis has posted a 9-1-2 record since a 3-0 loss in Detroit on Dec. 31 and sits fourth overall in the West, four back of the Red Wings for first place in both the division and conference. Nashville, winners in 13 of its past 16, is a point behind St. Louis.

The Blues recorded their NHL-leading 10th shutout of the season last night with a 1-0 win over the Kings, getting the fifth of the season from Jaroslav Halak to snap a two-game slide. The St. Louis netminder made 22 saves for his 21st career whitewash, getting all the support he would need at the 8:38 mark of the second on Jamie Langenbrunner's goal.

"You've got to get 100 points to make the playoffs and we knew that coming in," Langenbrunner said of the always-competitive Western Conference playoff picture. "If you win one you feel good about it and you move on. If you lose one you forget about it and move on. No one is going to win every game, but you've got to make sure you give yourself a chance every night."

Halak is 12-1-3 in his last 16 starts, posting a 1.57 goals-against average and .937 save percentage over that span. Four of his last seven starts have resulted in shutouts.

Still, Halak has made 28 starts to Brian Elliott's 22. The latter also has five shutouts this year and leads the NHL with a 1.69 GAA. The All-Star selection is second in the league with a .938 save percentage and it is unknown who will get the start tonight.

Nashville is likely to turn to Pekka Rinne, who is in the midst of a personal 10-game win streak. Rinne hasn't lost since Jan. 5 and has allowed two goals or less in all but one contest over his current win streak. He is also 13-1-0 with a 1.77 GAA and .941 save percentage since Dec. 28 and became the third goaltender since the start of the 2005-06 season to win more than 10 wins in a month after going 11-1-0 in January.

After giving up four goals in a 5-4 win at Minnesota on Tuesday, head coach Barry Trotz gave his No. 1 goalie a rest on Thursday and started backup Anders Lindback, who allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 4-1 defeat to hosting Philadelphia.

Ryan Suter had the lone Preds goal, his first since Nov. 23, while Craig Smith logged an assist to give him two goals and three helpers over a five-game point streak. Nashville, though, had a five-game win streak halted.

"Yeah, we haven't given him enough support in terms of offense," Trotz said of Lindback bearing the brunt of an offensive drought. "Sometimes that happens. He's had some good teams we've played him against in the [Eastern Conference]."

The Predators have won all three meetings with the Blues so far this season, including consecutive 2-1 shootout victories. Nashville has won nine of the last 13 encounters overall and four of the past six played at home.

Wwwchartshop Hockey Betting News

<< Lightning wrap season series with Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning could very well be chasing the Florida Panthers for a playoff spot for the rest of the season, but tonight will be the final time that they get to help their own cause in this series. The two Southe

<< Sabres hope to move past Islanders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Buffalo Sabres want to get into the playoff mix, they are going to have to beat teams like the New York Islanders. However, that is not something they have been able to do on a consistent basis as of late. The Sabr

<< Sens aim to break out versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators have matched their longest losing streak of the season, but the Toronto Maple Leafs could play the role of slump-buster this evening. The Sens try to avoid a sixth defeat in a row as they take on a Mapl

<< Avalanche seek rare successful trip to Vancouver
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sliding Colorado Avalanche will try to post a rare win over the first-place Vancouver Canucks when the Northwest Division rivals meet this afternoon at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Colorado has lost four straight -- all

<< Ovechkin returns as Capitals visit Canadiens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin will try to help the Washington Capitals avoid their first three-game slide in over two months, as the star forward returns from suspension today to battle the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Ovechkin

Wild seek to hold off Stars in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wild are coming off one road victory over a team that is chasing them in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota hopes for similar results tonight, but to do that it will have to beat the Stars in Dallas for the first

Sharks, Coyotes engage in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks aim to push their win streak to four straight games this evening as they begin a tough stretch of road games with a matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Sharks halted a three-game slide with a 1-0 w

Minus Howard, Red Wings visit healthy Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings seem to finally be hitting their stride on the road, but they'll be without the league's leader in wins for the rest of their swing. Minus goaltender Jimmy Howard, the Red Wings look for their third s

Bulls charge into D.C. to take on 14th-ranked Hoyas >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the postseason rapidly approaching, a pair of Big East Conference teams hoping to improve their prospects meet in the nation's capital this morning, as the South Florida Bulls take on the 14th-ranked Geo

Ward, Hurricanes try to shut down Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes may be tied for the fewest points in the Eastern Conference, but they showed again on Thursday that they can still hang with the best the NHL has to offer. Hoping to win two in a row for just the se

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.