11/18/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After playing 11 of their last 14 games in the Windy City, the Chicago Blackhawks begin a six-game road trip tonight with a visit to Phoenix to take on the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena.
Chicago hits the road after a 2-1-2 homestand, a residency that ended with a 6-5 setback to San Jose on Sunday. Chicago used a string of three goals to take a 5-4 lead into the second intermission, but San Jose tied the game shortly into the final stanza before getting the winning goal late in the frame.
Kris Versteeg netted a pair of goals for the Blackhawks, who lost the last three tests of their homestand. Brian Campbell and Cam Barker each finished with a goal and two assists in the loss, while Cristobal Huet made 25 saves.
Chicago's upcoming trip is its second-longest of the season, behind only its eight-game swing from January 28-February 13 later in the season. The club is 1-3-1 on the road this year.
With Huet having played in net on Sunday, the Blackhawks are likely to go with Nikolai Khabibulin tonight, as the club continues to rotate netminders. Khabibulin has made nine starts to Huet's seven, going 4-1-4 with a 2.38 goals against average.
Khabibulin was in net for Chicago's 4-1 home victory over the Coyotes back on October 15 -- the team's first win of the season following an 0-2-1 start -- making 29 saves. Lifetime against the franchise, he is 8-3-1 with a 1.82 GAA.
Huet, meanwhile, has never lost to Phoenix, going 3-0-0 with a tie and 2.68 GAA.
Overall, the Blackhawks have won three straight and five of their last six against the Coyotes and two of three in Phoenix.
With the Coyotes playing their second straight game at home tonight, captain Shane Doan is slated to become the third player in franchise history to reach the 900-games played plateau. Doan, who has played all of his career tests with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise, will join Teppo Numminen (1,098 games) and Thomas Steen (950 games).
Doan has a team-best nine goals and 17 points so far this year and 236 goals and 331 assists for 567 points in his career.
He will try to help the Coyotes halt a two-game skid that has followed three victories in a row, as Phoenix fell at home to Dallas, 3-2, on Saturday. Steven Reinprecht and Kevin Porter both scored for the Coyotes.
Ilya Bryzgalov, making his ninth consecutive start for Phoenix, allowed three goals on 19 shots in defeat. He is 5-4-0 with a 2.12 GAA in that span. Bryzgalov's longest personal consecutive starts streak is 12 games, done so from November 17-December 13, 2007.
Bryzgalov is 4-3-2 with a 2.17 GAA in nine games versus the Blackhawks, allowing four goals in taking the loss against them earlier this year.
Phoenix is 5-3-0 at home this year and plays its next four on the road following this test.
<< No. 7 Texas entertains Tulane
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns are heavily
favored heading into tonight's non-conference clash with the Tulane Green
Wave.
Tulane won its opener at home over McNeese State by a 68-62 final. The Green
Wave w
<< Badgers and Cougars do battle in Madison
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers are extremely
tough to beat at home, and they are heavily favored in tonight's non-
conference clash against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.
SIU-Edwardsville opened its season in
<< Aggies seek upset of 19th-ranked Trojans
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked USC Trojans of the Pac-10
Conference are set to host the New Mexico State Aggies of the Western Athletic
Conference this evening.
New Mexico State opened its season on Saturday with a 79-52
<< Vols and Skyhawks meet in intrastate matchup
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will try
to remain perfect in the early stages of this new season when they host the
Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks this evening at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Skyhawks open
Habs visit Hurricanes, RBC Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to win back-to-back games
for the first time in over two weeks when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes
for tonight's test at RBC Center.
The Canadiens posted just their second win in six gam
Oilers hope to halt slide in road test against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will try avoid a fourth consecutive
loss when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for tonight's matchup at
Nationwide Arena.
The Oilers were dealt their third straight loss Monday evening in Detroit, a
Flames host Avs to open home-and-home set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames seek their third straight win over the
Colorado Avalanche, as the clubs open a home-and-home set tonight in Canada at
Pengrowth Saddledome.
After dropping five of eight versus the Avalanche last year, in
NBA loses a legend >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One thing about David Stern's NBA, it's a
marketing machine.
Think about it - names like Kobe, LeBron and Shaq are every bit as
recognizable around the world as Britney or Madonna.
Pete Newell's name ce
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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