Western Conference powerhouses collide in Vancouver
Hockey Betting Lines
02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two seeds in the Western Conference will collide tonight in British Columbia, as the Vancouver Canucks welcome the Detroit Red Wings for a battle at Rogers Arena.
The Red Wings are tied with the New York Rangers for the NHL lead with 69 points and are also three ahead of Vancouver for the West's No. 1 seed. Both Detroit and the Canucks have been playing excellent hockey of late, as the Wings have won eight of their last nine contests and Vancouver is coming off three straight victories and a 7-2-2 record in January.
Detroit and the Canucks have split the last eight encounters in this series and each team has won a home test so far in this season's matchup. The Red Wings, who are just 14-14-0 as the road team this year, have won three of the last five encounters in B.C.
The Red Wings began a five-game road trip prior to the All-Star break when they were dealt a humbling 7-2 loss by the Montreal Canadiens. Detroit rebounded from that lopsided loss in its first test after the hiatus, as it posted a 3-1 decision Tuesday night in Calgary.
Jiri Hudler scored the winner in the third period to lift the Red Wings to the victory at the Saddledome. Drew Miller and Cory Emmerton also had goals for the Red Wings, while All-Star goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 28 shots in the win.
"I thought both teams played well defensively," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "They're well organized and it's hard to get through there and get on the inside."
After tonight, Detroit has two tests left on its road trip with stops in Edmonton and Phoenix. The Red Wings will then return to the Motor City for a six-game homestand at Joe Louis Arena, where Detroit has won a franchise- record 17 straight games as the host.
The Red Wings hope to have veteran forward Tomas Holmstrom back tonight after he sat out Tuesday's tilt due to swelling in his knees. The 39-year-old Swede has eight goals and 10 assists in 43 games this season.
Vancouver is coming off a dramatic win over one of Detroit's Central Division rivals on Tuesday, as Daniel Sedin scored 3:37 into overtime to give the Canucks a 3-2 decision.
In the extra session, Henrik Sedin had the puck behind the net and dished it to the front where his brother one-timed it home for the win.
"It was big," said Henrik Sedin. "They are one of six or seven teams that are right there so to get the extra point, that could be the difference in the end."
Ryan Kesler and Cody Hodgson scored in regulation for the Canucks, who have won three straight for the first time since Dec. 26-29. Cory Schneider made 37 saves in the win.
Tuesday's victory improved Vancouver to a 3-1-1 on a six-game homestand that is set to end tonight. The Canucks are 15-6-3 as the host this season.
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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