Devils aim to keep rolling against East-leading Rangers
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02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils have matched their longest winning streak of the season and will try to keep rolling tonight, when they face the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The Devils have used a potent offensive attack to record wins in each of their last four games, matching a streak from Dec. 12-17. New Jersey has notched 20 goals in its last four trips to the ice and it posted a pair of key wins over Atlantic Division rivals over the weekend.
New Jersey jumped out to a 6-0 lead in Philadelphia on Saturday and held on for a 6-4 win over the Flyers. The Devils then posted a 5-2 triumph Sunday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
With 60 points, the Devils are seeded sixth in the East, but are also fourth in the Atlantic, where they are one point behind Pittsburgh and three in back of Philadelphia. The Rangers, meanwhile, are five points ahead of Philly and eight in front of Jersey.
New York has also been hot lately, winning four of its last five (4-0-1). The only setback for the Rangers during that stretch came in a shootout loss in New Jersey last Tuesday. The Blueshirts have still taken six of the last nine meetings with the Devils overall and New York has claimed three of the last four matchups in the Big Apple.
One player who has clearly made a difference for New Jersey during its current winning streak is Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian forward had a goal and two assists in Sunday's decisive win over the Penguins and now has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in his last four games.
"We are consistently doing the right things," said Kovalchuk. "We create a lot of chances and defensively we didn't give much."
Zach Parise also had a goal and an assist in the victory over the Pens, while Anton Volchenkov and Dainius Zubrus also found the back of the net. Both Parise and fellow forward Patrik Elias are riding five-game point streaks.
Martin Brodeur made 28 saves to post Sunday's win and he also added an assist on David Clarkson's empty netter.
The Devils have won three straight and four of their last five on the road and are 15-10-1 as the guest this season.
New Jersey defenseman Adam Larsson (back) and forward Ryan Carter (hand) are questionable for tonight's game. Both players were injured in last Tuesday's game against the Rangers.
New York has won two straight since dropping last week's shootout decision against the Devils. The Rangers are coming off Sunday's impressive 5-2 rout of the visiting Flyers. Artem Anisimov had a goal and two assists to lead the New York to the easy win over their division rivals.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist while Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko all scored for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist, who had posted shutouts in his previous two starts, allowed two goals on 23 shots in the win.
"I think we know how important these games are," said Gaborik. "We come with a lot of energy and stick with our system. We have played very well against them this year and this game was one of them."
Lundqvist is expected to be back in net tonight to face the Devils. New York's No. 1 netminder had made 32 consecutive starts in the series with New Jersey before Martin Biron received the call last Tuesday. Biron is 8-15-3 with a pair of ties in his career against the Devils, while Lundqvist has built a stellar 23-9-5 record versus New Jersey.
The Rangers began a three-game homestand on Sunday and are 16-5-2 as the host this year.
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the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
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Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs 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.