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02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forgive the Red Wings if they are looking past the Ducks and towards this weekend when they could have a chance at matching the longest home winning streak in NHL history.
After all, wins over Anaheim at Joe Louis Arena are almost a given for Detroit.
The Red Wings aim to make it 19 straight victories as the host this evening with an eighth consecutive defeat of the surging Ducks in Motown.
Detroit's current string of home victories is a franchise high and the longest in the NHL since the Philadelphia Flyers tied the league record by winning 20 in a row during the 1975-76 season. The mark was first set by the 1929-1930 Boston Bruins.
The Red Wings have not suffered a loss at home since Nov. 3 and returned off a 2-2-1 road trip that ended with two straight defeats to knock off the Oilers 4-2 on Wednesday in the first of six in a row at home. The game also began a span of 11 of their next 14 at Joe Louis Arena for the NHL-leading Red Wings.
Following a two-goal setback in Phoenix on Monday, Detroit got third-period goals from Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg to put away the Oilers. Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen also scored to improve Detroit to 21-2-1 as the hosting club this season. Still, the Red Wings are just 15-15-1 on the road but lead the NHL with 74 points, one more than both the Canucks and Rangers.
Detroit was able to avoid a letdown at the start of its lengthy homestand and with a victory tonight, it will have a chance to even the NHL record on Sunday versus Philadelphia.
"People that don't travel with us and just watch home games have no idea how hard it is to come back and what a grind it is," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "This game is always a tough one to win. We knew that coming in."
Adding to the potential trip up was the fact that starting goaltender Jimmy Howard remains out with a broken right index finger. Joey MacDonald again got the start for the league's wins leader and made 15 saves.
It will be either MacDonald or Ty Conklin in net for the Red Wings tonight as they try to avoid their first loss at home to the Ducks since Feb. 10, 2008. Detroit has won seven in a row and 16 of the last 17 as the host in this series and holds an all-time home record versus Anaheim of 29-3-0 with three ties.
Detroit shut out visiting Anaheim 5-0 in the first of four meetings this year on Nov. 5 and added a 4-2 road victory over the Ducks later in the month to give it a win in five of six and 10 of the last 13 encounters overall.
Franzen, Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart all have a pair of goals versus the Ducks this year, while Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk have added three assists in the two meetings as well.
Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne have the goals for the Ducks, who are 11-2-2 since Jan. 6, when they were 20 points out of a playoff spot. They have halved that deficit since and sit 10 points behind the eighth-place Coyotes.
Anaheim picked up its second straight victory on Wednesday, logging a 3-2 overtime win over Carolina. Corey Perry netted the game-winner at the 2:14 mark chasing down a loose puck after perhaps getting away with a tripping call on the Hurricanes' Jussi Jokinen.
Perry sent a quick pass to Sheldon Brookbank before receiving a return feed and firing it home for his first goal in seven games. Koivu added his first goal since a hat trick on Jan. 10 -- a span of 11 straight games without a goal -- and Nick Bonino scored.
"All these games that we win are going to be nail-bitters as we get closer to the playoffs," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "So every win we get is going to be huge."
Jonas Hiller came up with 31 saves and is 9-2-2 over his last 14 appearances with a 1.93 goals-against average. Hiller has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of those outings.
While the Ducks could probably think of a better location to start their eight-game road trip, which equals the longest uninterrupted swing in club history, Perry thinks Wednesday's win could give the club some momentum heading into Detroit.
"We needed it before the road trip. We didn't want to go on the road trip on a losing note. Eight games is a long way and it could make-or-break our season," said Perry, whose club has won four of its past six on the road and won't play at home again until Feb. 26.
While Detroit's Danny Cleary is questionable due to a lower-body injury suffered in the Red Wings' most recent game, forward Tomas Holmstrom is expected to suit up for the 1,000th game of his career this evening. He is set to become the 272nd player in league history to reach that figure and the sixth to skate in 1,000 games with the Red Wings.
Lidstrom, meanwhile, will match Alex Delvecchio (1,549) for second place on the Red Wings' all-time games played list this evening.
<< Cavs and Bucks clash at the 'Q'
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving probably won't play
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Sessions will be there to pick up the slack.
Sessions filled in nicely for Irving the prev
<< Heat visit nation's capital to take on Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting their six-game road trip off to a poor start,
the Miami Heat will dust themselves off for tonight's showdown against the
lowly Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.
The Heat had won three straight and 11
<< Clippers resume road trip vs. 76ers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will close out a seven-game stretch
that head coach Doug Collins dubbed as "Death Row" when they entertain the
upstart Los Angeles Clippers tonight from Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers are 4-2 on the
<< Thunder conclude road trip in Utah
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City will attempt to wrap up a five-game road trip
on a winning note tonight when Kevin Durant and Company visit Salt Lake City
to take on the Utah Jazz.
The Western Conference-leading Thunder dropped to 2-2 o
Mavs visit Love, Timberwolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will have Kevin Love back in the
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quarter of Satu
Magic welcome Hawks to central Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic try to stay hot tonight when they welcome
the Atlanta Hawks to the Amway Center.
This, of course, is the first meeting between these Southeast Division rivals
since Atlanta knocked the Magic out of last
Giggs to play another year at United >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson has revealed that midfielder Ryan Giggs will return to the club for
another season after signing a one-year contract extension.
The 38-year-old Giggs m
Blazers, Hornets tangle in the Big Easy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland hopes a Western Conference-worst New Orleans team
proves to be a bit of a tonic after the Blazers dropped consecutive games in
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A controversial goaltending call on All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge al
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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