05/17/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to grab a two-game lead in the Western Conference finals this evening, when they visit the Anaheim Ducks for Game 4 at the Honda Center.
The Red Wings made a statement in Game 3 on Tuesday night as they routed the Ducks to take a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.
On top of trailing in the series, Anaheim will also be without defenseman Chris Pronger for this evening's tilt, as the Norris Trophy finalist was handed a one-game suspension by the NHL for a blow to the head of Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom in Game 3. Pronger is leading the Ducks with 12 points on three goals and nine assists in the playoffs.
Holmstrom scored twice on Tuesday and Dominik Hasek made 29 saves for his 14th career postseason shutout to lead top-seeded Detroit to the 5-0 triumph in Anaheim.
Holmstrom also added an assist to give him eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 12 postseason games this year.
Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Valtteri Filppula also scored for Detroit, which rebounded from an overtime loss in Game 2 to pull ahead in this set.
The Red Wings have given up just five goals through the first three games of this series and much of the credit should go to Hasek. The 42-year-old goaltender is 10-5 with a 1.52 goals against average and .935 save percentage in this year's playoffs.
The six-time Vezina and two-time Hart Trophy winner stopped 14 shots in the first period on Tuesday, faced only two shots in the second and made 13 saves in the final stanza for his second shutout of this postseason.
Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom also added two more points to his already impressive playoffs in Game 3 as he posted a pair of assists. Lidstrom has notched two points in each of the three contests against Anaheim and has a team-leading 17 points (4g, 13a) in this postseason.
The Swedish blueliner already has more points in this year's playoffs than he did when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup champion team. Lidstrom also holds the team record for points in a postseason by a defenseman as he notched 19 points to help the Red Wings win a Stanley Cup title in 1998.
Meanwhile, the second-seeded Ducks are faced with the tough task of regrouping after Tuesday's debacle.
Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere will especially need to rebound after he was pulled early in the second period of Game 2 in favor of backup Ilya Bryzgalov. Giguere allowed three goals on 13 shots and Bryzgalov stopped 13 shots in relief.
Giguere, the 2003 Conn Smythe recipient, is still having a solid overall playoffs with a 6-3 record, 1.76 goals against average and .931 save percentage.
The Ducks failed to score on four power-play opportunities in Game 3 and have still yet to cash in on the man advantage in this series (0-for-16).
Anaheim is in the West finals for the second straight year and for the third time in the past four seasons. They are trying to make it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2003, when they lost in seven games to New Jersey.
This is the fourth time Detroit and the Ducks have met in the playoffs. The Red Wings swept Anaheim in the first round of the 1997 and 1999 playoffs only to watch the Ducks return the favor with a shocking four-game sweep in the 2003 conference quarterfinals.
This series will head back to Detroit on Sunday afternoon for Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena.
<< Spurs surge past short-handed Suns, take 3-2 series lead
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bruce Bowen hit the go-ahead three-pointer with
36.4 seconds left, and the Spurs took advantage of the Amare Stoudemire
suspension to beat the Phoenix Suns, 88-85, in Game 5 of their Western
Confere
<< Lackey, Angels blank Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey tossed four-hit ball over six
innings and combined with a pair of relievers to lead the LA Angels of Anaheim
to a shutout of the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, in the middle game of a three-game
series
<< Royals rally past A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Shealy drove in the deciding run in the
ninth, as the Kansas City Royals rallied for two runs in their final at-bat to
edge the Oakland Athletics, 4-3, in the third matchup of a four-game series at
McAfee
<< Sosa, Easley lead Mets past Cubs
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge Sosa allowed one hit over seven-plus
innings and Damion Easley belted a two-run homer to power the New York Mets to
an 8-1 win over the Cubs in the third contest of a four-game series.
The start of
Bulls, Pistons clash in Game 6 at the United Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls try to force a Games 7 against the
Detroit Pistons in their Eastern Conference semifinals series, as the teams
battle tonight at the United Center.
After dropping the first three games of the series, Chi
Twins turn to Santana in hopes of averting sweep by Tribe >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Converted reliever Fausto Carmona looks for a second
straight successful outing against Minnesota when the Cleveland Indians host
the Twins today in the final installment of a three-game series at Jacobs
Field.
Fenway Park the site for two between Red Sox, Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With heavy rains having washed out Wednesday's scheduled
contest, the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers will get together for a
day/night doubleheader at Fenway Park beginning this afternoon.
These current division leaders
Williams agrees to extension with North Carolina >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of North Carolina and men's
head basketball coach Roy Williams agreed to a four-year contract extension on
Thursday.
The new deal will keep Williams in Chapel Hill through the 2014-2015 s
MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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