Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Nashville Predators will aim for a sixth straight victory when they visit the rival St. Louis Blues for tonight's Central Division battle at Scottrade Center.
The recent hot streak has helped solidify Nashville's playoff chances as the Predators enter Sunday with 87 points, tying them with Los Angeles for the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Nashville is still 10 points in back of Chicago for the Central lead with just 10 games left.
Meanwhile, St. Louis, which has won two straight, is six points behind Detroit for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.
Nashville earned its fifth consecutive victory Saturday night, edging visiting Columbus in a defensive battle. Predators rookie defenseman Cody Franson scored 1:54 into overtime to lift the Preds to the 1-0 win at Bridgestone Arena.
In the extra session, Franson snapped a shot from the right point that squeezed through Columbus goaltender Steve Mason and trickled across the goal line.
Franson's tally came moments after Pekka Rinne robbed Blue Jackets veteran blueliner Mike Commodore with a nifty glove save. Rinne stopped 33 shots to record his second consecutive shutout and sixth of the season.
Rinne is riding a shutout streak of 132 minutes, 36 seconds and could get his sixth straight start today.
"(My consecutive shutouts) go hand-in-hand with the team," Rinne said. "I think the team's really playing well defensively. Early on, (Columbus) had some really good chances, but after that we really got it going."
The Predators have blanked opponents three times during their current five- game winning streak.
Tonight, Nashville will be without center Jason Arnott, who did not make the trip to St. Louis after sustaining an apparent head injury in Saturday's win. Arnott is tied for second on the team with 44 points this year.
The Preds are 20-14-3 as the visiting team this year and have won three of their last four road games.
St. Louis is back home after a successful two-game tour of the New York area. The Blues posted a 4-3 win over the Rangers on Thursday and blanked the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, on Saturday.
Ty Conklin made 29 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season in Saturday's victory over the Devils. Alexander Steen was the only player who found the back of the net, beating New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur late in the first period with a slap shot.
"It's amazing what he's able to do," Blues head coach Davis Payne said of Conklin. "You talk about being on the bench for a while and then all of a sudden getting thrown into the fire and being able to perform like that. It takes a guy with a great focus."
The win was the ninth in the last 12 games for St. Louis. However, the Blues are just 12-17-5 as the host this year and will close out March with four of five games on home ice.
The Predators have won two of three against St. Louis this year and have taken four of six overall in the series. Nashville also has won three straight and five of its last seven on the road against the Blues.
<< Sabres close road trip in Carolina
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will shoot for a third straight victory
this evening when they close out a five-game road trip against the Carolina
Hurricanes.
The Sabres had lost three in a row, including the first two tests of this
<< Flames try to boost playoff chances in St. Paul
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will try to forge a tie for the last
playoff seed in the conference when they visit the Minnesota Wild for today's
Northwest Division clash at Xcel Energy Center.
The Flames come into Sunday trailing idl
<< Rangers, Bruins fight for playoff spot in Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race is on
tap today as the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers at TD Garden.
The Bruins are holding onto the eighth and final playoff seed with 74 points,
but they hardly
<< Kings visit Clippers without rookie Evans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings will be without leading scorer and
Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans for this afternoon's game against
the Pacific Division-rival Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Evans injured
Thrashers try for home-and-home sweep in Philly >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will try to punctuate their newfound
success against the Flyers by sweeping the season series in tonight's finale
of a home-and-home set at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.
The Thrashers were swept in
Ducks battle Avs in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to continue heading in the right
direction when they host the Colorado Avalanche tonight at Honda Center.
The Ducks have won three straight, giving the club its longest winning streak
since a sea
Sliding Sharks aim for a win in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose hopes a game against the NHL's cellar dwellers can
help them snap their worst losing streak of the season as the Sharks visit the
Edmonton Oilers tonight at Rexall Place.
The Sharks have lost five straight contest
Miami-Ohio receives top seed in NCAA hockey tourney >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami-Ohio, Denver, Wisconsin and Boston
College have been selected as the top seeds for the 2010 NCAA hockey
tournament.
Miami-Ohio will be the top seed in the Midwest Region and will open
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting