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Devils return home to face desperate Blues

Hockey Betting Lines

03/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Devils hope a return home can help vault them into the Atlantic Division's top spot, the Blues are banking that another second-half surge can get them into the postseason.

New Jersey aims for a fifth straight victory at the Prudential Center this evening versus a St. Louis club that has won eight of its last 11 games to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Devils kick off a three-game homestand tonight and are 24-9-1 at The Rock this season. However, New Jersey lost for a fourth straight time on the road last time out, dropping a 2-1 shootout decision in Toronto on Thursday.

David Clarkson had a regulation goal and Yann Danis made 25 saves but was then beaten three times in the shootout portion, while the Devils managed to score just once in losing for the second time in six games.

"We just didn't play a full 60 minutes," Clarkson said. "That's a hard-working team over there. Every time we play them, they come out hard and we let two points get away from us."

However, New Jersey did secure a point to move one behind Pittsburgh for the top spot in the division. The Penguins host the Hurricanes today.

While The Devils are just about a lock for the postseason, the Blues enter this game six points back of the eighth spot in the Western Conference with 12 games to play.

St. Louis, though, is 8-3-0 over its last 11 games as it tries to mirror last year's finish. In 2008-09, the Blues went an NHL-best 25-9-7 in the second half to jump from 15th in the conference to sixth. They ended the season 9-1-1 over 11 games but were swept out of the first round by the Canucks.

The Blues snapped a two-game slide on Thursday when they knocked off the Rangers, 4-3. Paul Kariya snapped a three-all tie with his 400th career goal at 8:24 of the third period.

"I don't really pay too much attention to stats, and I never concern myself too much with them," said Kariya, who reached the milestone in his 978th career game. "Obviously it's a nice milestone, but the two points was more important in the game tonight. We needed the win."

St. Louis scored four times despite a season-low 16 shots. Brad Boyes, Erik Johnson and Mike Weaver all added goals, with Weaver lighting the lamp for the first time since March 23, 2007.

Ty Conklin made 26 stops in the victory, as the Blues won for the fifth time in seven road games while improving to 21-11-4 as the guest.

St. Louis, though, has struggled at New Jersey, where they had lost four straight before a 3-2 win at what was then known as the Continental Airlines Arena on Jan. 10, 2007.

The Blues, who have lost nine of their last 12 in the Garden State, then dropped a 4-3 test to the Devils at home last year for their sixth loss in the last seven games in the series.

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<< Nuggets take on Bucks at Pepsi Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will try to close out a three-game homestand on a perfect note tonight, when they welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to the Pepsi Center. Denver has won the first two tests of the residency and seve

Thrashers try to maintain recent success against Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prior to 2009-10, a late-season matchup with the Flyers would have meant bad things for the Thrashers' playoff hopes. However, Atlanta is in position to record a third straight win over Philadelphia tonight and move to within

Sabres shoot for road win in Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sabres are in a fight for the Northeast Division title, which would give them home-ice advantage in the playoff's opening round. However, they'll likely need to win on the road if they want to earn the division crown.

Ovechkin set to return as Caps visit Bolts >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin will return from suspension tonight when his Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum. Despite sitting out the last two games for shoving Chicago d

Streaking Preds welcome Columbus to Music City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will aim for a fifth consecutive victory tonight when they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets for a Central Division clash at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville's recent surge has helped the club solidify

Coyotes host Blackhawks in West showdown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already set a record for the most wins in the franchise's history, the Phoenix Coyotes will face a big test tonight when they host the Chicago Blackhawks at Jobing.com Arena. The Coyotes posted a comeback win Thursd

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

    The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

    Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

    Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

    The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

    Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

    Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

    Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

    And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.