Blackhawks limp into Honda Center to battle Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has had a hard enough time picking up victories in Anaheim without having injuries to worry about. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks could be without as many as four key skaters tonight when they visit the Honda Center to take on the Ducks, who could also have an injury-affected lineup.

Chicago's quest for the top seed in the Western Conference took a major hit on Sunday. Not only did the Blackhawks blow a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime setback to the Capitals over the weekend, but Chicago also lost the services of defenseman Brian Campbell in the first period.

Campbell was pushed violently into the boards by Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who received a major for boarding, a 10-game misconduct and ultimately a two- game suspension for a hit in the NHL called "reckless" in its release announcing Ovechkin's punishment.

The 30-year-old Campbell, meanwhile, suffered a clavicle fracture and rib fracture. The Blackhawks said on Tuesday that the blueliner likely won't need surgery but will miss seven-to-eight weeks of action. Defenseman Nick Boynton, acquired from the Ducks on March 2, was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Chicago was also without star forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Kim Johnsson due to upper-body injuries on Sunday and both players are questionable for tonight.

Without Hossa, Jonathan Toews stepped up with two goals and John Madden also scored. Antti Niemi made 18 saves through the first two period, but allowed three goals on 11 shots in the third frame before getting beat by Washington's Nicklas Backstrom at 3:10 of overtime. Niemi made 26 saves in all as the 'Hawks lost their second straight game late. They yielded two goals in the final 2:04 of Saturday's setback to Philadelphia, including the game-winning tally with just 2.4 seconds left in regulation.

"We let [the Capitals] back in the game. We took penalties and did other little things that gave them a chance," said Toews, whose club has also lost three of its last four and is 18-11-3 on the road this season.

Niemi will get the start again tonight with Cristobal Huet battling the flu.

Chicago does own an 11-point edge over second-place Nashville in the Central Division and, with 94 points, is two points behind San Jose for the lead in the West. Washington leads the NHL with 103 points.

The Blackhawks wrap their season series with the Ducks having lost two of three to them this season. Chicago has also lost five of its last six at Honda Center -- including a 3-0 shutout on Nov. 27 -- and has only two wins and a pair of ties in its last 16 at Anaheim.

The Ducks, meanwhile, snapped a five-game overall slide and four-game home losing streak on Sunday with a 4-2 victory over the Sharks, Anaheim's first in six meetings with San Jose this year.

Teemu Selanne scored the 599th goal of his career and had an assist before leaving the game with a shoulder sprain. However, he practiced on Tuesday and could play tonight.

Selanne is just one goal shy of becoming the 18th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals, and the forward is also two tallies short of tying Hall-of- Famer Jari Kurri for the most goals scored by a Finnish skater.

Ryan Getzlaf also left Sunday's game after aggravating a left ankle injury. He underwent an MRI on Monday along with Selanne that showed no further damage to the existing injury and he also hopes to be on the ice tonight.

"It's definitely a strong possibility that I will be playing, especially with the situation we're in," Getzlaf told his team's Web site on Tuesday. "We're fighting for our lives right now. I'm going to do everything I can to be in the lineup [Wednesday]."

Corey Perry, Lubomir Visnovsky and Bobby Ryan also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who picked up their first win since the Olympic break and improved to 1-2-1 on a seven-game homestand. Anaheim is also 10 points back of a playoff spot with 14 games to play.

Jonas Hiller made 31 saves and made a then-season-high 42 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks when the clubs last met on Jan. 10.

Wwwpharoahscasino Hockey Betting News

<< Avs attempt to extend win streak over Flames
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try for their fourth straight win overall as well as their seventh victory in a row over the Calgary Flames tonight when the two teams clash at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche's current winning stre

<< Devils try to extend domination of Penguins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A huge battle in the Atlantic Division race is on tap tonight in Newark, pitting the host New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center. The Penguins, of course, are the defending Stanley Cup champ

<< Red Sox prospect Westmoreland has successful surgery
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland had successful brain surgery Tuesday. The procedure, which lasted five hours, removed a cavernous malformation that was diagnosed earlier this month after he ex

<< Lobos' NCAA history rife with stories of infamy
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico has one of the most famous arenas in college basketball and a devoted legion of hoops-crazy fans.Something the Lobos have never had? Two straight victories in the NCAA tournament.``Never gotten out of the second ro

<< Hughes, Bohannon may give Badgers tournament edge
MILWAUKEE (AP) -It's perhaps the most oft-repeated nugget of conventional NCAA tournament wisdom and it bodes particularly well for Wisconsin this year: Experienced guard play can be a decisive edge.The Badgers start one of the tournament's most exp

Redskins sign QB Grossman >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed quarterback Rex Grossman. Grossman has seven years of NFL experience, and spent last season with Houston in a backup role. He played in one game, complet

Thunder kick off road trip in Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's still plenty of wiggle room left for the Oklahoma City Thunder to move up in the Western Conference standings. A lengthy winning streak usually helps, as the Thunder shoot for a sixth straight win tonight against the

Knicks make a stop in Boston for St. Patrick's Day >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics are closing in on their third straight Atlantic Division title and will face another inferior opponent tonight on St. Patrick's Day against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Boston rebounded from a loss

Spurs finish Florida trip in Orlando >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An intriguing interconference matchup is on tap tonight in central Florida, where the San Antonio Spurs take on the playoff-bound Orlando Magic at Amway Arena. San Antonio is still trying to solidify a postseason spot in t

Basement brawl: Woeful Nets visit lowly Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The bottom two teams of the Atlantic Division will go head- to-head for the final time of the 2009-10 campaign this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the homestanding 76ers aim for a season sweep of the dismal

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.