Stastny and Avs down Calgary

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny scored two power-play goals during a high-powered first period and Peter Budaj made 33 saves, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, at Pepsi Center.

Milan Hejduk tallied a goal and an assist while Marek Svatos' goal early in the third period provided the difference for Colorado, which is now 4-4 in its last eight games overall.

Tony Amonte, Dion Phaneuf and Kristin Huselius scored for Calgary, which finished its consecutive three-game set against the Avalanche 1-2 after a split in the two games in Calgary last Thursday and Saturday. Miikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals on 32 shots for the Flames, who will play in Phoenix on Thursday before a three-game homestand.

The high-octane first period concluded with five total goals and a 3-2 Colorado lead.

Stastny started the scoring 7:19 into the stanza. Marcus Nilson was whistled for hooking and the Avalanche went to work with the extra skater. Near the conclusion of the two-minute minor, Hejduk alertly kept the puck inside the offensive zone at the left point and sent it to Joe Sakic along the near-side half-wall. Sakic then passed to Andrew Brunette along the goal line and Brunette centered it for a successful redirection by Stastny at the top of the crease.

"They had a good power play tonight," said Flames forward Jarome Iginla. "The first period was bad - their power play gave them confidence."

After Amonte's ninth goal tied the contest over two minutes later, another power-play goal gave the Avs a 2-1 lead. Moments after a 5-on-3 advantage expired, Hejduk poked the puck toward the goal mouth from near the left post. With Kiprusoff out of position and Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr without a stick, Stastny was able to put home the loose puck from the opposite post with 6:05 to play.

Calgary, though, answered with a power-play goal of its own. With Brad Richardson in the box, Phaneuf corralled an Edmonton clearing attempt at the right point, drifted along the blue line and, from the centerpoint, released a wrist shot that beat Budaj with the assistance of a screen in front by Iginla at 18:01.

The see-saw battle continued when Hejduk's 22nd goal with 54 seconds remaining in the opening stanza restored the Avs lead. The veteran forward stole the puck from Calgary's Matthew Lombardi in the neutral zone, nicely split two defenders and lit the lamp with a backhander from inside the left circle.

"I tried to just put it on net with a backhand, and I was surprised that it went in," said Hejduk.

The lone goal of the middle session tied the contest. The visitors needed only 15 seconds of power-play time to find the back of the cage after an interference minor was called on Ossi Vaananen. Phaneuf and Iginla played catch along the left side before Iginla's cross-ice pass from along the outer rim of the circle found the stick of Huselius for an easy one-timer from the right side past a sliding Budaj at the 5:34 mark.

Despite a 16-5 shots-on-goal advantage for Calgary in the third period, the only goal of the frame was also the decisive one at 1:24. From his own blue line, Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles sent a perfect pass through the neutral zone for Svatos, who gained control at the far blue line, skated in on a partial breakaway down the right side and beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot.

Game Notes

Earlier Tuesday, the Avalanche learned that defenseman Jordan Leopold will be sidelined approximately four weeks with a fractured wrist. Leopold suffered the injury during Colorado's 7-5 victory over these Flames on Saturday...Stastny and Sakic each extended their point-scoring streaks to nine games...The Avs improved to 17-13-3 at home this season...The Flames finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Flames were 2-for-6 with the extra skater...Attendance was 17,623.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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