12/03/2008 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabian Brunnstrom's second-period tally proved to be the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Toby Petersen and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Stars, who won consecutive games for the first time all season. Marty Turco, who entered play with a dreadful 3.61 goals-against average and crummy .868 save percentage, made 36 saves for Dallas.
"We'll take it, some guys played very well tonight," said Dallas head coach Dave Tippett. "Turco was excellent in goal. I thought Toby Petersen was excellent throughout the game, it was just a very good team win. We found a way to win in a very adverse situation with injuries and the controversy that surrounds our team today."
Before the game, the National Hockey League suspended Dallas forward Sean Avery indefinitely, pending a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman. The renowned pest and antagonist was disciplined due to inappropriate public comments he made to the local Calgary media on Tuesday morning that did not pertain to the game.
David Moss had the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff, who has started every game this season but one, allowed two goals on 22 shots for Calgary, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
"I think we did have the opportunities," said Calgary head coach Mike Keenan. "We didn't have the next level of being sharp in terms of our execution. We missed many wide open nets so Marty had obviously a solid game stopping 36 shots but we missed 12 opportunities so we could have had a 50 shot night if we were sharp."
Dallas struck for the game's first tally. Stephane Robidas let a shot go from near the top of the right circle that was kicked out by Kiprusoff with the right pad, but Petersen crashed the front of the net and banged in the rebound 6:14 into the contest.
Calgary began the middle frame on the power play and evened the score one second after Robidas' holding penalty expired. The rugged Todd Bertuzzi drifted out from behind the cage and sent a pass that was hammered by a pinching Adrian Aucoin. Turco made the initial stop, but Moss, who was positioned atop the crease, tucked in the rebound between the goaltender's legs.
Brunnstrom gave the Stars the lead at the 7:53 mark of the second period, taking a lead pass from Trevor Daley and splitting the defense. His first offering was turned aside by Kiprusoff, but the rookie Swede continued to go to the net and, with a one-handed swipe, buried the rebound on the backhand.
Turco was unbelievable in the third period, stopping all 15 shots fired his way, and Eriksson's empty-net marker in the waning moments iced the win for Dallas.
Game Notes
Dallas has won five of seven against the Flames...Calgary is 9-4-1 at home this season...The Stars are 6-7-1 on the road...The teams combined to go scoreless in five total power-play chances, four of which were awarded to Dallas.
<< Briere returns to lineup for Flyers, but leaves against Bolts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel
Briere returned to the lineup for Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa
Bay Lightning.
Briere missed the last nine and 14 of the previous 16 ga
<< Duke dominates Purdue in top-10 matchup
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler had 20 points and tied a
career-high with 12 rebounds, as fourth-ranked Duke topped No. 9 Purdue,
76-60, to remain unbeaten in the history of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Jon Scheyer
<< Miller leads Sixers in OT win over Bulls
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Miller missed the game-winning three-
pointer in regulation but rebounded to score nine of his season-high 28 points
in overtime, as the Philadelphia 76ers erased a four-game slide with a
103-95
<< Billups, Nuggets crush Raptors
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists,
and the Denver Nuggets crushed the Toronto Raptors, 132-93, at the Pepsi
Center.
Carmelo Anthony added 23 points and six rebounds, while Nene had 19 points
No. 25 Marquette fends off Central Michigan >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews scored 18 points to help the
25th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles defeat Central Michigan, 81-67 at the
Bradley Center.
Dominic James had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for
Thornton, Sharks crush Leafs >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three
assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the
Shark Tank.
Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also
Georgia Tech staying home for bowl season >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia Tech won't be traveling anywhere for a
bowl game this year, instead it will remain home to play in the Chick-Fil-A
Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3) have accepted a bid to play
Lakers aim to bounce back from first road loss vs. Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to rebound from their first
road loss of the season tonight when they resume a three-game trek against the
Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Los Angeles is coming off a tough 118-11
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.
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