Devils down Flames; Brodeur inches closer to all-time victories mark

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Langenbrunner scored a short-handed goal and added an assist while Marty Brodeur moved closer to history with 35 saves, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-2, at Prudential Center.

Brian Rolston and Zach Parise also scored for New Jersey, which has won five of its last six games overall and maintained its seven-point lead over Philadelphia atop the Atlantic Division. The Devils will host Phoenix on Thursday. Brodeur is two wins away from tying Patrick Roy for the all-time victory mark by a goaltender in league history.

Newcomer Olli Jokinen scored for the third time in four games since his trade to Calgary, but the Flames fell to 2-3-0 on their season-high seven game road trip that will continue in Detroit on Thursday.

Miikka Kiprusoff started for the Flames and allowed three goals on 28 shots but was removed in favor of Curtis McElhinney, who stopped all three shots he faced in relief.

The Flames opened the scoring midway through the first period. After a shot from the left point, the puck got caught up in traffic and a scramble for control ensued before David Moss gained control inside the lower left circle. Moss then spun around and sent a pass through the low slot to the right post, where Jokinen was in position for a successful one-timer at the 10:22 mark.

A short-handed tally by Langenbrunner 5:10 into the second period created a 1-1 tie. With Brendan Shanahan in the penalty box for slashing, the Flames had several good shots from the point during the 5-on-4 advantage, but a deflected puck created a 3-on-2 rush for the Devils.

Colin White streaked down the left-wing side and passed into the slot for Langenbrunner, whose wrist shot from near the inner rim of the left circle hit Kiprusoff before the puck trickled over the goal line behind him.

Midway through the second stanza, Parise hit the right post on a backhander amid a flurry of New Jersey scoring chances and several minutes later Langenbrunner's slap shot from the left circle slid inches wide of the far post.

Late in the period, though, the Devils solved Kiprusoff. Shanahan released a shot from the top of the left circle and the puck deflected off of Dainius Zubrus and landed directly on the stick of Rolston, who was all alone at the right post and easily tapped the puck into the back of the cage at 18:01.

Early in the final period, Parise's 39th goal made it 3-1. A scramble in front ensued due to a loose puck, and after Langenbrunner kept the play alive with a backhand attempt near the right post, the disc was finally poked over the goal line by Parise from the goal mouth 1:15 into the frame.

Curtis Glencross scored with less than one second remaining in regulation after the game was essentially decided.

Game Notes

Calgary forward Daymond Langkow returned to action after he had missed nine games with a bruised hand...Langenbrunner extended his point streak to six games and has four goals and four assists during that span....New Jersey improved to 23-10-1 at home this season and has won eight straight home tilts, which tied a franchise record for consecutive victories on home ice...Kiprusoff is winless in four career starts against the Devils...It was Brodeur's 549th win...Calgary's Jarome Iginla saw his eight-game point streak halted...The Flames were 1-for-7 on the power play and New Jersey ended 1- for-4 with the extra skater...Attendance was 14,598.

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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.