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03/14/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have been one of the NHL's best home teams this season, but they have yet to find any success on their own ice during the month of March.
The Southeast Division leaders will try to break a four-game home losing streak when the playoff-hopeful Carolina Hurricanes skate into the Verizon Center this evening.
Washington's home skid began with a 6-2 defeat to fellow division member Florida on March 1 and continued with a 5-2 setback to the Hurricanes two nights later. The Caps would go on to lose twice more on the residency before getting back on track with a pair of recent road wins.
After downing Nashville in overtime on Tuesday, Washington rode an outstanding performance from goaltender Jose Theodore to a 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia Thursday at the Wachovia Center.
Theodore turned aside 35-of-36 shots, including all nine chances he faced in the third period to protect the one-goal lead. Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead when he scored his league-leading 48th goal of the season late in the second frame.
Alexander Semin set up Ovechkin's tally to extend his scoring streak to eight games. The Russian forward has totaled six goals and six assists over that stretch.
Despite their struggles at home as of late, the Capitals still sport an excellent 25-9-2 record at the Verizon Center this season. Following tonight's tilt, the team will embark on a five-game road trip beginning Monday in Atlanta.
Carolina concludes a three-game trek tonight in which it has lost the first two tests. Both defeats came by a single goal, as the Hurricanes fell in a shootout to Chicago on Wednesday and came out on the short end of a 3-2 decision at Dallas the following night.
The Hurricanes had won four in a row prior to the Chicago game and are in the thick of a heated Eastern Conference playoff race. The club is presently tied with the New York Rangers for the final two postseason berths, but ninth-place Florida is lurking only one point behind both teams. Carolina also trails Pittsburgh by just one point for the No. 6 seed in the East.
Cam Ward made 28 saves in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Stars, but allowed all three Dallas goals within a nine-minute span in the second period.
Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour had a short-handed goal along with an assist on the evening and now has compiled seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) during a five-game scoring streak.
Carolina, which is 12 points in back of the Capitals in the Southeast standings, is 17-15-5 on the road for the season. The Hurricanes will embark on a three-game homestand, culminating with a March 21 meeting against Washington, after tonight's matchup.
These divisional foes have split four previous encounters this season, but the Hurricanes have lost in four of their last six visits to Washington.
<< Flames try for rare road win versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will aim for their first victory in
Toronto since 2000, as they visit the Maple Leafs tonight and Air Canada
Centre.
The Flames haven't posted a victory in Toronto since December 16, 2000. They
have los
<< Thrashers without Kovalchuk for test with Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will be without their top offensive
weapon tonight when they visit the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena.
The Thrashers notched a 4-3 overtime win against Edmonton on Thursday to post
their fourth victory
<< Pens hope to extend home win streak against Senators
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite having their longest winning streak of the season
recently halted, the Pittsburgh Penguins will still try for a fifth straight
win on home ice tonight against the Ottawa Senators at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins begin
<< Blues continue homestand, seek first win vs. Red Wings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues are trying to make their crucial four-
game homestand a successful one. However, success isn't something they have
had this year versus Detroit.
The playoff-hopeful Blues seek their first win over the R
Wild, Stars face off in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams feverishly fighting for a playoff spot face off
tonight at the American Airlines Center, where the Dallas Stars host the
Minnesota Wild in a key late-season showdown.
The Stars enter this important matchup tied w
Oilers welcome road-challenged Avs to Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Edmonton Oilers are to reach the playoffs, they'll
need to take advantage of an upcoming stretch of home games, especially ones
against teams that have struggled on the road this season.
The Oilers will face such an
Preds try to get on track versus Coyotes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mired in an untimely three-game losing streak, the
Nashville Predators will be vying to get back on track when they take on the
sliding Phoenix Coyotes tonight at Jobing.com Arena.
Nashville's skid comes immediately after
Sharks aim to dethrone Kings in San Jose >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks hope that a visit from the Kings will
be enough to get them back on track. The club hosts Los Angeles tonight at HP
Pavilion.
The Sharks had led the Western Conference for most of the season, but now fi
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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