03/21/2008 - Calgary, AB (Hockey Betting) - Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow each scored in the first period as the Calgary Flames held on to edge the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1, in a crucial Northwest Division contest.
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 15-of-16 shots for the Flames, who won for just the second time in their last five games. The win improved Calgary to 86 points on the season, tied with Vancouver for the sixth spot in the Western Conference.
The Flames also moved within one point of idle Minnesota for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
"We just know how desperate it is right now," Conroy said. "We had an opportunity to move forward, and we took advantage of it tonight."
Ben Guite notched the only goal of the game for the Avs, who dropped their third straight decision. Jose Theodore made 26 saves, but allowed a pair of power-play goals and was saddled with the loss.
Colorado fell two points behind Calgary and Vancouver with the loss, but the Avs maintained their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Calgary took the early 1-0 lead when Langkow took a pass from Jarome Iginla and buried a wrister for a power-play tally with nearly 8 1/2 minutes gone.
Conroy increased the lead to 2-0 with just over five minutes left in the period, picking up a rebound and flipping a backhander past Theodore for the Flames' second man-advantage goal of the period.
The Avs mustered just three shots in the opening period, and Kiprusoff denied them all to keep Calgary's edge at 2-0 at the first intermission.
Neither team managed to score in the second period, as Kiprusoff stopped seven Colorado shots and Theodore made 11 saves of his own.
Colorado finally put the puck past Kiprusoff at the 5:52 mark of the third, when Guite picked up the rebound of Scott Hannan's shot in front of the net and lifted a backhander that eluded Kiprusoff to bring the Avs within 2-1.
But the Avalanche could get no closer, as Kiprusoff rejected 5-of-6 Colorado shots in the final period to help the Flames wrap up the victory.
"We went out in the third thinking we were going to come back," Guite said. "But, they shut us down pretty well after we got that first goal."
Game Notes
Calgary finished 2-for-4 on the power play, while Colorado was 0-for-4 with the man advantage...The Avs are 0-2-0 on their current three-game road trip, which ends Saturday in Edmonton...Calgary hosts the division-leading Wild on Saturday...Colorado leads the season series 4-3, and the teams meet for the final time Monday in Denver.
<< Spurs get back on track against Bulls
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Tim Duncan poured in 22 points and
<< Franzen lifts Red Wings over Predators
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Franzen's third-period goal proved to
the game-winner, as the Detroit Red Wings downed the Nashville Predators, 6-3,
at the Sommet Center.
Pavel Datsyuk scored twice for the Red Wings, who lead the W
<< Staal, Samsonov team up to push Hurricanes over Panthers
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Staal squirted the shootout winner
through the pads of Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun, giving the Carolina
Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the previously streaking Panthers at
BankAtl
<< Penguins down Lightning, keep pace in Eastern Conference standings
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin posted a goal and an assist,
as the Pittsburgh Penguins doubled up the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2, at Mellon
Arena.
Jarkko Ruutu, Jordan Staal and Petr Sykora also scored for the Penguins, w
Texas Three-Step: Celtics complete Lone Star sweep in Dallas >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Allen scored 21 points, and made a crucial
three-pointer in the final minute to help the Boston Celtics top Dallas,
94-90, at American Airlines Center.
Paul Pierce finished with 22 points and a seaso
Notre Dame has no trouble with George Mason; advances to second round >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Harangody scored 18 points and raked down
14 rebounds as the fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish ripped George
Mason, 68-50, in East Region action of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kyle
Nadal joins Djokovic in final four at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spaniard Rafael Nadal downed American
James Blake under the lights to join Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic
as a quarterfinal winner Thursday at the $3.589 million Pacific Life Open --
the fir
Adu double puts USA through to Beijing >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team
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Adu opened the scoring in the 27th minute
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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