Devils hope to get on track versus Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils learned last time out that they can't take any opponent lightly. New Jersey will keep that in mind tonight when it shoots for a third straight win against Boston, while the Bruins try to avoid losing their grip on the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot at Prudential Center.

Coming off big wins over the Rangers and Penguins, the Devils visited the Islanders on Saturday to take on a New York club that at the time sat 14th among the 15 teams in the East. However, New Jersey was dealt a 4-2 setback and failed to move into a tie with Atlantic Division-leading Pittsburgh. The Devils now trail the Pens by four points in the standings after Pittsburgh defeated Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Mike Mottau and Ilya Kovalchuk each found the back of the net for the Devils, who play two straight and five of their next six at home, where they have won three straight.

With New Jersey playing the second of back-to-back games, former Islander netminder Yann Danis filled in for the resting Martin Brodeur and allowed four goals on 29 shots in defeat. It was Danis' first start since Feb. 2.

"We came out and played a real strong first 15 minutes of the game," said Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner. "We were really in control and then we stopped playing for you know 35 minutes or whatever it was. We can't do that."

Brodeur should resume his starting role tonight and is 23-15-0 with eight ties and a 2.43 goals-against average lifetime versus the Bruins. He won his lone start versus them this year, stopping 32 shots on Nov. 27 in a 2-1 shootout victory.

That win was the Devils' second in as many games versus the Bruins this year. New Jersey has won four of five and eight of its last 11 overall versus Boston as well as four of the last five played in the Garden State.

The Bruins head to Jersey with just a one-point edge over the Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, though New York is idle tonight and has played two more games.

Boston has dropped three of its last four, including Saturday's 3-2 setback in Montreal. Tuukka Rask made 24 saves, but also misplayed a dump in off the boards in the third period that allowed Montreal to score and take a two-goal edge. Milan Lucic later scored in the frame, but the Bruins failed to net the equalizer.

Blake Wheeler also tallied for the Bruins, who fell to 2-2-1 on a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season.

"We had a slow start, no question about that, we came out so sluggishly," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "The whole first period put us behind by a margin we find hard to come back from, but even so we battled hard."

Rask was making his second start in a row, but it is unknown who will start tonight. Rask has started three of Boston's seven games since the Olympic break and is 0-0-2 with a 1.73 GAA in two games (1 start) lifetime versus the Devils. He made 36 saves in November's shootout loss.

Tim Thomas, meanwhile, has started the other four games since the break and is 4-4-3 with a 2.36 GAA in his career against New Jersey.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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