Sabres continue winning ways against Stars

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Vanek scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period, as the Buffalo Sabres continued their recent dominance over the Dallas Stars with a 5-3 victory at HSBC Arena.

The Sabres have won five straight against the Stars, with Dallas' last win in the series coming on March 31, 2003. In addition, the Stars haven't won in Buffalo since October 7, 1997.

Tyler Myers had a goal and three assists for the Sabres, who have won three in a row for the first time since a six-game burst from December 27-January 8. Derek Roy and Mark Mancari each had a goal and an assist. Jason Pominville had the other score for the victors.

Ryan Miller made 17 saves to pick up the win.

Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who have dropped four of five. Toby Petersen and Steve Ott had a goal apiece. Marty Turco turned aside 38-of-42 shots in defeat.

With the score deadlocked at 3-3 in the second, Vanek lit the lamp at the 10:05 mark to put the Sabres ahead. Following Myers' shot from the right point, Mancari gathered the puck behind the cage and slid a pass in front for Vanek, whose snap shot settled under the crossbar.

Miller made five saves in the second to keep Buffalo in front 4-3 heading to the third and stopped six shots over the final 20 minutes. Roy scored an empty-net goal with 17.4 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Myers got a high-scoring first period started with a goal just 55 seconds in. His slapper from the right point made its way through heavy traffic in front to get past Turco.

The Stars made it a 1-1 game on Petersen's goal at the 2:59 mark. Trevor Daley's shot from the left circle was deflected in by Petersen. However, Buffalo went back in front at 7:49 on Mancari's first goal of the year.

Ott tied things up again with a wrister from the slot with 7:32 remaining in the opening stanza. The Stars then went up 3-2 on Benn's wrister from the left circle.

The Sabres got a score from Pominville with just under a minute left to make it a 3-3 contest heading to the second. Myers' shot from the point was deflected in front by Pominville.

Game Notes

This was the lone meeting of the season between Buffalo and Dallas...Each team went 0-for-2 on the power play.

21planet Hockey Betting News

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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.