Habs and Bruins square off as playoff hopefuls

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens look to further their playoff chances and defeat Boston for the fifth time in six meetings this year tonight at the Bell Centre, while the Bruins hope to strengthen their hold on the Eastern Conference's final postseason spot.

It was the Bruins who won five of six versus the Canadiens last year en route to a 116-point season that gave them the top seed in the East. Montreal, meanwhile, snuck in as the eighth seed with 93 points but was then swept out of the first round by Boston.

The Habs, however, have won four of five this year in the series, including a pair of shootout victories. They recorded a 4-1 win in Boston when the teams last met on March 2 and have won nine of the last 12 played at Bell Centre in the series.

Montreal's Glen Metropolit had a goal and an assist in the most recent meeting to give him four goals and two assists in the five games this season. The 35- year-old has 15 goals on the year, his highest single-season total in eight NHL campaigns.

Montreal has won a season high-tying four straight games and Thursday's 5-4 shootout win over Edmonton moved the club into a tie with Philadelphia for the sixth spot in the East with 74 points. Boston is eighth and two points back.

Sergei Kostitsyn, Travis Moen, Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta all scored in regulation and Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves before stopping all five skaters he faced in the shootout. Montreal missed on its first four attempts before Andrei Kostitsyn's tally in the shootout's fifth round.

"We knew before the game that [the Oilers] had nothing to lose, and they wound up strong against us," Halak said. "It was crazy goals against us, but that happens. What counts is that we won the game."

The Canadiens have won six of their last eight at home and will try to win five straight overall for the first time since Oct. 11-20, 2008. They could opt to go with Carey Price in net since he is 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average versus the Bruins this year. Halak started the other two meetings, going 1-1-0 with a 2.40 GAA.

Montreal also figures to have Maxim Lapierre back tonight after he served the final contest of his four-game suspension on Thursday for a hit from behind on Scott Nichol of San Jose back on March 4.

The Bruins come into this game 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests and are three points up on the New York Rangers for the conference's last playoff spot. They also got their sputtering offense on track Thursday in a 5-1 triumph over the Flyers, marking just the third time since Jan. 1 that Boston scored more than three goals in a game.

"We try to create a lot of energy and bring a lot of emotions to our game," said Boston captain Zdeno Chara. "Making simple plays but important plays to establish a forecheck and put pressure on them."

Patrice Bergeron, moved to the first line due to an injury to Marc Savard, scored and added two assists. Savard is likely to miss the rest of the season due to a concussion suffered on a blind-side hit by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke last Sunday.

Tuukka Rask made 31 saves and Marco Sturm, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci each posted a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who improved to 2-1-1 on a seven- game road trip while winning for the sixth time in their last eight games as the guest.

Rask made 36 saves in a 3-0 victory over Montreal at the Bell Centre on Feb. 7 and is 1-1-1 with a 1.76 GAA in four games (3 starts) versus the Habs this year. Tim Thomas is 0-1-1 with a 3.44 GAA in the other two starts.

Lottoballls Hockey Betting News

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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