Isles, Panthers clash at the Coliseum

Hockey Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Florida Panthers will try to post their first three-game winning streak since early December when they visit the New York Islanders for today's clash at Nassau Coliseum.

Florida, which leads Washington by two points atop the Southeast Division, has posted consecutive 3-1 victories since Tuesday's disappointing 4-0 road loss to the Capitals.

Another win today would give the Panthers their first three-game win streak since Dec. 3-8 and would also ensure that Florida stays ahead of the Caps in the division race. Washington also has a tilt this afternoon against the Rangers in New York City.

The Panthers were in action Saturday afternoon in New Jersey and were able to record a 3-1 victory against the Devils. Florida's Kris Versteeg put the Panthers ahead in the second period with his fifth goal in four meetings against New Jersey this season. Versteeg has 21 total goals this season to lead Florida and he also paces the club with 46 points.

Former Devils backup goaltender Scott Clemmensen got the better of his former teammate, Martin Brodeur, stopping 27 shots for the win. Sean Bergenheim also scored and Mikael Samuelsson added an empty-net goal in the victory.

Jose Theodore could get the start in net for Florida today for the first time since Jan. 20. The veteran backstop recently returned from a knee injury and suited up as Clemmensen's backup on Saturday. He is 14-9-5 with a 2.50 goals- against average this season.

Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison left Saturday's game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. He is questionable for today's test.

Florida is 12-12-4 as the guest this year and is completing a brief two-game trip today.

The Islanders have earned a point in six of their last seven games (4-1-2) and are coming off Saturday's overtime win against visiting Los Angeles. Mark Streit netted the game-winning goal 96 seconds into extra session to lift New York to the 2-1 decision.

Michael Grabner scored the lone goal in regulation for the Islanders, who bounced back from Thursday's regulation loss to Montreal. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 34-of-35 shots to pick up the win.

The Isles are trying to break into the Eastern Conference playoff picture and are currently eight points out of a postseason berth.

Today's contest marks the end of a three-game homestand for New York, which is 12-12-5 on Long Island this season.

Florida beat the Isles twice back in October and has taken five of seven overall in this series. The Panthers have two wins in their last three trips to the Coliseum and Theodore recorded a shutout there back on Oct. 8 in a 2-0 decision for Florida.

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(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

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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.

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