Devils try to extend domination of Penguins

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03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A huge battle in the Atlantic Division race is on tap tonight in Newark, pitting the host New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center.

The Penguins, of course, are the defending Stanley Cup champions and come into tonight with a two-point edge over the Devils for the division lead. New Jersey, however, won the Atlantic title last season and has taken the crown in three of the past four years.

The Atlantic lead also comes with the inside track on the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With 87 points, Pittsburgh is 16 behind Washington for the top spot and five points ahead of third-seeded Buffalo.

The Devils should be comforted by the fact that they have absolutely dominated Pittsburgh this season and could sweep the season series tonight. New Jersey has outscored the Pens by a 17-3 margin over the five matchups this year and posted a 3-1 victory when the clubs met in Newark last week. Ilya Kovalchuk notched a goal and two assists and Martin Brodeur stopped 34 shots to lead the Devils in that victory.

New Jersey has taken six of seven and eight of 11 overall in the series, while Pittsburgh has dropped three straight and four of its last five in the Garden State.

The Pens also come into tonight with an injury concern to a major point producer in forward Evgeni Malkin, who suffered a foot injury after getting hit with a shot in Sunday's win over Tampa Bay. An X-ray revealed that Malkin, who has 69 points this season, suffered no broken bones, but he is still questionable for tonight.

Pittsburgh captain and leading scorer Sidney Crosby also twisted his right leg on Sunday, but was able to return later in the game. Crosby practiced on Tuesday, but Malkin did not.

"Geno is day-to-day." Pens head coach Dan Bylsma said of Malkin on Tuesday. "He's going with us tomorrow."

The Devils have split two games since Friday's meeting with Pittsburgh, beating visiting Boston in a close regulation decision on Monday. Zach Parise scored the eventual game-winner late in the first period, leading the Devils to the 3-2 victory at the Rock.

David Clarkson had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who have won three of their last four outings. Rob Niedermayer also lit the lamp and Brodeur made 34 saves.

"As a team were starting to mold and that's when it gets exciting," Clarkson said. "This is when you're going into war. This is the playoffs coming up. I believe we have a group of guys that I would take everyone of them with me."

The Devils have won their last four games on home ice and come into tonight with a superb 23-9-1 record as the host this year.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh comes into tonight with a 1-1-1 record so far on a five- game road trip that ends Thursday in Boston. Overall, the Pens have a strong 20-13-2 record as the guest, but they have lost four of six away from the Steel City.

The Penguins have played only Sunday's game in Tampa since losing to the Devils. Sergei Gonchar notched the game-winning score early in the third period to lift Pittsburgh to the 2-1 decision over the Lightning.

Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins, who snapped a two-game slide and won for the fifth time in seven games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves in the victory,

"It's one of those games where they are battling for the playoffs and they played like they wanted it," Dupuis said of Sunday's win. "We came out not expecting that, we had a big push early in the third to win the game."

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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.