Blues, Preds clash in likely defensive battle

Hockey Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have an All-Star goaltender who might not even be his club's starter come playoff time.

The Nashville Predators are likely to start a netminder this evening who is on the longest winning streak in club history.

That could make goals at a premium Saturday night in this big Central Division matchup between the Blues and Predators in Nashville.

St. Louis has posted a 9-1-2 record since a 3-0 loss in Detroit on Dec. 31 and sits fourth overall in the West, four back of the Red Wings for first place in both the division and conference. Nashville, winners in 13 of its past 16, is a point behind St. Louis.

The Blues recorded their NHL-leading 10th shutout of the season last night with a 1-0 win over the Kings, getting the fifth of the season from Jaroslav Halak to snap a two-game slide. The St. Louis netminder made 22 saves for his 21st career whitewash, getting all the support he would need at the 8:38 mark of the second on Jamie Langenbrunner's goal.

"You've got to get 100 points to make the playoffs and we knew that coming in," Langenbrunner said of the always-competitive Western Conference playoff picture. "If you win one you feel good about it and you move on. If you lose one you forget about it and move on. No one is going to win every game, but you've got to make sure you give yourself a chance every night."

Halak is 12-1-3 in his last 16 starts, posting a 1.57 goals-against average and .937 save percentage over that span. Four of his last seven starts have resulted in shutouts.

Still, Halak has made 28 starts to Brian Elliott's 22. The latter also has five shutouts this year and leads the NHL with a 1.69 GAA. The All-Star selection is second in the league with a .938 save percentage and it is unknown who will get the start tonight.

Nashville is likely to turn to Pekka Rinne, who is in the midst of a personal 10-game win streak. Rinne hasn't lost since Jan. 5 and has allowed two goals or less in all but one contest over his current win streak. He is also 13-1-0 with a 1.77 GAA and .941 save percentage since Dec. 28 and became the third goaltender since the start of the 2005-06 season to win more than 10 wins in a month after going 11-1-0 in January.

After giving up four goals in a 5-4 win at Minnesota on Tuesday, head coach Barry Trotz gave his No. 1 goalie a rest on Thursday and started backup Anders Lindback, who allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 4-1 defeat to hosting Philadelphia.

Ryan Suter had the lone Preds goal, his first since Nov. 23, while Craig Smith logged an assist to give him two goals and three helpers over a five-game point streak. Nashville, though, had a five-game win streak halted.

"Yeah, we haven't given him enough support in terms of offense," Trotz said of Lindback bearing the brunt of an offensive drought. "Sometimes that happens. He's had some good teams we've played him against in the [Eastern Conference]."

The Predators have won all three meetings with the Blues so far this season, including consecutive 2-1 shootout victories. Nashville has won nine of the last 13 encounters overall and four of the past six played at home.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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