Sabres visit Rangers seeking to stop road slide

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres hope to put their road woes to an end when the Northeast Division co-leaders pay a visit to historic Madison Square Garden tonight for a matchup with the New York Rangers.

Buffalo heads to the Big Apple having dropped eight straight games as the visitor, with six of those defeats coming in regulation. That matches the longest road losing streak in the franchise's 39 seasons of existence, an 0-5-3 stretch during the 2007-08 campaign.

The Sabres, who are still a respectable 14-12-3 away from home for the season, had also lost eight times in a stretch of nine overall games before downing Philadelphia in overtime on Friday. Tim Connolly scored 2:31 into the extra session to give Buffalo a much-needed 3-2 victory.

Buffalo trailed 2-1 in the third period before Adam Mair scored with 5:58 remaining in regulation. Connolly later put the Sabres ahead to stay when he banked home a rebound of Toni Lydman's shot from the point midway through the extra session.

Both Connolly and Adam Mair finished with a goal and an assist for Buffalo, with Thomas Vanek also lighting the lamp for his 300th career point. Goaltender and United States Olympic hero Ryan Miller did his part as well, stopping 27-of-29 Philadelphia shots on the evening.

"We made improvements in some areas," said Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff. "We missed a couple great opportunities you wished you put in the back of the net."

The win briefly gave Buffalo a one-point edge on Ottawa for first place in the Northeast, but the Senators pulled even following last night's overtime loss to Toronto.

The Rangers come back home after being shut out by NHL-leading Washington on Saturday, when Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore turned aside all 30 shots he faced to lead his club to a 2-0 verdict.

Alex Auld, claimed by New York off waivers from Dallas earlier this week, made his first start in goal for his new team and ended with 26 saves.

"Coming into a game against this team you're expecting a lot of shots," said Auld. "But I thought we did a good job tonight and it's just unfortunate that we came out on the wrong end."

The Rangers did have leading scorer Marian Gaborik back in the lineup last night, although the star sniper wasn't a factor in his return from a two-game absence due to a groin injury he sustained while competing for Slovakia in the Olympics. Regular netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who racked up a career-high 50 saves in New York's 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday, is expected to be back between the pipes after getting Saturday's game off.

The Blueshirts have dropped two in a row following a three-game win streak and sit in a ninth-place tie in the Eastern Conference standings with 66 points, two behind Montreal for the eighth and final playoff seed.

These teams have split two previous meetings this season, with the Sabres earning a 3-2 decision at Madison Square Garden on December 12 behind a 36- save performance from Miller. Buffalo has prevailed in four of the last six overall bouts in the series.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.