Canucks host Avs, aim for Northwest lead

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their recent winning ways and also regain sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division when they take the ice at General Motors Place tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canucks held a two-point advantage over second-place Calgary in the competitive Northwest before the Flames came through with a 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Minnesota currently sits just one point behind the co- leaders in third.

Vancouver returns home fresh off a pair of hard-fought road victories over Minnesota and Chicago and has won three in a row overall. After besting the Wild in overtime during a key divisional clash on Wednesday, the Canucks needed a shootout to put away the pesky Blackhawks two nights later.

Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden, Vancouver's first two shooters during the deciding phase, each beat Patrick Lalime to lift the Canucks to a 2-1 triumph on Friday.

The Canucks prevailed thanks to a great outing from All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo, who made 34 saves in regulation and then stopped both skaters he faced in the shootout.

Vancouver's Matt Cooke sent the contest into overtime when he scored with 9:33 remaining in the third period.

Following tonight's matchup, Vancouver will embark on a four-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Anaheim.

The Avalanche rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Flames at the Saddledome on Thursday, but Calgary got its revenge in last night's rematch. Kristian Huselius racked up two goals and an assist to lead the host Flames.

Colorado's Paul Stastny had a goal to extend his scoring streak to seven games. The young forward, who has amassed five goals and four assists over that span, also needs just two points to tie Alex Tanguay's rookie club record of 51 in a single season.

Two other Avalanche players, both of whom were instrumental in the team's win on Thursday, also lengthened individual streaks. Captain Joe Sakic set up Andrew Brunette's second-period goal and now notched a point in seven straight contests (5 goals, 9 assists), while Milan Hejduk assisted on Stastny's score to extend his run to six games (5 goals, 5 assists).

Hejduk had a hat trick in Thursday's triumph while Sakic added a pair of goals, including the 600th of his brilliant career.

Colorado won the first three meetings between the Northwest foes this season before the Canucks claimed a 2-1 win at General Motors Place on December 2. The Avalanche are 7-2-2 in their last 11 games with Vancouver.

The home team has emerged victorious in 10 of the last 12 encounters in this series, including seven of the last eight tilts.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.