Bruins try to grab 2-0 lead over Flyers

Hockey Betting Lines

05/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc Savard and the Boston Bruins will try to build off the momentum from a thrilling overtime victory when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden.

Savard, playing for the first time since suffering a concussion on March 7, scored the game-winner 13:52 into overtime, leading the sixth-seeded Bruins to a 5-4 victory in the opener of this best-of-seven series on Saturday.

Boston earned the home victory despite blowing a 4-2 lead in the third period, and tonight, the Bruins will try to take a 2-0 lead before the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.

The seventh-seeded Flyers, meanwhile, will attempt to bounce back and earn a split in Beantown. Philadelphia, which will host Game 3 on Wednesday, is now 2-2 on the road in the postseason after going 17-21-3 as the away club during the regular season.

Boston was 18-17-6 as the host during the season and has a perfect 4-0 record at home so far in the playoffs. The Bruins won all three home games while eliminating Buffalo in six games during the opening round.

On Saturday, Savard took a rolling puck in the right circle after Philadelphia was unable to clear and rocketed a slapshot above Brian Boucher's glove into the top right corner.

Patrice Bergeron and Miroslav Satan each recorded a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who are 37-18 all-time in series when winning the opening game. Steve Begin and David Krejci also scored, while Dennis Wideman had three assists.

"I think (Savard) played great hockey," Krejci said. "I can't remember the last time he played like that. I'm talking about the overtime. It was huge. A huge goal, and it's a good win. We have the first one, but the next one is going to be much harder."

Tuukka Rask stopped 32 shots for his fifth career playoff victory.

Mike Richards tallied a goal and two assists for the Flyers, who have lost seven of their last eight Game 1s. Philadelphia did take the series opener in the first round against New Jersey, en route to winning that series in five games.

Chris Pronger and Danny Briere added a goal and an assist apiece, while Ryan Parent also scored in defeat.

The Flyers, who were playing their first game since eliminating the Devils on April 22, fell behind 2-0 in the opening period and were forced to chase Boston all afternoon. The Bruins went ahead 4-2 on Krejci's goal at 7:25 of the third period, but Philadelphia received goals by Pronger and Briere in the final 10 minutes of regulation to force OT.

"It's one game," Briere said. "Obviously, we are not happy about the way we played in the first period, giving them that 2-0 lead. But that's hockey. It's one game. Get ready and bounce back. We were about to win one on their ice and in the first two, and we're still in good shape. That is going to be our goal for the next game."

Boucher, who kept his club in the extra session with 14 saves, stopped 41- of-46 shots in all for Philadelphia.

The Bruins did lose forward Marco Sturm for the remainder of the playoffs with a knee injury suffered in the first period of Saturday's game. Sturm, who failed to register a point in Boston's first seven playoff games, led the Bruins with 22 goals this season and added 15 assists for 37 points.

Boston and the Flyers are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 1978. Each team has won twice in the four all-time playoff series between the clubs. The Flyers won the most notable matchup, beating Boston in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. The Bruins have won the last two encounters, including a five-game series win over Philly the last time clubs met in the 1978 Stanley Cup semifinals.

The Flyers and B's split four games this year in a season series that included Boston's 2-1 overtime victory in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Both the Bruins and Flyers had 2-1-1 records in the series.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

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.