Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks
Hockey Betting Lines
02/08/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves
tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak, but have won two of
three since pulling off a pair of trades last Sunday to acquire goaltender
Jean-Sebastien Giguere and defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Anaheim and Calgary,
respectively.
Phaneuf has started quietly, with just one assist in three games with the
Leafs, but Giguere has been a revelation in net for Toronto. The veteran
backstop is 2-0 with the Maple Leafs and has yet to allow a goal in posting a
pair of shutouts with his new team.
Giguere stopped 30 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 home win over New Jersey, and after
sitting out Friday's road game against the Devils, posted another shutout in
Saturday's meeting with visiting Ottawa. Giguere once again stopped 30 shots
as Toronto brought the Senators' 11-game win streak to a screeching halt with
a dominant 5-0 victory at Air Canada Centre.
Giguere, a former Conn Smythe winner with the Ducks, has three shutouts on the
season and 34 in his career. The 32-year-old is the first goalie in Maple
Leafs history to record shutouts in his first two games with the team, and
he is expected to get a crack at a third straight blanking when he gets
the start again tonight.
"It's a young man's game; when you get into your 30's, you're getting old,"
said the 32-year-old Giguere. "It's nice to have those young guys, it's
refreshing. They have a lot of energy, they're youthful. They'll make
mistakes, but they're honest mistakes. We can all accept that. It's a learning
process for everybody, but right now everybody is very focused."
Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn each scored twice and had an assist for the Maple
Leafs. Tyler Bozak also scored for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, who are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 49
points, are just 11-12-5 as the host this year, but have won three of their
last five at ACC.
San Jose, meanwhile, comes into tonight as the top team in the West with 85
points and trails Washington by just three points for most in the NHL. The
Sharks have won two straight and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 outings.
The Sharks have won the first two tests of a six-game road trip that will take
them into the NHL's Olympic break. San Jose earned wins in St. Louis and
Nashville to improve its road mark to 19-6-2 on the season.
San Jose posted a 4-3 decision in the Music City on Saturday, as Dany
Heatley's power-play goal in the third period proved to be the game-winner at
Nashville's Sommet Center.
Heatley finished with two goals and an assist while Rob Blake and Brad
Staubitz each lit the lamp for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 35 shots in
the win.
"The ice was bad, the puck was bouncing a little bit," Heatley said. "There
were a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, we took advantage of a couple of power
plays."
Tonight marks the only scheduled meeting of the season between the Sharks and
Leafs. San Jose notched a 5-2 home victory in the lone encounter between the
teams in 2008-09 and has won three straight in the series. Each team has three
wins and a tie in the seven last matchups held in Toronto.
<< Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their
run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola
Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
<< Jayhawks and Longhorns duke it out in Austin
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big 12 heavyweights collide in Austin
this evening, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the ninth-ranked Texas
Longhorns from the Frank Erwin Center.
Bill Self's Jayhawks sit atop the Big 12 stan
<< Villanova visits West Virginia in Big East showdown
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off their first Big East Conference
loss of the season, the Villanova Wildcats will attempt to get back on track
in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers this evening.
Villanova dropped a 1
<< Colonials face tall task in clash with Panthers
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Panthers take a break from
their Big East Conference schedule this evening to battle the Robert Morris
Colonials of the Northeast Conference at the Petersen Events Center in the
Steel City.
R
<< Spurs resume road trip against Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs face the toughest test of their
annual Rodeo Road Trip when they face the defending NBA champion Los Angeles
Lakers at Staples Center tonight.
Each year around this time the Spurs hit the road
Avs resume homestand with visit from Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to forge a tie atop the
Northwest Division standings tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues
for a battle at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche have 70 points and are two behind idle Vancouv
Devils, Flyers ready to renew rivalry >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will seek his first goal in a New Jersey
Devils uniform when his new team visits the rival Philadelphia Flyers tonight
at Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series between Atlantic
Division foes.
Streaking Kings try to continue mastery of rival Ducks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will be aiming to extend a franchise-
record winning streak tonight. If recent history is any indication, the
Anaheim Ducks may not be posing much of a problem towards achieving that feat.
The Kings s
Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix
Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to
Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid
setting a franchise
Bolton's Cahill could miss remainder of season >>
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set
to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm.
The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the
weekend draw with Ful
Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.
Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.
These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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