Bruins aim to rebound versus Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

03/05/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins hope the addition of new blood to their roster can help them avoid a third straight loss when they host the Phoenix Coyotes for tonight's interconference battle at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Bruins are leading the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference with 93 points, but have lost two straight, four of six and eight of their last 11 games.

Boston, which is six points ahead of New Jersey for the top seed in the East, acquired a pair of players at Wednesday's trade deadline to try and help bolster its struggling squad.

The Bruins obtained veteran winger Mark Recchi from the Tampa Bay Lightning and nabbed defenseman Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks. Boston also received a second-round pick in 2010 from the Lightning and sent defenseman Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums to Tampa. The B's acquired Montador for young centerman Petteri Nokelainen.

Recchi turned 41 years old last month, but is having a solid season with 13 goals and 45 points in 62 games with the Lightning. The Bruins are Recchi's seventh team in 20 NHL seasons. He has recorded 535 goals and 1,426 points while also playing with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montreal, Carolina and Atlanta.

Montador has 20 points on four goals and 16 assists in 65 games with the Ducks this year. He was also leading the club with a plus-14 rating and 125 penalty minutes.

The Coyotes were also busy at Wednesday's deadline, but they were mainly interested in dumping salary and stockpiling prospects and draft picks for the future. Phoenix is 14th out of 15 teams in the West and nine points out of a playoff spot.

Phoenix was involved in the biggest trade of the day, as it sent forward Olli Jokinen and a 2009 third-round draft pick to Calgary for forwards Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust and a conditional first-round draft pick.

Jokinen was considered to be the Coyotes most important acquisition this past offseason, as Phoenix acquired him from Florida. The Finnish centerman had 21 goals and 21 assists in 57 games with the Coyotes.

The Coyotes dealt defenseman Derek Morris to the New York Rangers and received defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes in return. Phoenix also swapped forwards with Philadelphia, sending Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers for Scottie Upshall and a second-round pick in 2011 and traded goaltender Mikael Tellqvist to Buffalo in exchange for a 2010 fourth-round draft pick.

The Bruins were handed a 4-2 loss by visiting Philadelphia on Tuesday as the Flyers scored three times in the final period to skate away with the win.

Patrice Bergeron and Stephane Yelle both notched a power-play goal for Boston. Manny Fernandez allowed four goals on 26 shots in defeat.

Tonight's test marks the fifth segment of a six-game homestand for the Bruins, who will close out the residency Saturday against Chicago. Boston is 2-1-1 on the current homestand and 21-5-5 as the host this year, but the club has lost four of its last six tests in Beantown.

Phoenix has lost three straight, six of eight and 12 of its last 15 games.

The Coyotes were handed a 3-1 loss their last time out in Saturday's home game against St. Louis. Jokinen picked up the lone goal in his final game with the Coyotes and Ilya Bryzgalov successfully handled 27-of-30 shots in taking the loss for Phoenix.

The Coyotes are kicking off a season-high five-game road trip tonight and are just 10-18-3 as the guest this season.

Phoenix is 2-1 with a tie in the last four meetings with the Bruins. The Coyotes earned an overtime victory the last time these clubs met in Boston on December 11, 2005, allowing Phoenix to snap a six-game road winless streak against the Bruins.

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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.

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