Bruins top Pens, stretch winning streak to 10

Hockey Betting Lines

01/01/2009 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marc Savard and P.J. Axelsson each had a goal and an assist to help Boston increase its winning streak to 10 straight in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the back end of a home-and-home set.

David Krejci and Milan Lucic each had a goal for the Bruins, who last won 10 in a row in the 1972-73 campaign and are now four wins away from the club record of 14 consecutive victories set in the 1929-30 season.

Also, Boston has not lost at home since October 23 and has won 14 straight as the host. The Bruins' club record of 20 straight home wins was also set during the 1929-30 campaign.

Manny Fernandez made 30 saves in the win.

"Every night it's a different guy overall," said Fernandez. "Tonight might have been my worst game. I was just battling from the start. That's just to let you know how well we played defensively against one of the best teams in the NHL. What it is, I can't pinpoint exactly. We just get that feeling when we have to step it up and play better."

Ruslan Fedotenko and Dustin Jeffrey each had a goal for the Penguins, who have lost three straight and four of five. Dany Sabourin gave up three goals on 25 shots.

"It's frustrating right now," said Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney. "We've got to do something to win some games here. The power play hasn't scored in five games. It's getting old to say you play well but you lose. You have to win. We didn't play horrible we just didn't win. It doesn't matter how good you play if you don't win."

Boston defeated Pittsburgh, 5-2, on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins opened the scoring just 2:59 into the contest as Jeffrey fired a wrist shot from the right circle through a screen and past Fernandez for his first career goal.

However, Boston answered with two markers to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.

On a beautifully executed play, Michael Ryder fired a pass from the right side to the left circle for Chuck Kobasew, who then sent the puck to the front of the net where Krejci redirected it past Sabourin at the 4:05 mark.

Later in the frame on the power play, Savard fired a shot from the low right side that deflected into the air off the stick of a Penguin. Axelsson, though, was in front of the net to whack the puck out of the air for a 2-1 lead.

Boston took a 3-1 lead with 7:35 left in the second period as Lucic's wrister from the slot with traffic in front found the back of the net.

Fernandez had to make only four saves in the second period to keep Pittsburgh from scoring as the defense did a good job of holding the Pens offense in check.

Pittsburgh made it a one-goal game at the 6:20 mark of the third as Miroslav Satan hit Fedotenko with a pass behind the defense and Fedotenko followed up his initial shot, which Sabourin stopped, and banged home the rebound.

However, Boston kept Pittsburgh off the board for the rest of the game and Savard's empty-netter in the closing moments sealed the win.

Game Notes

Boston hosts Buffalo on Saturday...The Penguins host Florida on Saturday...Boston has won four of the last five against Pittsburgh...Krejci has a 10-game point streak...Pittsburgh went 0-for-5 on the power play while Boston finished the game 1-for-6 on the man advantage.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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