Nashville escapes Los Angeles with one-goal victory

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patric Hornqvist scored the game-winner late in the third period, as the Nashville Predators edged the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, at Staples Center.

Steve Sullivan and Colin Wilson also scored for the Predators, who ended a four-game road trip with a 3-1-0 mark. Pekka Rinne made 18 saves for Nashville, which sits seventh in the Western Conference.

The Predators have won seven in a row against the Kings, and five straight in Los Angeles.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown lit the lamp for the Kings, who started a four- game homestand on Sunday. Jonathan Quick turned aside 28-of-31 shots for Los Angeles, which is currently fifth in the West.

With the score deadlocked at 1-1 in the third, Brown lit the lamp with a wrister from the slot at the 5:56 mark to give the Kings the edge.

Nashville had an answer just 39 seconds later. Martin Erat made his way in front and put a shot on net. Quick made the save but left a rebound for Wilson, who chipped the puck home.

Hornqvist then scored with 3:31 remaining to give the Predators a 3-2 margin. Dan Hamhuis' shot from the left point was gathered in front by Hornqvist, who was screening the LA netminder. Hornqvist made a quick move and beat Quick with a shot.

Los Angeles couldn't get the equalizer despite pulling Quick in the final minute for the extra attacker.

The Predators got on the board at the 4:42 mark of the first period. Sullivan gathered the disc at center ice and charged down the right side. The forward fired a shot from the bottom of the right circle that snuck past Quick.

Kopitar tied things up with a power-play goal at the 8:56 mark. Michal Handzus, who was positioned at the side of the net, slid a pass in front for Kopitar, whose wrister beat Rinne.

Quick made eight saves in a scoreless second frame, while Rinne stopped four shots.

Game Notes

The Predators haven't lost to the Kings since March 13, 2008...Prior to the contest, Los Angeles assigned goaltender Jonathan Bernier to Manchester of the American Hockey League...Nashville went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Los Angeles was good on its sole chance.

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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.