Kings welcome Coyotes to LA

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings remain the lowest-scoring team in the league, but perhaps some fresh blood can kick start the offense. It certainly worked on Sunday.

After capping a six-game road trip with a victory thanks in part to a pair of first-career goals by Jordan Nolan and Dwight King, Los Angeles looks to create some separation tonight between itself and the eighth-seeded Phoenix Coyotes.

The Kings went 2-3-1 on their recently-completed road trip, potting just six goals over the first five games of the swing. Three of those came in one game, but Los Angeles got its offense on track for at least one game in a 4-2 win over Dallas on Sunday.

Nolan's goal in his second NHL contest was the game-winning tally in the third period. King assisted on the marker after netting his first goal in the first period of his eighth career game and second this season.

Both Nolan, the son of former Sabres and Islanders head coach Ted Nolan, and King were recalled from the minors on Friday and skated in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Isles on Saturday.

"It's good to head home with a good feeling," Nolan said. "The guys were a little bitter after the Islanders loss, but we came in here, we worked hard, had a good third period and finished it off."

Justin Williams and Andrei Loktionov also scored for the Kings, who remain last in the NHL with 120 goals. Jonathan Quick stopped 26 shots for the win.

With 65 points, Los Angeles is tied with Chicago for the sixth spot in the Western Conference, two more than eighth-seeded Phoenix. The Kings are also three points back of the Sharks for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles is 6-0-1 in its past seven games versus the Coyotes, winning four straight at home in this series.

Phoenix will look to snap that slide in Los Angeles tonight and avoid a second straight loss after having a five-game win streak halted with Monday's 2-1 shootout setback to Vancouver.

Coyotes netminder Mike Smith was named the NHL's First Star of the week earlier in the day, but was rested versus the Canucks in favor of Jason LaBarbera. The backup made 21 saves in his first start since Jan. 13, but was bested four times in the six-round shootout.

Keith Yandle scored with 2:06 left in regulation to force the extra time.

"It's nice to get the goal at the end, but it would have been nice to get the two [points]," LaBarbera said.

Taylor Pyatt is questionable for this game after leaving Monday's contest in the second period with an upper-body injury following a hit. Derek Morris' status is also up in the air due to a strained groin.

The Coyotes sit one point up on Calgary for the final playoff spot in the West and should give Smith the start tonight. He earned First Star honors after winning all four of his starts last week with a 0.74 goals-against average and .975 save percentage. He gave up just three goals in the four outings, capped with a 38-save shutout of Chicago on Saturday.

My-sports-books Hockey Betting News

<< Flames battle Stars in Big D
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Flames have been racking up points so far in February and their latest convincing victory has them within a point of a playoff spot. Calgary puts a six-game point streak on the line this evening against the Dallas Star

<< Sharks continue trek with test in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After splitting the first two tests of an epic nine-game road trip, the San Jose Sharks will travel to the Sunshine State for tonight's battle against the Lightning at Tampa Times Forum. Thanks to a tennis tournament curre

<< Sliding Wild welcome Jets to St. Paul
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Wild and Jets squared off, Minnesota was at the top of the NHL standings. Things have certainly changed since. Minnesota hopes to avoid a sixth straight defeat and falling further back in the playoff race

<< Leino, Sabres visit Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Philadelphia Flyers hope the return of Ilya Bryzgalov can help them avoid their sixth loss in seven games, as they get set to host the Buffalo Sabres in tonight's clash at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers are

<< Blues aim to bounce back against visiting Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to rebound from just their third regulation loss of 2012 when they host the New York Islanders tonight at Scottrade Center. St. Louis has gone 13-3-2 since the start of January and one of the f

Phillies the early World Series favorite >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With pitchers and catchers all set to head out to Florida and Arizona, it is apparent Major League Baseball is ready to fill some of the void in the sports world left by the end of the National Football Leagu

Sorenstam turns down Solheim Cup captaincy >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While making her weekly appearance on Golf Channel's "Morning Drive," Annika Sorenstam announced she would not accept an offer to be the European Solheim Cup captain in 2013. "I've given it some thought

Jones back for 3-point contest; Howard, Durant to coach celebs >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami's James Jones will defend his All-Star three-point title at this year's festivities, while Orlando's Dwight Howard and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant will be coaches for the celebrity game. Joining J

Dortmund's Kagawa tears ankle ligament >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund's Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa tore a ligament in his left ankle in training and will be out at least two weeks, the Bundesliga club announced Thursday. The 22-year-old was injur

Marseille's Remy to miss three weeks >>
Marseille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marseille striker Loic Remy suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday's Coupe de France win over Bourg-Peronnas and will be sidelined three weeks, the Ligue 1 club said Thursday. The 25-year-old Remy

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.