Blues skate past Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Backes' pair of scores lifted the Blues to a 5-3 win over the Wild at Scottrade Center.

Jamal Mayers, Jay McClement, and Keith Tkachuk also lit the lamp for St. Louis, which has won three in a row and four of six. Lee Stempniak recorded two assists, and Manny Legace stopped 33 shots to pick up the victory.

Marian Gaborik scored and picked up one assist for Minnesota, which has lost two of three. Adam Hall and Pavol Demitra also tallied, and Mark Parrish collected a pair of helpers.

Niklas Backstrom picked up the loss, and stopped 21 shots before leaving the game after two periods. Josh Harding was a perfect four-of-four in 18 minutes of third-period relief.

Having surrendered a two-goal lead late in the first period, the Blues snapped to attention and wrapped up the game with a three-goal middle stanza.

A pair of scores in a 2:39 span early in the period restored the two-goal cushion, as McClement made it 3-2 at 5:01 and Backes netted his second of the game at 7:40.

Tkachuk put the Blues up 5-2 with 3:23 left in the period, whacking home a loose puck behind Backstrom in the crease for his 20th goal of the season.

After several shifts of constant pressure late in the contest, Demitra brought the Wild within 5-3 with 3:10 left in regulation, banking a puck which caromed off the end boards off Legace's head and into the net.

Harding went to the bench with almost two minutes to go, but the Blues spent more time with the puck in their half of the ice, missing two chances for an empty-net score before time ran out.

Mayers put a damper on Minnesota's first power-play chance 6:34 into the game, giving the Blues a 1-0 lead with a far-side shot from the outer edge of the right circle.

Backes followed with a power-play tally with 8:02 to play the first, taking his own rebound and beating Backstrom with a wrister in the top right corner.

Hall brought the Wild within one with 5:51 to play in the first, batting a floating puck out of mid-air in the slot and bouncing it into the net just inside the far post, and only two seconds remained when Gaborik tallied to tie the game 2-2.

Game Notes

Minnesota is 6-2-0 in the last eight matchups with St. Louis, and both teams have split a pair of games this season...The Wild scored once in five power play chances, while the Blues ended with one goal on seven opportunities.

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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.

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