Blackhawks host Canucks in Game 1 of playoff rematch

Hockey Betting Lines

05/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch from last year's playoffs gets underway tonight, as the second-seeded Chicago Blackhawks host the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at United Center.

These clubs met in this same round last spring and Chicago ousted the Canucks in six games. The Blackhawks have home-ice advantage this time around after competing against Vancouver as the lower seed in 2009.

The playoff meeting between the Blackhawks and Canucks a year ago marked the third time the clubs had battled in the postseason and the first time since the 1995 conference semifinals. Vancouver's only series victory over Chicago was in the 1982 conference finals, when the Canucks ousted the Blackhawks in five games before getting swept by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Chicago, which lost to Detroit in the conference finals a year ago, enters this series off a six-game series win against the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks were dealt a pair of surprising 4-1 losses by the Predators in the conference quarters, but the Hawks also notched a pair of shutouts en route to winning the series in six.

Those shutouts went a long way towards proving Antti Niemi is a legitimate playoff goaltender, something not everybody was sure of heading into this postseason. The Finnish netminder's first playoff series was largely a success, as Niemi posted strong numbers with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

The Blackhawks know that goaltending is not what makes them a Cup favorite and the club played to their strengths against the Predators. Chicago is able to cull its scoring from all sorts of different places, including the blueline, and it makes the Hawks a difficult team to match up with.

All told, 10 different Chicago skaters scored goals in Round 1 and four players tallied more than once. Patrick Kane led the club with four goals and also added three assists, while captain Jonathan Toews paced the team with eight points on two goals and six helpers.

Marian Hossa, who played on the losing team in the Stanley Cup Finals in each of the last two years (Pittsburgh, 2008; Detroit, 2009), failed to register a point in the first two games of the Nashville series but notched one goal and six assists in the final four contests. His lone goal was a big one, as it won Game 5 in overtime for the Blackhawks.

Considering the Blackhawks made it to the conference finals last year at Vancouver's expense, it shouldn't be too hard for the Canucks to get motivated for this series.

The Canucks faced a dangerous opponent in the opening round this year in the young and talented Los Angeles Kings. Despite trailing 2-1 in the series, Vancouver stormed back to win the next three games and advance.

The next step, though, will be much more difficult. Vancouver has lost in its last four trips to the conference semifinals and hasn't made it past the second round since 1994, when the Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the New York Rangers.

Roberto Luongo is the key for Vancouver finally getting back to the conference finals. The goaltender is considered by many to be the most-talented in the world, but has faltered at times for the Canucks in the playoffs. Hopefully, a 5-0 record in leading Canada to gold at the Vancouver Games will give Luongo the confidence he needs to carry the Canucks far into the postseason.

Luongo had poor overall numbers in the opening round against the Kings, posting a 2.92 GAA and a .893 save percentage. He was even pulled midway through Game 3 after giving up four goals on 16 shots. The good news for Vancouver is that Luongo played his best hockey in the final two games of the series, allowing a total of four goals on 58 shots in Games 5 and 6.

Mikael Samuelsson was the offensive star for Vancouver in the opening round, notching seven goals to tie a club record for most markers in a single series. The Swedish winger also added four assists to lead the Canucks with 11 points in his first postseason series with the team. Samuelsson, who won a Stanley Cup title with Detroit in 2008, signed a three-year deal with Vancouver last summer.

Samuelsson was placed on a line with his countryman, twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin, midway through the series with Los Angeles. Daniel Sedin had four goals and 10 points in the series, while Henrik recorded eight points on one goal and seven assists. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer during the regular season with 112 points.

Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault made the switch to Samuelsson on the top line due to the struggles of Alexandre Burrows, who led the team with 35 goals during the regular season, but managed only an empty-net tally against the Kings.

The Canucks and Blackhawks played an entertaining season series in 2009-10, with each team winning twice over four games.

The last time the clubs met was in Chicago on March 5 in what was a nightmare game for Luongo, who was yanked after giving up five goals on 14 shots in the first period. Chicago went on to win that game by a 6-3 count. Overall, the 31-year-old Luongo is 11-8 with a tie in 21 career regular season starts against the Blackhawks.

Niemi suffered a similar fate in the previous meeting on Jan. 23 in Vancouver. Chicago's netminder was also pulled in the first period of that game after surrendering three goals on 12 shots in what turned out to be a 5-1 victory for the Canucks. However, Niemi also had a shutout this year in Vancouver, stopping 30 shots in a 1-0 victory over the Canucks on Nov. 22.

Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Monday night in Chicago. The Blackhawks were 29-8-4 as the host during the regular season, while Vancouver was 19-20-2 on the road.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

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Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

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