Eriksson leads Dallas into Ottawa

Hockey Betting Lines

12/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a season filled with losses and injuries, Loui Eriksson is providing the Stars with a little bit of excitement. The 23-year-old will try to light the lamp for a third straight game tonight in Dallas' road matchup with the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

Eriksson followed up the third two-goal game of his season with his first- career hat trick on Thursday in a 6-5 shootout win over Columbus. The Swede's five-goal outburst over his last two games has given him a career-high 17 markers on the season. He netted 14 goals in 69 games last year after notching six in his 59-game rookie season in 2006-07.

Brad Richards also scored on Thursday in addition to posting three assists. He found the back of the net as Dallas' first skater in the shootout as well and Mike Ribeiro, who had a pair of assists in regulation, later sealed the win with a goal of his own in the extra session.

Marty Turco made 23 saves prior to the shootout, though Columbus felt he was bailed out by a bad call. The Blue Jackets' Manny Malhotra appeared to have won the game 13 seconds into overtime, but it was ruled by the officials that he used a kicking motion to direct the puck into the net.

Dallas' victory was its second in a row and sixth in its last nine games, though the team is still last in the Pacific Division with 30 points just one season after its run to the Western Conference finals.

However, injuries to Jere Lehtinen (upper body), captain Brenden Morrow (knee) and Sergei Zubov (hip) amongst others have slowed down the club. Zubov, in fact, will undergo surgery that will sideline him indefinitely.

Steve Ott (hand) and Joel Lundqvist (shoulder) were activated from injured reserve prior to Thursday's game, with Lundqvist providing two assists.

Dallas is 6-9-1 on the road this year and will also host Toronto on Tuesday.

Goal scoring has been a problem for Ottawa this year, including last night when they were handed a 5-1 setback by New Jersey. It was the Senators second straight loss and fifth in six games. They are getting outscored 20-8 over that time span.

Jarkko Ruutu had the only goal for Ottawa, a short-handed tally off assists from Chris Kelly and Chris Phillips. Alex Auld surrendered all five goals on 26 shots in the loss.

The defeat dropped the Senators to 3-8-2 on the road this year, but the club is a much better 8-6-3 as the host. However, following tonight's game Ottawa will play its next eight games on the road and won't return to Scotiabank Place until January 10.

The Stars have won three of their last five versus the Senators, but lost the most recent matchup, 4-2, in Dallas on December 7 of last season.

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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.

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