Predators, Blues clash in St. Louis

Hockey Betting Lines

12/29/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to get back on the right track when they visit the St. Louis Blues tonight in a Central Division battle at Scottrade Center.

The Predators had won four straight and six of seven before losing their last three outings. The two most recent setbacks came in a home-and-home series against Chicago, which has opened an eight-point lead over Nashville for the division lead.

Nashville dropped a 4-1 home decision Saturday against the Blackhawks and were edged 5-4 in regulation the following night in Chicago. The home-and-home set was the final scheduled meeting between the divisional rivals this year. Chicago won the season series by taking four of the six matchups.

The Preds held a 2-1 lead heading into the third period of Sunday's game, but Chicago scored three unanswered goals to grab a 4-2 edge. Nashville would tie the game at 4-4, but Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal for the Blackhawks with 43.4 seconds left in regulation.

Cody Franson had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who lost for the first time this season when leading after two periods (13-1-0). Dan Hamhuis, Marcel Goc and Martin Erat each had a goal in defeat, while Dan Ellis allowed five goals on 29 shots.

"A lot of credit to the guys on our team. We had all the reason to start doubting ourselves after they scored two quick ones," Hamhuis said. "We were resilient, we came back and scored a couple goals, and it was good for us."

Sunday's contest began a three-game road trip for the Predators, who are 10-7-2 as the visiting club this season. Nashville will complete the swing Thursday in Columbus.

The Blues, meanwhile, come into tonight off back-to-back losses and were downed Sunday night by visiting Buffalo. Tim Connolly and Mike Grier each notched a pair of scores as Buffalo used a three-goal third period to get past St. Louis, 5-3, at Scottrade Center.

Alex Steen scored twice and Eric Brewer once for the Blues, who had won three straight before losing their last two tilts. Ty Conklin suffered the loss and was tagged for all five goals on 24 shots.

Blues winger Paul Kariya is expected to miss tonight's game after getting elbowed in the head by Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta on Sunday. Kariya, who has eight goals and 19 points this year, is considered to be day-to-day with what the team is calling an upper-body injury.

St. Louis has lost two straight and six of its last seven as the host and is playing the second segment of a four-game homestand tonight. The Blues are just 6-12-2 at their home rink this season.

Nashville and the Blues have split two meetings so far this year with each team posting a 3-1 victory on the road. The Predators have taken three of five meetings, but St. Louis still has five victories in the last eight matchups. Nashville has won two in a row and four of its last six in the Gateway City.

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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.

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