Can favored Blackhawks come through with Cup?

Hockey Betting Lines

05/25/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sometimes a team has to be very bad before it can climb to the top of the mountain. Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. They finished last or next-to-last in the two seasons surrounding the lockout and by 2008 were representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. Obviously selecting Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in back-to-back drafts accelerated the process, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to rebuild from the bottom up.

The Chicago Blackhawks were in the same boat as Pittsburgh, finishing in last place in the Western Conference in the 2003-04 season. However, unlike the Penguins, they still finished last in the Central Division three years later.

The Blackhawks missed the playoffs again the following campaign, but along the way drafted Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to put them in position to challenge for Lord Stanley's Cup as the decade came to an end.

Many experts predicted great things this season, after Chicago reached the Western Conference Finals in 2008-09, and they were right. By the end of the Olympic break, the Blackhawks were the 2-1 favorites to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Finals.

They failed to get the conference's number one seed over San Jose, but still finished the regular season with 112 points, only one point behind the Sharks. They also ranked third in the league in scoring with 271 goals and fifth in goals allowed at 209.

After disposing Nashville, Vancouver and San Jose in the postseason, the Blackhawks have home ice vs. Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, they are only 5-3 at United Center in the postseason. That statistic could come back to haunt them if faced with a must-win situation in a possible game seven.

THE EASTERN CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVE

Chicago has earned the right to be favored vs. Philadelphia, but favorites don't always hoist the Cup. Just ask the Detroit Red Wings who were beaten just last season by the Penguins.

Balanced scoring and the addition of Chris Pronger catapulted the Flyers from first-round losers in 2009 to Cup finalists in 2010. In fact, many prognosticators, including yours truly, predicted the Flyers to represent the Eastern Conference before the season began.

However, multiple goalie injuries and uninspired play plagued the club for most of the year. So much so that making the playoffs was not even a foregone conclusion. The oddsmakers even labeled them the sixth choice at 12-1 to win the East heading into March.

On the verge of being left out of the postseason, the Flyers rallied for a shootout victory over the Rangers on the final day of the regular season, securing the seventh-seed and a date with the New Jersey Devils.

Even though they were heavy underdogs, the Flyers were a confident bunch, especially since they had tremendous regular season success vs. New Jersey, beating Martin Brodeur and the Devils five of the six meetings. Philadelphia proceeded to win the series in five games.

The Flyers then faced Boston due to Montreal's upset of Washington.

Down three games to none, they bounced back with a miraculous comeback nailing the seventh game 4-3 after trailing 3-0. From there, they made easy work of the Canadiens, winning that series in five.

WHO HAS THE EDGE?

Chicago has been installed as the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, bettors must wager $250 to win $100 if they pick Chicago to win the series.

On the surface, that line looks way too high but considering where each team was seeded in postseason play, it's obvious which club has the superior profile. In addition, the Flyers have yet to play a team with such a high- powered offense as Chicago. The Devils, Bruins and Canadiens were all offensively-challenged and Philadelphia took advantage by allowing just 36 goals in only 17 games.

Taking on the Blackhawks will be an entirely new confrontation. Joel Quenneville's squad scored four goals or more in eight of their last 12 "second season" contests. Will Flyers goalie Michael Leighton, who has been outstanding in the postseason, be able to withstand the pressure?

He did beat Chicago in the only meeting this year, saving 39 of 41 shots in a 3-2 home win on March 13. That was the contest in which Chris Pronger scored the game-winning goal with only three seconds remaining.

Both Chicago (Duncan Keith) and Philadelphia (Pronger) have a rock on defense, capable of seeing 30 minutes of action per game. The Blackhawks mostly played five defensemen against San Jose as Jordan Hendry saw fewer than 10 minutes in all four matchups. On the other side, Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek played a little over 20 minutes combined in the final two Eastern Conference Final games.

Offensively, each team has three scoring lines capable of putting pucks in the net. Six Chicago players have scored at least four playoff goals, and Marian Hossa, who has only two, can break out at any time. Seven different Flyers have scored at least four as well, while two more players have three.

Both squads have excellent special teams so it's hard to give either side the edge on the power play.

In between the pipes, both Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton have been outstanding in the postseason.

Niemi is 12-4 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. He was instrumental in holding the Sharks to just seven goals in four games - twice facing 45 shots or more.

Leighton, since coming in to replace the injured Brian Boucher, has allowed only 11 goals in seven-plus games for a 1.45 GAA and a spectacular .948 save percentage. But once again, those contests came against the likes of Boston and Montreal.

For the Flyers to upset Chicago they need their defense to help out Leighton by blocking as many shots as possible and giving him square looks on the shooters. Philadelphia will not be able to win the high-scoring games.

For the Blackhawks to be successful, they must wear down Philadelphia's defense with the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Troy Brouwer and Ben Eager throwing their weight around in the offensive zone.

Both teams are well-coached, so don't expect either squad to show signs of cracking under the pressure.

Four of the last six Stanley Cup Finals have been stretched to seven games and this one should be no different. Since Philadelphia is the heavy underdog, go with the Flyers to come away with a 3-2 victory in the seventh and final game, bringing the Stanley Cup back to Broad Street for the first time since 1975.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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