Check out the new 3-way lines offered as a hockey betting option. You can wager on the home team, the visitor or if you think the game will end in a tie after regulation time, you can get great plus money odds by wagering on that outcome.
The NHL has a great slate on tap tonight and every night there are interesting matchups.
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The NHL free-agent supermarket opened on Wednesday and while some teams went on shopping sprees, some simply maintained status quo.
As it stands, this year’s Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings are the odds-on favorites to make a return to the Stanley Cup finals and win–the Wings are listed at +350.
For more information check out NHL hockey bet at SPORTSBETTING.com.
Justin Pogge's future apparently is Anaheim.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly about to deal Pogge, once billed as their goalie of the future, to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional late-round draft pick.
The trade could be announced as early as today, according to tsn.ca.The Leafs chose Pogge 90th overall in the 2004 NHL Hockey Betting draft.
He spent most of the last three seasons in the American Hockey League . The 23-year-old had a 1-5-1 record in seven NHL Hockey Betting games, with a 4.36 goals-against average and .844 save percentage.
Burke said last week that he had called Pogge to tell him he was trying to trade him.
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The first wave of NHL free-agency has closed out, and now that the dust has settled, we can look back and see who the big winners and losers are. Did your favorite NHL Hockey bet make the grade? Let’s find out!
Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Sedin Twins
Stanley Cup Odds: +1600
The big scare in Vancouver was that the Sedin twins, who scored 82 points apiece last season, were going to bolt for greener pastures in Toronto. Instead the Sedin twins re-signed in Vancouver for $5.5 million each for the next five years. It’s a great signing for both the Sedin’s and the Canucks, who can now move on in confidence that they have the corps of their team in hand for a half-decade.
Calgary Gets A Real Defensemen
Stanley Cup Odds: +2000
Dion Phaneuf has been parading around as a defenseman for far too long. Now Calgary gets a guy coveted as one of the best defenders in the game in Jay Bouwmeester. The former panther signed a five year, $33.4 million deal and will anchor a Flames defense that has been unable to protect Mikka Kiprusoff for the last two seasons.
Of course, the Flames lost 40-goal scorer Mike Cammellari but who’s counting?
Tampa Bay Signs Mattias Ohlund To Mentor Youngsters
Stanley Cup Odds: +6600
Don’t worry, the Lightning won’t be making any noise in the playoffs for a few years, but they now have a player with years of experience to mentor Victor Hedman, the defender Tampa drafted in the 2009 NHL Draft. Ohlund will also get a 7-year deal that will net him $24.5 million and give him the opportunity to influence one of the more dangerous young teams in the league. Huge signing that will go under the radar…until Tampa starts winning games.
Edmonton Loves Old Goaltenders
Stanley Cup Odds: +3000
I have to be happy when anything goes well in Edmonton. Though they lost out on Dany Heatley, the competitive Oilers got their goaltender in Nikolai Khabibulin who signed a 4-year $15 million contract. At age 37, “The Bulin Wall” is no spring chicken, but his experience and grit were invaluable to a young Hawks team went all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Khabi can still steal games with his incredible athleticism and vision, but its also his big game experience which will be invaluable to the Oilers.
Toronto Maple Leafs Get Tougher
Stanley Cup Odds: *shaking my head*
I know, I know. The Leafs are still garbage. But a team that is short on finesse (and everything else) just got a whole lot tougher on the blue-line. All this comes with the sigh of relief that Leafs fans exhaled after Tomas Kaberle remained in the blue and white. But the Leafs also went out and stole Mike Komisarek, the tough and tenacious shot blocker from Montreal. They also dealt for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart meaning that they finally have guys who aren’t afraid to throw down and get penalty minutes.
The Leafs were beat up last year by virtually everyone, and now their blue line will be one of the tougher ones in the league. With Luke Schenn and Kaberle flanked by some serious head cases, the Leaf’s defense will be far more reliable than it has been in the past.
Brian Burke has always been a sneaky genius when re-building clubs and he’s doing what he’s always done by building from the crease out. There’s still some talent to steal at the forward position, but Toronto has taken a big step in the right direction.
The difference between Brian Burke and the recent GM’s of Toronto, who created the mess that Burke is trying to clean up, is that this GM is not going to panic like the rest. He went out and tried to lure the Sedin’s. He inquired about all the big names out there, including Phil Kessel. But Burke has always built from the inside out, meaning that Toronto is building a foundation on the blue-line, and in net, that they can rest on in spite of offensive woes.
Offense was not the problem in Toronto. The Maple Leafs have always been a team designed to get the puck to the net, averaging 2.98 goals per game, good enough for a top-10 finish last season. The problem has always been defense, where the Leafs ranked dead last with 3.49 lamp lighters against. The Leafs finished one-game shy of .500, with a 34-35-13 SU record. At home, they were 16-16-9.
So what has Burke done in the off season? He’s secured a billion gritty defensemen. The biggest name is Stanley Cup winner, Francois Beauchemin and former Montreal Canadian Mike Komisarek. They will join Tomas Kaberle, Luke Shenn, Mike Van Ryan, Jeff “Give ‘em the” Finger and Ian White on the blue-line. Suddenly, the Leafs have a bevy of talent on the blue-line and guys who will make life hell for opposing teams.
The problem, however, is that you can’t carry that many blue-liners. Typically, Kaberle and Schenn would suck up nearly 25 minutes of hockey, and the rest is distributed amongst four more players (three lines of defense). This screams of “trade! Trade! Trade!” but Burke is not one to make moves just for the sake of it. He’s sat on goldmines for Luke Schenn and Tomas Kaberle since last season’s trade deadline.
Burke’s philosophies on hockey are about as old school as you can get in the modern era of the NHL. He refuses to just tank for a half-decade just to secure better draft picks, then wait for this picks to mature. And Toronto, a team entrenched in a Stanley Cup drought which began in 1967, doesn’t have the patience for a rebuilding phase. They never have, quite frankly.
But Burke is succeeding where he’s predecessors haven’t. He’s building the team with chippy, blue-chip guys. No Dany Heatley’s. No Marion Hossa’s. No big name softies. If you want to play with Burke, you have to be hard as nails.
What exactly does this do for the new jersey devils ? Besides familiarity, I’m not so sure. The president and general manager of the Devils, Lou Lamoriello, has been lambasted for making the Devils’ coaching position a revolving-door. But Lemaire, who has 11 Stanley Cups as a player/coach/executive, is the kind of grizzled coach and hockey wizard that the Devils need.
Lemaire has a gift for developing young talent, and the Devils are in a tough spot when it comes to considering the future. In net, they have the best goalie of all time in Martin Brodeur. However, at age 37, and having played just 31 games last season, Brodeur’s health remains a concern. When Lemaire and Brodeur were first united during Lemaire’s previous tenure as a Devils coach, they made history together and put Brodeur in the position he enjoyed last season, passing Patrick Roy on the all-time wins list to assume the mantle as greatest all-time.
Now Lemaire’s task will be similar to the one he assumed in 1993 when he first joined the Devils. He’ll have to take a young team and find the right mix to make things work in the playoffs. Zach Parise scored 94-points for the devils last year, and four players after that scored more than 60-points. To make things even more promising, Lemaire boasts a crop of young talent on the minor league affiliate that will help restore some youth and grit to a Devils lineup that was lost last season.
Notorious for moving players up and down lines during games, Lemaire’s coaching strategy will bring cohesion to a unit that lost its way last season. It didn’t help that Lamoriello has been made the coaching position in New Jersey a hot-seat. After Brent Sutter left to go coach the calgary flames, Lamoriello did what he had to do to instill some consistency and faith in the coaching staff, especially given the youthful age of the roster – he went out and found the only man he could trust.
With Lemaire behind the bench, the Devils will be making noise once again. They are rarely a team that rattles the cages in the free-agent market, or partakes in massive, jaw shattering trades. They are a team which conserves funds and builds from the inside. Bringing back Lemaire is the first-step in to ensuring Game 7 collapses, and first round exits, don’t become a part of the Devils’ storied past of success.
Check out NHL Hockey Odds.The NHL free-agent supermarket opens tomorrow and while some teams go on shopping sprees, some will look to maintain status quo.
As it stands, this year’s Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings are the odds-on favorites to make a return to the Stanley Cup finals and win–the Wings are listed at +350.
With the free-agent frenzy tomorrow, futures odds are sure to change.
For more, check out NHL Hockey Betting.
The recognition from the International Hockey Bet Federation (FIH) has strengthened Hockey India's arms enough for it to not merely set a deadline for state associations to merge with it but to implement its directive with authority.
The merger process is already on, according to Hockey India, with around 24 units ready to join its fold.
"How can the state associations continue to enjoy recognition if they haven't joined us?" asked Hockey India secretary Mohd Aslam Khan.
In a parallel move, the IOA has sent an advisory to the state Olympic associations to work towards giving official recognition to a "single hockey association which will look after the game's activities... before setting the merger process with Hockey India in motion." The time frame is 120 days, according to Aslam, after which state hockey associations unyielding in their stand will find themselves in the wilderness.
While all the Conn Smythe trophy talk (playoff MVP) prior to the start of the Stanley Cup finals centered around Detroit Red Wing netminder Chris Osgood, the odds have changed somewhat.
Osgood has struggled in a few games and that has allowed other players to enter the fray.
Osgood was still a favorite at -200 to take the Conn Smythe yesterday and teammate Henrik Zetterberg saw his odds steepen to -150.
After Game 6, Ozzie is still -200 but Zetterberg is back up to +150.
For more details check out NHL Hockey Betting.
The Pittsburgh Penguins forced a seventh and deciding game in the Stanley Cup final by virtue of a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings last night–the Pens cashed in at -130 and the Total went Under 5.5.
History is not on the Penguins’ side as the last time a road team won a championship Game 7 in the MLB, NBA or NHL Hockey betting was back in 1979 when the Pittsburgh Pirates, ironically enough, won the World Series in Baltimore.
Home teams have gone 18-0 in championship Game 7s.
Pittsburgh is +160 and Detroit is -180, the Total is set at 5.5.
For more details check out NHL Hockey odds.
Tippett spent six years guiding the Stars after being named the 19th coach in franchise history in May of 2002. He led the club to two Pacific Division titles and five consecutive playoff appearances including a trip to the Western Conference Finals just last season before losing to Detroit in six games.
The team had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each of the three years preceding the team's run to West finals but Tippett was rewarded with a contract extension through the 2010-11 season. The club then tripped to a 36-35-11 mark this past year, good for 12th in the West.
The franchise is looking to recover from several missteps taken last season.
He recorded 93 goals and 169 assists for 262 points in 721 NHL games.
For more details check out NHL schedule online.
It’s been a “homer series” this Stanley Cup final with both the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins failing to win on the road.
If the Wings do manage to win in Pittsburgh, they will be Stanley Cup Champs but are only 4-5 SU and 6-2-1 on the Over/Under on the road this postseason.
The Pens on the other hand are 8-2 SU at home.
The Wings are +105, the Pens are -125 and the Total is set at 5.5 for tonight’s game.
For more details check out NHL Hockey betting.
The Pens are not acting at all like they did when they were down a game in this same situation last year, against the same opponent. And it's certainly not because Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk, who is capable of winning a game at both ends of the ice, expects to play after sitting out six games with a foot injury.
Evgeni Malkin's upgraded play is one of the reasons the Penguins are optimistic they can pull off a comeback after losing the first two games on the road, despite the fact only one of 32 teams has previously overcome such a deficit in the finals.
Malkin has 33 points, the most in the NHL playoffs since Joe Sakic had 34 for Colorado in 1996.The Detroit Red Wings managed to win both games of the championship series despite missing key players from their lineup and getting outchanced by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A second victory in as many nights (3-1 score in both) greatly increased the odds that the Wings will soon have their names again inscribed on the NHL'S championship trophy.
Teams winning the first two games of the Stanley Cup final on home ice have gone on to take the series 31 of 32 times.
The scene shifts from Motown to Steel Town in the Stanley Cup final and the Pittsburgh Penguins could use the home ice advantage, down 2-0 to the Detroit Red Wings.
Pittsburgh is listed at -150 and 16-4 in its last 20 games at the Mellon Arena.
For more details check out sportsbook.
According to the NHL’s rulebook, he who instigates a fight in the final five minutes of a hockey game shall be banished for the following game.
With his Pittsburgh Penguins assured a second-straight loss in the Stanley Cup final, Evgeni Malkin decided to take his frustrations out on the Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg.
The league can intervene, depending on the situation, and that is exactly what is going to happen.
According to NHL “police chief” Colin Campbell, the rule is intended to prevent a team from sending a goon onto the ice in the dying moments of a game to “send a message” and seeing as Malkin is hardly a goon, the suspension is rescinded.
Malkin is listed at +450 to win the Conn Smythe trophy.
The Penguins appear to have everything going for them. They have momentum from a conference final sweep, two of the league’s best players in high gear, and the kind of fan support that most franchises wish they had.
There’s only one thing missing, which is a Stanley Cup, at least one more recent than those won by the Penguins of 1991 and 1992.
The Pens appear to own several advantages over the Red Wings. Pittsburgh is relatively healthy, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are rolling with a league-leading 28 points apiece, and Marc-Andre Fleury is leading by example in net.
The Red Wings were missing stars Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk for part of the series against Chicago and they are hoping both will return for Game 1 on Saturday.
A memorable hockey name is coming around again.
Defenceman Brock Beukeboom was one of 40 players invited Thursday by Hockey Canada to try out for Canada's under-18 men's hockey team this summer.
He's the son of four-time Stanley Cup champion Jeff Beukeboom, whose last name (BOO-kuh-boom) was entertaining for fans to chant and yell at both Northlands Coliseum and Madison Square Garden during his 14-year NHL career.
Twenty-two players will be chosen from selection camp Aug. 1-4 in Calgary for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament Aug. 11-15 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Canada is the defending champion of the annual under-18 tournament. The team will be coached by Dave Lowry of the Calgary Hitmen.
Brock isn't the only youngster with NHL bloodlines invited to camp as forward Christian Thomas is the offspring of Steve, who played 20 years in the NHL.
Down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference final, the Carolina Hurricanes are on the verge of elimination so you might want to take advantage of goalie Cam Ward’s current streak.
In Ward’s last seven games that fall on a Tuesday, he is 7-0 on the Over/Under.
The ‘Canes are +105 for tonight’s game and the Total is set at 5.5.
For more details checkout sportsbetting.
The Detroit Red Wings’ 6-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks was a testament to their depth as the team was missing team captain and star d-man Niklas Lidstrom (lower body injury), defensive forward Pavel Datsyuk (foot) and grinder Kris Draper (lower body injury).
Detroit head coach Mike Babcock told the AP that he is hopeful that Lidstom and Datsyuk will be good to go for tomorrow’s Game 5 but ruled Draper out.
The Wings are listed at -230 for Game 5 and are listed at -175 to win the Cup this year.
For more details check out sportsbetting.
Going into the 2009 NHL playoffs, the experts opined that the Detroit Red Wings only had one weakness–goaltending.
Well, three games into the Western Conference final, Detroit backstop Chris Osgood has flipped the proverbial bird at all the naysayers with a 10-3 postseason record, a GAA of 2.04 and a save percentage of .925.
The scene shifts to the Windy City for Game 3 tonight with the Wings listed as +105 underdogs, the Chicago Blackhawks favored at -125 and the Total at 5.5.
In Osgood’s last 20 games in Chicago, he is 3-14-3 on the Over/Under.
In Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s last five home games against the ‘Canes, he has gone 0-5 on the Over/Under.
For more, check out NHL Hockey Betting.
