Wild try to halt slide vs. Blue Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will try to snap a three-game losing streak tonight when the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets come to town for a battle at Xcel Energy Center.

The Wild have gone 0-2-1 in their last three games after winning three out of four prior to the skid. Minnesota is tied with Calgary for the 11th seed in the West and is two points behind Phoenix for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.

Columbus, meanwhile, is dead last in the NHL with just 36 points on the year. The Blue Jackets had won two in a row before losing Thursday in Dallas for their seventh setback in nine games.

At an earlier point in the season, Minnesota was considered a pleasant surprise, but the Wild have squandered away a good start with a 5-14-5 record in their last 24 games. Head coach Mike Yeo sounded off about his team's struggles over the past few months following his club's 5-2 setback Thursday against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

"We flat out stink the last two months," Yeo said. "We come in and don't have a good enough effort from too many guys and that's concerning. I'm concerned about the fact that we come into games and we don't have enough guys that should have absolute desperation in their game."

Minnesota did score just 13 seconds into the game against the Canucks, but Vancouver held a 2-1 edge by the end of the first period and would build that lead to 4-1 by midway through the third period.

Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi scored for Minnesota and Niklas Backstrom gave up four goals on 19 shots. One good sign for the Wild was the return of captain Mikko Koivu, who had missed the previous eight games with a left shoulder injury. Koivu was a plus-1 in nearly 23 minutes of ice time on Thursday.

The loss to the Canucks was a bad way to start a four-game homestand for the Wild, who are 13-8-3 at home this year compared to a 12-13-5 record on the road.

Columbus was trying for its first three-game win streak of the season against Dallas on Thursday, but dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Stars. Dallas led the game by a 3-0 score in the second period before the Blue Jackets cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of 40 minutes. Jamie Benn's second goal of the game -- an empty-netter in the final second -- sealed the win for Dallas.

Curtis Sanford was roughed up early for Columbus, but he held the Stars scoreless after the early minutes of the second period, stopping 31-of-34 shots overall. Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored for the Blue Jackets, who were trying to win three straight for the first time since last February.

"I liked the way we battled back," said Blue Jackets interim head coach Todd Richards. "The problem was we weren't ready from the start."

Columbus ended a seven-game road skid with an overtime win in Anaheim on Feb. 3, but the Jackets are still just 6-19-3 as the guest this season.

The Wild have recorded a pair of 4-2 victories over Columbus this year, winning one at home and one on the road. The Blue Jackets have taken four of seven overall in this series, but Minnesota has claimed five of the last seven encounters in St. Paul.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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