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02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canucks have been piling up the points lately and Vancouver will try to keep that trend going tonight, when it visits the Calgary Flames for a Northwest Division clash at the Saddledome.
The Canucks, who lead the division by 14 points over Colorado, have won three straight and have recorded at least a point in eight straight outings (6-0-2). Vancouver has suffered just two regulation losses during the 2012 calendar year, posting a 10-2-3 mark since the beginning of January.
Vancouver will also try to end a four-game road trip with a perfect 4-0 record tonight. The Canucks, who are three points behind Detroit for the top seed in the West and the NHL, have a league-best 19-9-1 record as the guest this season.
The Canucks were glad to have Henrik Sedin in the lineup for their last game and he scored a goal in Vancouver's 5-2 win in Minnesota. Sedin took a puck off his ankle in Tuesday's win over Nashville, but the Swedish forward was able to play in his 553rd consecutive game on Thursday. Only Calgary defenseman Jay Bouwmeester has a longer active iron man streak in the NHL.
"All Swedes are tough, right?" Vancouver defenseman and Sedin's countryman Alex Edler joked after the game. "Hank is a warrior, he's played with pain before and it was big of him."
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist in the win over the Wild, while Maxim Lapierre, Manny Malhotra and Ryan Kesler also scored for the Canucks. It was Vancouver's first regulation win since a 4-3 decision over San Jose on Jan. 21.
Cory Schneider had 22 saves to post the win for the Canucks, but Roberto Luongo expects to be back between the pipes tonight.
Henrik Sedin enters tonight on a five-game point streak, while Kesler has scored goals in five consecutive outings and has six tallies and one assist during a seven-game point streak.
The Flames are 2-0-2 so far in February and will try to use a brief two-game homestand to aid their push for the playoffs. Calgary is currently tied with Minnesota for the 11th seed in the West and is just two points out of a playoff spot.
Calgary ended a three-game road trip on Thursday with a 2-1 overtime setback in Phoenix. Shane Doan scored the game-winner in OT for the Coyotes.
Olli Jokinen tallied a goal and Leland Irving made 34 saves in what was the Flames' fourth loss in six games.
"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game." Flames head coach Brent Sutter said. "It's a point you could of had that you let get away from you, but the positive is that you did get a point."
The Flames, who will also Toronto on Tuesday, are 14-8-2 as the host this season compared to an 11-14-6 mark on the road.
Calgary had lost five straight in the series with the Canucks before posting a 3-1 win in Vancouver the last time the clubs met on Dec. 23. The Canucks have still claimed five straight at the Saddledome.
<< Wild try to halt slide vs. Blue Jackets
(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
<< Avs, Blues collide in St. Louis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to boost their playoff
chances against a tough opponent, as they visit the St. Louis Blues for
tonight's clash at Scottrade Center.
The Avalanche enter today tied with Dallas for the ninth s
<< Leafs to honor Sundin before hosting Habs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the best rivalries in professional sports will be
rekindled tonight in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Montreal
Canadiens for a Northeast Division clash at Air Canada Centre.
Before the old Original Six foes
<< Sabres try to stay hot against visiting Bolts
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Buffalo Sabres will try to post their longest
winning streak of the season tonight, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning
at First Niagara Center.
Buffalo has notched wins in its last three outings and is one
Flames' Blair Jones out indefinitely >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Flames center Blair Jones is out
indefinitely after suffering a fractured ankle.
Jones suffered the injury while blocking a shot during Thursday's game against
the Phoenix Coyotes.
In 13 games
Spain eliminates Kazakhstan in Davis Cup >>
Oviedo, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain has again advanced to the Davis Cup
quarterfinals after the doubles team of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez
posted a straight-set victory over the Kazakhstan duo of Evgeny Korolev and
Yuriy S
Czechs bounce Italy out of Davis Cup >>
Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych
followed up their singles victories from Friday with a doubles triumph
Saturday to send the Czech Republic past Italy and into the Davis Cup
quarter
Celtic claims 13th-straight league win >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic continued its stunning run of form
Saturday, defeating Inverness, 1-0, at Parkhead to extend its winning streak
in Scottish Premier League play to 13 games.
The Bhoys have not dropped points in
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The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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