Blues begin key homestand against reeling Stars

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the St. Louis Blues are to get back into the playoff picture on their upcoming homestand, they are going to have to earn it. The team begins that key residency tonight versus the Dallas Stars at Scottrade Center.

The Blues are 13th in the Western Conference with 66 points and trail three teams -- including the Stars -- by four points for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

St. Louis is 16-12-5 at home this year and 5-3-2 in its last 10 as the host. However, this current stand is no walk in the park. Following tonight's test versus the Stars, the Blues host San Jose on Thursday before getting a visit from Detroit two days later. The Sharks and Red Wings are currently tied for the most points in the conference, while St. Louis' homestand ends on Sunday against a Minnesota team that is currently just one point out of a playoff spot.

The Blues have had little trouble with the Stars this year, however. St. Louis has won both of its matchups with Dallas by a 9-2 margin, including a 6-1 home win back on October 16. St. Louis has won six of its last nine overall versus Dallas and five of the last six in the series played in the Gateway City.

The Blues return to Scottrade Center after having a four-game road winning streak end with Saturday's 5-3 loss in Florida. David Backes scored twice and Brad Boyes once for St. Louis, which lost for the fourth time in its last 10 games overall (6-3-1).

Backes and Boyes each have four points over their last two games. Backes has three goals and an assist in that span, with Boyes notching two goals and a pair of assists.

The Stars, who are tied with Edmonton and Nashville in the conference standings, hit the road tonight after Sunday's 3-1 loss to Montreal marked the club's sixth straight setback at home. Dallas is 14-14-4 as the guest this season and has won three of four and six of its last nine as the away team.

Dallas fell on Sunday despite 10 power-play opportunities. The Stars capitalized just once, getting a goal out of Loui Eriksson for his fourth tally in the last three games. He also has five goals and two helpers over a five-game point streak.

Mike Ribeiro added an assist for a fourth consecutive contest and has also scored twice in that span. Marty Turco made just 16 saves for Dallas, which has have lost seven of its last nine overall.

Turco has been in net for both games versus St. Louis this year, allowing eight goals, and is now 9-6-1 with a tie and 2.17 goals against average in 18 career outings versus the Blues.

Fabian Brunnstrom and Jere Lehtinen are both questionable for Dallas for tonight's game. Lehtinen has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury, while Brunnstrom suffered a shoulder injury against Montreal.

Candustand Hockey Betting News

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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