Pavelski picks up 4 points as Sharks top Caps

Hockey Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski totaled four points on two goals and two assists as San Jose dealt Washington a 5-3 defeat at Verizon Center.

Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who rebounded from a 3-0 loss in St. Louis on Sunday.

Joe Thornton added three helpers and Thomas Greiss stopped 39-of-42 shots for his third win in four starts.

Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Schultz and Dmitry Orlov tallied for the Capitals, losers of three straight and eight of 11.

Braden Holtby was shelled for all five scores on 35 shots in defeat. The 22- year-old was called up from Hershey of the AHL prior to the game because Tomas Vokoun was sidelined with the flu.

The visitors turned a two-goal edge into a four-goal margin on scores almost 2 1/2 minutes apart early in the third.

Burns made it 4-1 at 4:36 on his floater from the right point, and Marleau struck once more on the advantage at 7:03 by finishing off a passing play in tight between Ryane Clowe and Thornton.

Washington kept up the pressure, as Hamrlik cut the deficit to 5-2 just after the midway point on a backhander from the right circle and Schultz snuck a shot from the left point home with 5:51 to play.

Holtby was kept on the bench in the final minute but the Caps couldn't produce more offense.

San Jose jumped out to the lead thanks to Pavelski, whose accidental deflection of a Dan Boyle drive from center ice eluded Holtby with 7:48 left in the first period.

Pavelski doubled the Sharks' edge on a power play roughly 3 1/2 minutes into the second, lifting the rebound of a Logan Couture chance under the crossbar from in front.

Marleau pumped in a man advantage score inside of four minutes left for a 3-0 game, but the Caps got on the board just before the buzzer as Orlov's blast trickled between Greiss' arm and body.

Game Notes

San Jose has won four in a row and 16 of the last 17 meetings with Washington...Couture added two assists for the Sharks...Caps star forward and captain Alex Ovechkin was held without a point on six shots in almost 27 minutes of ice time...Prior to the game, the Capitals also recalled forward Joel Rechlicz from Hershey.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.