Skinner, Hurricanes begin trip in Anaheim

Hockey Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is starting to find his groove again after missing time with a head injury. Hopefully the club's cross country road trip won't derail his momentum.

Carolina begins its three-game journey tonight in Anaheim, where it will take on a Ducks team that has wins in 10 of its past 14 games.

Last year's winner of the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, the 19- year-old has 15 goals through 38 games this year after logging 31 as a freshman in 82 games a season ago. He missed over a month of action beginning in early December because of a concussion and has potted three goals in eight games since his return on Jan. 15.

All three of those have come over his past five trips to the ice and he scored the game-winner in Saturday's 2-1 victory over the visiting Kings, banging home a rebound of a Jussi Jokinen shot at the 3:02 mark of the third.

"It's tough coming back after sitting out 16 games and then jumping back midseason. It's not something I've ever done before so it's tough to really prepare for it," said Skinner. "Obviously there's going to be a little bit of time when things are frustrating and you're not in that sort of flow that you usually have, but I'm feeling a little bit better and more comfortable."

That's good news for the Hurricanes, who have won three of four and are 4-1-2 in their past seven games. But, they are still last in the Eastern Conference with 49 points.

Cam Ward figures to get the bulk of the work on this three-game swing that begins in Anaheim, moves to Colorado and then concludes in Montreal on Monday. After posting a 47-save shutout at Boston last Thursday, Ward made 24 saves versus the Kings for his 20th victory of the campaign.

Carolina's victory over Los Angeles made it 8-2-1 in its past 11 at home, but the club is only 6-13-6 as the guest this season.

Forward Anthony Stewart is expected to play for the 'Canes tonight after clearing waivers on Tuesday. He has six goals and 13 points through 50 games this year, though his plus-4 rating is tied for tops on the team.

The Ducks close out a four-game homestand this evening and had lost the first two of the residency, including an overtime defeat to Columbus on Friday prior to Monday's 3-2 shootout win over Calgary. The victory leaves the 13th-place Ducks 10 points behind a playoff spot in the West with 48 points.

After getting regulation goals from Bobby Ryan and Matt Beleskey, Niklas Hagman notched the winner in the eighth round of the shootout, scoring off fellow Finn and former teammate Miikka Kiprusoff. Jonas Hiller, meanwhile, came up with 24 saves through overtime and stopped six of eight in the shootout. That includes each of the final three skaters he faced as Anaheim moved to 2-4 in shootouts this year and won its first since Oct. 8 versus the Rangers in Stockholm, Sweden.

"We really needed those two points and really wanted it. It wasn't an easy game. I think both teams played really hard. You could see out there that both teams really wanted those points and it was about time we finally won a shootout," said Hiller.

Anaheim improved to 10-2-2 in its past 14 games and will look to avenge last season's 4-2 road loss to Carolina. The Hurricanes snapped a two-game skid to the Ducks thanks to a hat trick from Eric Staal and 43 saves by Ward.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.