Sabres double up Flyers

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Briere posted a goal and two assists as the first-place Buffalo Sabres crushed the last-place Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3.

Chris Drury, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who have won seven of their last nine and improved to 4-0-1 on their current six-game home stand.

Adam Mair tallied his first goal in 43 games for Buffalo, while Andrew Peters scored for the first time since March 26, 2004.

Simon Gagne continued his torrid play as of late with two goals and Mike Richards notched a career-high three assists for the Flyers, who have dropped three of their last four.

Philadelphia netminder Robert Esche, in his first start since February 3, gave up four goals on 14 shots before being pulled early in the second period.

The game started off with a bang as R.J. Umberger and Brian Campbell exchanged fisticuffs just over two minutes into the opening period. Umberger, though, was whistled for instigating and was handed a game-misconduct penalty as the Sabres took advantage of the ensuing power play.

With time running out on the man-advantage, Roy fired the puck past a screened Esche 4:04 into the period to give Buffalo the first score of the game. Gagne's first goal of the game briefly knotted the contest midway through the period, but Peters answered with his first goal of the season 38 seconds later to make it 2-1 Sabres.

Mair then redirected Campbell's shot from the point 1:45 into the middle stanza to make it 3-1 and just 40 seconds later, Briere scored on the power play to make it a three-goal contest and chase Esche from the game.

Philadelphia did not go down quietly as Gagne's second goal of the game -- a cross-ice pass that deflected off a Sabre and past Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller -- midway through the second period brought the Flyers within 4-2. Sami Kapanen then scored on a nice individual effort 5:17 into the third to make it a one-goal game.

Drury, however, answered with a power-play tally just over two minutes later and Pominville scored with 6:53 left in the third to restore the Sabres' three-goal advantage.

Game Notes

Miller ended the game with 32 saves...Gagne has recorded nine goals and four assists in his last seven games...Kapanen's score broke a 14-game goal-less drought...Flyers defenseman Alexei Zhitnik played in his 1,000th game...Esche has given up 13 goals in two starts in Buffalo this season and was pulled in both games...Antero Niittymaki took over for Esche and finished with just six saves.

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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.