Blues, Panthers collide in Sunrise

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams battling for a playoff berth in their respective conferences will meet tonight, as the Florida Panthers host the St. Louis Blues at BankAtlantic Center.

The Panthers have 74 points and are currently tied with Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers for the final three postseason berths in the Eastern Conference The Blues, however, are outside the West playoff picture for now, as they are 12th in the conference and four points out of a postseason spot.

Florida had won back-to-back games before getting handed a loss on Thursday by visiting Pittsburgh. Tyler Kennedy had two goals as the Penguins earned a 4-1 decision against the Panthers. The game was tied at 1-1 heading into the third, but Pittsburgh scored three unanswered goals in the final period to skate away with the win.

Radek Dvorak scored the lone goal for the Panthers, while Tomas Vokoun made 43 saves in the loss.

Florida had trade deadline acquisition Steve Eminger in the lineup on Thursday after picking up the defenseman from Tampa Bay the day before in exchange for blueliner Noah Welch and a third-round selection in this year's draft. Eminger was a minus-one in 13 minutes, 45 seconds of skating time.

The Panthers are 17-9-5 as the host this year and are completing a brief two- game homestand tonight. Florida will head out next on a two-game road trip, beginning with Tuesday's test in Pittsburgh and ending Thursday in Buffalo.

St. Louis, meanwhile, won for the fourth time in five games with Friday's overtime decision in Tampa. Brad Boyes scored just 27 seconds into OT and added two assists to help lift the Blues to the 4-3 victory over the Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum.

In the overtime, Boyes accepted a feed from Carlo Colaiacovo at the left point, took a stride towards the net and ripped a shot into the right corner for the win. Boyes, who leads the team with 26 goals, snapped an eight-game goal drought.

Andy McDonald had a goal and three assists, David Backes added a goal and an assist while Keith Tkachuk also lit the lamp for the Blues. Chris Mason stopped 20 shots in the game.

The Blues are 13-15-3 as the visiting team this year, but have won their last four as the guest. St. Louis completes a two-game swing tonight and will then return to the Gateway City to begin a four-game homestand in Tuesday's battle with Dallas.

St. Louis notched a 4-0 home win over the Panthers back on October 25 and has won five of the last seven meetings between the clubs. The teams last met in Sunrise on January 12, 2006, when the Panthers recorded a 3-1 win.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

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.