Lehtonen, Stars welcome Coyotes to Big D

Hockey Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time that Kari Lehtonen faced the Coyotes, the Stars netminder suffered an injury that temporarily derailed his solid season.

The Finn has finally begun to find his form once again and carries a personal three-game win streak into Dallas' meeting tonight with Pacific Division-rival Phoenix in a matchup of two teams just on the outside of the playoff picture.

Now in his third season with the Stars, Lehtonen is 19-11-1 in 32 games this year while posting a 2.38 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. He helped backstop Dallas to a pair of shootout wins over Phoenix in October, but suffered a groin injury in a Nov. 26 meeting in Arizona that sidelined him for 12 games.

The Coyotes won that meeting 3-0 behind a 26-save shutout from former Stars netminder Mike Smith.

Lehtonen, meanwhile, lost seven of his first 10 decisions back from injury, losing four in a row from Jan. 14-21. He lasted just under 40 minutes in the final contest of that slide at Minnesota, giving up four goals on 19 shots.

The 28-year-old hasn't lost since, giving up only three goals in three games. He snapped his personal skid with a shutout win over Anaheim right before the All-Star break and came up with 33 saves and another two in the shootout of Saturday's 2-1 win over the Wild.

"They got a few chances and I was able to make some saves and get lucky a couple times. Our penalty killing was very good too so that helped also," Lehtonen said. "Overall, it was a fun game for me getting a lot of shots and then the two points at the end."

Mike Ribeiro scored in regulation and Loui Eriksson and Jamie Benn found the back of the net in the shootout for the Stars, who have won three of four since a five-game skid and pulled within two points of the Wild for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

The Coyotes joined the Stars in the ninth spot with last night's 3-1 victory over the Red Wings, equaling Dallas' 56-point total on the season. Phoenix got a pair of goals from Martin Hanzal, his first multi-goal effort since Oct. 23.

Boyd Gordon also scored shorthanded, Ray Whitney had two assists to stretch his point streak to five straight games (2 goals, 6 assists) and Smith ended with 30 saves to win his career-high 20th game of the campaign. Phoenix was coming off a victory on Saturday over Pacific Division-leading San Jose and has won three of four, wrapping a season-long six-game homestand with a record of 3-2-1.

"We were gritty tonight. We found a way to get a win tonight on home ice when it was needed the most," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "We had a great effort from a lot of our guys tonight and that is going to be key down the stretch here."

Phoenix has won two straight for the first time since Dec. 20-21 and will look to win three in a row for the first time this season.

Six of the past seven games between these two clubs have been decided by one goal and that could give the edge to Dallas. The Stars are 14-6-2 in games decided by the minimum this year, while the Coyotes are 8-9-8.

Thekiwicasino Hockey Betting News

<< Leafs try to stay hot in Winnipeg
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It certainly seems as though the Toronto Maple Leafs made a collective New Year's resolution of ending the franchise's longest playoff drought ever. The Leafs look to continue their climb up the Eastern Conference standing

<< Rinne, Preds host showdown with Canucks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There may not be a more confident goaltender in the league right now than Nashville's Pekka Rinne. Vancouver should have plenty of positive feelings heading into Tuesday night after the way it won its last game. The Preda

<< Pacers try to rebound vs. Jazz
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers had their season-high four-game winning streak cut short the last time out and tonight they'll try and start a new run with the Utah Jazz in town. Indiana dropped an 85-81 decision versus the Orla

<< Surging Bolts host low-scoring Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kings have struggled to score goals over the first two games of their season-long road trip, failing to earn a point despite excellent goaltending. In fact, Lightning forward Martin St. Louis had more goals in his last

<< Elliott returns to Ottawa as Blues visit Sens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators decided last season that they wanted to upgrade their goaltending position. Now the man that they dealt away reappears in town as an All-Star. Brian Elliott makes his return to Scotiabank Place this eve

Sliding Blackhawks aim to get back on track in Denver >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to remain positive, but that has been tough to do over their longest losing streak of the season. The Colorado Avalanche are going through the same struggles, but at least the 'Hawks are stil

Zvonareva, Hantuchova advance; Cibulkova exits Pattaya Open >>
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Vera Zvonareva and reigning titlist Daniela Hantuchova posted first-round wins, while second- seeded Dominika Cibulkova came up a loser Tuesday at the $220,000 Pattaya Open tennis tou

Flyers seek rebound effort against Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to rebound after a dismal weekend when they host the New York Islanders for tonight's Atlantic Division battle at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers played divisional opponents on back-to-b

UC Davis switches date of 2012 opener >>
Davis, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The UC Davis football team's 2012 season opener against Azusa Pacific has been changed to Thursday, Aug. 30 at Aggie Stadium. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, Sept. 1. The Aggies are

Defensive backs lead FCS contingent going to NFL Combine >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive backs from Football Championship Subdivision schools will be on display at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. Half of the 22 FCS players who have been invited to the Feb. 22-28 showcase at Lucas Oil

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards