Rangers try to rebound against Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to rebound from a controversial loss when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's battle at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers dropped a 1-0 regulation decision Tuesday against the visiting New Jersey Devils, ending a streak of five straight games (4-0-1) with a point.

Although Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record with the 117th shutout of his career, Rangers forward Marian Gaborik thinks the Devils goaltender should still be stuck on 116. New York appeared to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left, but Gaborik crashed into Brodeur and was called for goalie interference, negating Artem Anisimov's potential equalizer.

"I don't understand the call. If I was running I wouldn't say a word but I tried to stop, put my stick for Cally's (Ryan Callahan) pass and he pushes me into Brodeur," said Gaborik. "It's frustrating. We should be in overtime right now."

In the end, Brodeur made David Clarkson's first-period goal stand up for the win, while New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist was the hard-luck loser. Lundqvist stopped 21-of-22 shots, but still saw a personal four-game winning streak come to an end.

"The difference was Brodeur," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella, who refused to comment on the controversial ending. "He made some terrific saves in the third period."

Despite the setback, New York is still leading the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 71 points.

The Blueshirts haven't lost consecutive games since dropping tilts to Dallas and St. Louis on Dec. 13 and 15, respectively. Tuesday's setback dropped New York's record at MSG to 16-6-2 this season.

The Lightning ended January on a season-high five-game win streak, but have lost two of three to begin February. Tampa was in action Tuesday against the visiting Los Angeles Kings and dropped a 3-1 decision at Tampa Times Forum. Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner for the Kings on a breakaway midway through the second period.

Steven Stamkos notched his league-leading 35th goal for the Lightning and Dwayne Roloson stopped 17-of-20 shots in a losing effort.

"They're a very opportunistic team," Roloson said. "They tighten down in the defensive zone and don't have any openings at all in their zone."

The Lightning are opening a three-game road trip tonight and have a poor 8-16-3 record as the guest this season. Tampa needs to improve its road game if it wants to make the playoffs, as the Bolts are currently 10 points out of a playoff spot in the East.

On the injury front for Tampa, forward Ryan Malone has been out since suffering an upper-body injury against Phoenix on Jan. 21, but he did skate with the team on Tuesday for the first time since the injury. He could make a return during the Lightning's road trip.

Tampa and the Rangers have split two meetings this year, with each team winning a tilt on the road. The Bolts have taken five of six overall in the series and have won three straight in the Big Apple.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.