Stillman keys rare win for Panthers over Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cory Stillman forced overtime with a third- period equalizer, then snuck a shot inside the left post for the lone score in the shootout, as Florida downed Minnesota, 3-2, to snap a seven-game winless stretch in the series.

Stillman scored with 9:20 to go in regulation and capped the fourth round of the shootout with the game-winner to build off of Michael Frolik's third- period tally and complete the comeback from down two for Florida's third straight win.

Tomas Vokoun's outing was relatively uneventful playing behind a stingy Panther defense corps that allowed a franchise record-low 11 shots by the Wild.

The Panthers won their first road game since January 14, snapping a six-game losing streak away from home, and toppled Minnesota for only the second time in the team's history. Florida won on Minnesota's home ice for the first time with its only other win in the series coming back on February 7, 2001.

Mikko Koivu and Robbie Earl scored for the Wild, who got 29 saves from Niklas Backstrom and dropped their third straight game.

Koivu's power-play marker popped the water bottle from the left circle three minutes into the game and Earl's solid wrister found space under Vokoun's arm to make it 2-0 at the 11:01 mark of the first.

A scoreless second saw Vokoun tested with just three shots, while Backstrom turned aside nine.

Frolik broke through for the Panthers just over two minutes into the third, taking a long outlet pass through the neutral zone from Bryan McCabe and going in solo to beat Backstrom up high.

Stillman received a drop pass from Steven Reinprecht in the slot and ripped a shot to the top right corner through two defenders to tie the game at 2-2.

Game Notes

The Panthers had been 0-3 with a tie in their four previous trips to St. Paul...Minnesota has dropped four of its last five game at home...Florida went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Wild converted their lone chance.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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