Playoff-bound Kings visit rival Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

04/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kings are headed back to the postseason for the first time in eight years, but the club still has something to play for over the season's final week.

Los Angeles will attempt to move up the Western Conference standings tonight and avoid a third straight loss to the Anaheim Ducks as the two teams wrap a home-and-home set at the Honda Center.

Even though the Kings lost a 2-1 shootout to the Ducks on Saturday at Staples Center, the point earned helped them clinch a playoff spot after the Flames lost to the Blackhawks on Sunday. It gave Los Angeles its first playoff berth since 2002.

"[Making the playoffs] was our goal at the beginning of the year," Dustin Brown told the Kings' Web site. "We did it with four games left, so that's exciting but at the same time, we still have four games and we need to take these games just as seriously as if we needed to win every single one of them. I think it's important that we go into the playoffs on a roll, so these four games are pretty important."

In addition to momentum, the Kings can also better their seeding down the stretch. They are currently seventh in the West with 95 points, one back of Detroit with a game in hand. Nashville sits fifth with 98 points but has only two games remaining in the regular season. Neither the Red Wings or Predators are in action tonight, meaning the Kings can move into sixth with a victory.

Jack Johnson had the Kings' lone goal on Saturday versus the Ducks and Jonathan Quick made 32 saves. However, he was beaten by Anaheim's Saku Koivu with 1:32 left in the third period, and Koivu then had the shootout's lone goal.

Los Angeles, which had won two straight but has now dropped five of its last seven, was without Jeff Halpern due to an upper-body injury that is also expected to hold him out of this game as well.

The Kings have home games versus Phoenix and Edmonton left before their regular-season finale at Colorado on Sunday, and have lost five of their last seven on the road.

The Ducks kept their faint playoff hopes alive on Saturday, but are a long shot to reach the postseason for a fifth straight season despite a 4-0-1 record in their last five games as well as victories in eight of their last 11. Anaheim would be officially eliminated from the playoffs tonight with a loss or an Avalanche win versus the Canucks.

Koivu was named the NHL's second star on Monday after posting an league- leading eight points last week in four games on four goals and four assists.

"We desperately needed these points," said Koivu after Saturday's win. "And this second point, at this point, is critical. We've got to win these all until the end and get help from other teams but we are going to push until the end."

With Jonas Hiller still out with back spasms, Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves versus the Kings. Hiller could return tonight, though Ryan Getzlaf is likely out again due to an ankle injury.

The Ducks have won four of their last six at home and play their next two on the road following this contest before their regular-season finale at Honda Center on Sunday.

Anaheim has beaten Los Angeles in two straight following a five-game series losing streak, and tonight marks the final meeting of the season between the teams. The Kings have lost six of their last eight at Honda Center.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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