Sillinger lifts Islanders over Penguins in final seconds

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Sillinger scored with 26.8 seconds to play, as the New York Islanders handed the Pittsburgh Penguins their first loss in regulation in over a month with a 6-5 win at Nassau Coliseum.

With time winding down in the third, Sidney Crosby set up Mark Recchi for a one-timer from the low right side, on which Rick DiPietro made a save.

The Islanders skated back down the ice on transition and, from the top of the right circle, Andy Hilbert sent a pass to Sillinger, who, from the slot, used Mark Eaton as a screen and snapped a shot on net. Marc-Andre Fleury slowed down the puck with his glove, but it retained enough momentum to trickle into the net with 26.8 to play.

Pittsburgh pulled Fleury from the net but was only able to get one shot on net, and the Islanders gave the home crowd a victory.

"It was a big win. Obviously any time you outscore Pittsburgh something is going right," said Sillinger.

Chris Simon scored two goals and Randy Robitaille added three assists for the Islanders, who have won three of their last four contests.

Rick DiPietro stopped 25 shots in the win for New York, which, with 66 points, is in a three-way tie with Toronto and Montreal for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Ryan Malone notched his second-career hat trick, Mark Recchi had two goals and three assists, and Sidney Crosby added four assists for the Penguins, who lost in regulation for the first time since January 10 and went 14-0-2 during that run.

"I think our mistakes were just big mistakes and the puck ended up in our net," said Crosby.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots for Pittsburgh, which has 73 points and moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to the streak.

Pittsburgh broke a 4-4 tie just 48 seconds into the third period when Crosby flicked a shot on net from the right circle on which DiPietro made a save, but the rebound went right to the slot and on his second attempt Malone got the puck into the back of the net for a 5-4 win.

However, the Islanders tied the game a little over a minute later when Robitaille fed a pass from the left point to the top of the right circle and Simon blasted the disc into the left corner of the net.

The Penguins grabbed a 1-0 lead just 45 seconds in when Malone grabbed a loose puck out of the air, laid it on the ice and shot it between the pads of DiPietro.

The Islanders tied the game on the power play when Arron Asham sent a pass from the right boards to the high slot where Viktor Kozlov shot it under the right pad of Fleury with 5:11 left in the first.

However, Pittsburgh scored the next two goals to assume a 3-1 lead.

Shortly after a 5-on-3 advantage expired, Crosby sent a pass between the legs of two defenders from the left side of the net to the right side where Recchi tapped it in with just 49 seconds left in the first.

In the second period Malone tucked in a wraparound attempt from the right side of the net just 49 seconds in. The play was reviewed to see if the puck crossed the goal line, and after a lengthy review the goal was awarded.

New York, though, responded with three goals to grab a 4-3 lead.

Simon scored his first goal in 26 games when he accepted a pass from Robitaille at the inside of the left circle and redirected it into the net 2:03 into the second.

Just 15 seconds later on a delayed call Jason Blake banged an errant shot out of the air and into the net to tie the game.

A little less than six minutes later Kozlov snapped a shot from the right circle that Fleury saved, but Miroslav Satan pounced on the rebound and banged the puck into the net for his 21st goal of the year.

Recchi, though, tied the game when he banged in a loose puck during a 5-on-3 advantage with 1:59 remaining in the second.

Game Notes

Both of Malone's hat tricks have come against the Islanders, with the last one occurring on December 15...The Islanders host the Maple Leafs on Thursday...Pittsburgh travels to Tampa Bay for a contest on Thursday...The Penguins went 2-for-5 on the power play, while New York finished 1- for-3...Marc-Andre Bergeron, who the Islanders acquired on Sunday from the Edmonton Oilers, had two assists in his debut with New York.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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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.