Blues try to extend home streak vs. struggling Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After closing out 2011 as the hottest team in the league, the new calendar year hasn't been as kind to the Bruins.

The Blues have yet to drop a regulation game at home in 2012.

St. Louis puts its franchise record 21-game home point streak on the line this evening as it looks to deal Boston its first three-game slide since late October.

The Blues have been one of the more dominating teams this year on home ice, where they are 26-3-4 this season and haven't lost in regulation since Dec. 3. They have gone 18-0-3 at Scottrade Center since and sit fourth overall in the Western Conference with 79 points, five back of Detroit for first place.

St. Louis comes into this test having won five straight at home and outscoring its opponents 16-3 in that span. However, the club fell to 10-13-3 on the road this season with Sunday's setback in Chicago and kicks off a six-game road trip tomorrow night in Nashville.

Goaltender Brian Elliott was coming off a shutout win over the visiting Wild on Saturday and held the Blackhawks off the board through the first two periods before getting beat twice in the final frame. Chicago added an empty- net tally to hand St. Louis a 3-1 defeat.

"We're a team right now that needs everybody to play at a high level for us to win on the road," said St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock. "The way we're built, we don't have offensive players to carry us. So if guys are not up to task it reflects on our game."

Elliott made 24 saves and Andy McDonald scored in his third straight game for the Blues, who had won six of seven coming in. Patrik Berglund and Jamie Langenbrunner each posted an assist for a third straight game.

Langenbrunner, though, suffered a broken left foot in the loss and was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. He is expected to be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Goaltender Jaroslav Halak was scratched for the past two games due to the flu, but is expected to serve as at least the backup tonight after Ben Bishop was sent back to the minors. McDonald is also questionable due to flu-like symptoms.

The Blues have a chance tonight to deal the Bruins their first three-game slide since Oct. 22-29. Boston followed that season-high slide by winning 10 straight and 21 of their next 24, but have gone 11-11-1 since Dec. 31 and now own just a two-point edge over Ottawa for first place in the Northeast Division.

The Bruins have lost six of nine this month and have been shut out four times in that span. That includes Sunday in Minnesota, where Boston was dealt a 2-0 setback.

Tim Thomas allowed two goals on 29 shots as Boston fell to 1-2 on a six-game road trip.

"We're just shooting it right back into the goaltender. ... That's what happens when things aren't going your way," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said.

The Blues have won nine of their last 11 versus the Bruins, with three of the past six encounters ending in shootout fashion. That includes St. Louis' 2-1 victory at Boston in the lone meeting last season.

The Bruins have won their last two trips to St. Louis and haven't lost in regulation as the road club in this series since Dec. 18, 1999.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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