Bruins aim for consecutive wins in test with Islanders

Hockey Betting Lines

03/14/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins will try to win consecutive games for the first time in over two weeks while also extending their winning streak over the New York Islanders today at TD Banknorth Garden.

Boston is still tops in the East with 97 points despite going just 5-8-3 since February 7. However, the Bruins' recent struggles have allowed New Jersey to pull within six points for the top mark in the East, while Detroit is now even with Boston in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

The Bruins, who haven't won two straight since February 24 and 26, bounced back from consecutive defeats to the New York Rangers and Columbus with Thursday's 5-3 victory over Ottawa.

Phil Kessel scored twice to leave him just one goal shy of his first-career 30-goal campaign in what is his third NHL season. P.J. Azelsson also scored and added an assist, while Aaron Ward and Chuck Kobasew tallied for Boston as well.

Tim Thomas stopped 25-of-28 shots in helping the Bruins improve to 23-6-5 at home this year.

Boston, which leads Montreal by 17 points for first in the Northeast Division, has won four straight overall versus the Islanders, including a 7-2 home win back on November 28. That victory increased the Bruins' home winning streak over New York to four straight.

The Islanders, though, have won five of their last seven games and ended a seven-game road losing streak on Thursday with a 3-2 overtime win over the Canadiens.

Kyle Okposo netted the game-winner just 26 seconds into OT, marking his fourth straight game with a goal. The 20-year-old and seventh overall pick of the 2006 draft is now tied with the traded Bill Guerin for the club lead in goals with 16.

Mike Iggulden scored his first NHL goal in fourth career game, while Frans Nielsen also tallied for the Islanders, who are still just 7-23-3 on the road this season. Yann Danis stopped 24-of-26 shots for the Islanders.

Blake Comeau had two assists for his second multi-point game on what is now a six-game point streak. Comeau has three goals and five helpers over the run.

New York plays the third test of a season-long six-game road trip.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.