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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will try to avoid a season-high fourth straight loss and eighth in a row at Chicago this evening as they battle the Blackhawks at the United Center. Following a perfect three-game homestand, the Flames have notched an 0-1-2 record on a four-game swing and are just 6-9-2 as the guest this season. They lost their second straight game beyond regulation on Friday, falling 3-2 at Florida in a shootout.

 

Leland Irving, the 26th overall pick of the 2006 draft, made his NHL debut and stopped 39 shots. Despite the shootout, nerves weren't an issue for the 23- year-old.

 

"After the first two shots the adrenaline took over," said Irving, who was beaten twice in the shootout. "I just tried to keep it simple and not try to overplay the puck. It's kind of a blur right now. It would have been nice to get the two points, but we'll go back and look at the video and see what we can work on."

 

While the Flames are hoping to avoid their longest losing streak of the campaign, the Blackhawks will try to stretch their current run of victories to a season-high five straight. They are 6-0-1 in December and sit a point back of the Wild for first place in the Western Conference.

 

"We didn't give them opportunities off our mistakes and we took advantage of their mistakes," Emery said after moving to 8-1-2 on the season with a 2.54 goals-against average.

 

Chicago upped its home record to 10-2-3 this year and played without winger Daniel Carcillo, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

 

Muller finally got his first win at Edmonton on Dec. 7 before dropping games in Winnipeg and Toronto. The coach received a taste of victory on home ice for the first time on Thursday as his club rallied for a 4-3 win over Vancouver.

 

Drayson Bowman scored twice and Tuomo Ruutu added a goal during a 4:45 span in the game that erased a two-goal deficit, and Jaroslav Spacek also lit the lamp. Cam Ward then made 33 saves to preserve the win, posting some key stops down the stretch.

 

Though Jeff Skinner and Joni Pitkanen remain out with concussions, Jay Harrison could return tonight for the first time in 11 games due to an upper- body injury.

 

The Panthers came into the game just 1-4 in shootouts this year and had scored just once on their 14 chances in the tiebreak. However, they got goals from Dmitry Kulikov and Stephen Weiss in last night's breakaway session, while Jose Theodore stopped three of four skaters after posting 24 saves through overtime.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.