Avs shoot for season sweep of Kings

Hockey Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last night, the Kings found the offense they have been so sorely lacking but it still resulted in a third straight loss.

Los Angeles looks to rebound this evening and avoid a season series sweep at the hands of the hosting Colorado Avalanche.

The Kings' struggles with scoring have been well documented this season, with the club ranking dead last in the NHL with 124 goals. They have been shut out eight times on the season, including consecutive 1-0 setbacks going into last night's meeting at Phoenix.

Los Angeles looked to have blasted out of its funk after getting goals from Drew Doughty, Andrei Loktionov and Dustin Brown in the game's first 15 minutes, but some poor discipline ultimately resulted in a 5-4 shootout loss.

The Kings, who also got a goal from Justin Williams, allowed a pair of power- play goals early in the second and also saw Phoenix net the game-tying goal while up a man after winger Kyle Clifford was whistled for a game misconduct for a shot to the head of the Coyotes' Gilbert Brule.

Brown tied the shootout in the second round, but Mikkel Boedker responded by beating Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and Jack Johnson missed the net as the final skater.

Quick ended with 25 saves as the Kings lost for the fifth time in six games.

"When you give up three power-play goals on the road, you're going to have a tough time winning," Kings head coach Daryl Sutter said.

Though Los Angeles will be trying to avoid its longest losing streak since a five-game skid from Dec. 3-13, the point earned last night did give it sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. The Kings moved one ahead of the Flames, while the Avalanche sit four back of the final playoff position.

Colorado can close the gap this evening with its first season series sweep of Los Angeles since relocating from Quebec. The Avalanche had lost seven of eight to the Kings, including getting swept in the four-game series last year, before outscoring Los Angeles 8-4 in the three meetings this year.

The Avs snapped a three-game home losing streak to the Kings with a 3-2 win back on Oct. 30 and should have a bit of a tougher edge tonight after acquiring forward Steve Downie from the Lightning on Tuesday for defenseman Kyle Quincey.

Downie had 12 goals, 28 points and 121 penalty minutes in 55 games with Tampa Bay this year and logged 14 points in 17 playoff games last season in the Lightning's march to the Eastern Conference finals.

"Our organization believes that Steve Downie will add grit and skill to our lineup offensively," said Avalanche general manager and executive vice president Greg Sherman. "He plays the game with an edge and we look forward to seeing the immediate and future impact he can bring to our team."

Colorado made the move days after a 5-1 loss in Winnipeg, its third loss in four games.

"Overall, we just weren't good enough tonight in all areas of the game. I don't think we had everybody here on deck tonight," Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco said.

Gabriel Landeskog lit the lamp for Colorado and Semyon Varlamov allowed all five goals on 25 shots to take the loss.

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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.