Bertuzzi, Howard help Detroit move to fifth spot

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04/09/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Bertuzzi netted the shootout winner and Jimmy Howard recorded 22 saves for his third shutout of the season, as Detroit picked up a key two points for playoff positioning with a 1-0 win to close out a home-and-home series with Columbus at Nationwide Arena.

As the game moved to a shootout after 65 scoreless minutes, suddenly nobody could miss. Rick Nash deked his way to a nifty backhand tally to start things off, and Pavel Datsyuk answered with a forehand score over the right shoulder of Steve Mason.

The goaltenders settled back in to stop the next five attempts, moving into the fourth round, and Bertuzzi flipped a backhander upstairs to grab the win.

The Red Wings moved two points clear of both Nashville and Los Angeles for sole possession of the Western Conference's fifth seed. The trio had been tied with 98 points entering play Friday.

Detroit will close out its regular season Sunday in Chicago and Nashville will do the same a day earlier at home versus the Blues. The Kings have two games remaining against Edmonton and Colorado.

Mason came up with a whopping 45 saves through 65 minutes of action to post his fifth shutout of the season for Columbus, which wrapped up a disappointing season at 32-35-15 and lost five in a row going away.

Mason withstood a 19-shot Red Wing barrage in the third period, and denied Darren Helm on a penalty shot. Each team had a chance with the extra skater in overtime but came up empty.

Howard was tested with just four shots in the third period and zero in OT, while Mason was busy over the first 40 minutes with 22 saves.

Game Notes

The Red Wings reached 100 points for a ninth consecutive season to extend an NHL record...Detroit won five of the six matchups with the Blue Jackets this year...The Red Wings moved to 18-14-8 on the road this season, while Columbus ended its season 20-12-9 at home...Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play...It was Mason's 15th shutout of his career.

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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.