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For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this matchup favors the Calgary Flames as they'll look to finally bust out of their current slump with a concerted effort on both sides of the ice in front of the hometown crowd:
New coach Davis Payne led the Blues on a four-game winning streak earlier this month, but they have followed that up by dropping three of four.
Saturday night’s 4-3 shootout loss to Anaheim was especially disheartening after the Blues blew a 3-0 lead in the final 15 minutes of regulation and were outshot 17-3 in the third period; playing against a desperate and determined Calgary team after a loss like they just experienced is not what the doctor ordered for St. Louis.
Also keep in mind that St. Louis beat the Flames in a shootout on Dec. 23rd in Calgary, so they'll have to deal with the "revenge" factor as well.
Not only is St. Louis just 5-10 its last 15 overall, its also 2-5 its last seven on the road.
On the other side of the ice: The Flames’ last five losses have come in regulation, and their offense continued to sputter in a 3-1 home loss to Chicago on Thursday night. They totaled 20 shots on goal and were held to one goal or fewer for the fourth time in their last five games.
Captain and leading scorer Jarome Iginla was held without a goal for the 10th straight game, and he’s totaled just two assists in his last nine contests. Iginla hasn’t gone 11 consecutive games without a goal since the start of the 1999-00 season.
There's no question that Calgary has been struggling; 0-5 its last five overall; 0-5 its last five at the Saddledome; but it does have precedence on its side; 14-4 its last 18 vs. St. Louis.
Bottom line: Calgary had the NHL’s second-best winning % at home over the previous three seasons, and it hasn’t gone six straight without a win at the Saddledome since an 0-4-2 stretch with four ties Oct. 21-Dec. 4, 2000; look for CALGARY to improve to 7-5 (+2 units) revenging a home loss vs. an opponent and for St. Louis to fall to 10-17 (-6.7 units) when playing against a team with a winning record!
Too many points in this border war. Yes KU has a huge home court advantage and they were uncontested at Iowa State this weekend. Mizzou 's defense and full court pressure and run the floor style will have them in this game at the end. The destroyed Nebraska this weekend and penetrated NU's tough defense all day. While KU is the better team and have won by 25 and 19 the last two times at Fog Allen, I see the stats and look at this game outside of the stats and the importance on it and heated rivalry, and I see a lower scoring game with both teams playing defense, and that puts the 12 points we are getting at a premium. KU by 8 to 9 points.
Here's another game that reminds us of a recent winning selection we had. Last Wednesday, we went against what had been a previously red-hot and very profitable William & Mary team with Virginia Commonwealth (always one of our favorites) as our 20* CAA Game of the Month. What happened? The Rams smashed the Tribe 81-59 as eight-point favorites. Same thing applies here. Remember, just like the stock market, the mantra of "buy low, sell high" applies to sports betting as well. Now is the time to "sell" on College of Charleston, who has cashed eight straight games coming in. They are also 8-2 ATS as an underdog. Six of their recent eight wins have been of the outright variety in the underdog role. Western Carolina, meanwhile, has struggled against the pointspread, failing to cover spreads of 16 and 17 at home against UNC Greensboro and Elon. They also are off an outright loss at Appalachian State as one-point favorites. This game sets us beautifully for the Catamounts. They are 6-0 ATS as a home favorite of six or less the last two seasons and have not lost here all year. That includes a 70-68 win over C of C last season. That was their only home cover vs. the Cougars over a six-game stretch and furthermore they have revenge from a terrible 19-point loss in last year's Southern Conference Tournament where they shot just 33% from the floor and 30% from the free throw line. Take Western Carolina.
The Cougars are playing an outstanding level of basketball on an 8-0 ATS tear and we'll stay on them in this spot. Charleston sports a 6-1 ATS mark at WC, losing only once SU in those visits - a 2 point loss. Charleston is the class of the Southern Conference and controls a sweet 51-24-2 ATS mark on the road vs a home team with a winning % above .600. We realize the Catamounts are coming off a loss at Appalachian State and desperately need a win here however, they have not performed well as a favorite of 7 to 12' points at 1-4 ATS moreover, the Cougars had an extra day of prep and should continue to get solid extended minutes from Willis Hall who stepped up his scoring game after Simmons went down. We'll stay on the road tested Cougars here to cover.
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