Blues visit Islanders at Nassau Coliseum

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to get back on track tonight when they visit the New York Islanders for an interconference clash at Nassau Coliseum.

The Blues pushed their winning streak to a season-high five games by posting consecutive victories to begin their post-Olympic schedule. However, St. Louis had its momentum halted in a big way Saturday, dropping a 7-3 road decision against Colorado.

St. Louis is still battling to stay in the playoff race. The Blues are currently six points out of the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference.

Chris Stewart netted the first hat trick of his career and added an assist as to lead the Avalanche to Saturday's rout.

Alexander Steen had two goals and David Perron added a marker for the Blues. Chris Mason started in net, but was pulled in the second period for giving up four goals on 15 shots. Ty Conklin played the rest of the game and gave up two goals on 17 shots.

"We were just a step behind tonight," said Steen. "Skating is the biggest part of the game cause you can't clutch and grab and hold anymore and they were just a step ahead of us all night."

St. Louis, which has a solid 18-10-4 mark as the visitor this year, is playing the fourth test of a six-game road trip tonight.

Meanwhile, the Islanders have lost three straight games and are just 3-12-0 in their last 15 contests. The swoon has dropped New York to 14th place out of 15 teams in the East.

New York was dealt a 3-2 loss Tuesday in Philadelphia, marking the 15th straight victory for the Flyers against the Isles -- the longest active stretch of victories by one team over any single opponent in the league.

The Isles led 2-0 in the second period, but Philadelphia rallied to keep its streak alive.

Rookie John Tavares and Kyle Okposo scored for the Islanders, while Dwayne Roloson allowed three goals on 35 shots in the loss.

"I thought we played well," said Roloson. "We did the things we needed to do to win the hockey game. Unfortunately, they capitalized on a couple power plays -- that's just the way things have been bouncing for us."

Tonight's test marks the first of three straight on home ice for the Isles, who are 17-13-2 as the host this year. They will also host New Jersey and Toronto during the residency.

The Blues posted a 4-1 home win over the Isles on November 21 and have won two of three and four of the last six meetings between the clubs. St. Louis is 4-2 with a tie in its last seven trips to Long Island.

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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.