Devils hope to get on track versus Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils learned last time out that they can't take any opponent lightly. New Jersey will keep that in mind tonight when it shoots for a third straight win against Boston, while the Bruins try to avoid losing their grip on the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot at Prudential Center.

Coming off big wins over the Rangers and Penguins, the Devils visited the Islanders on Saturday to take on a New York club that at the time sat 14th among the 15 teams in the East. However, New Jersey was dealt a 4-2 setback and failed to move into a tie with Atlantic Division-leading Pittsburgh. The Devils now trail the Pens by four points in the standings after Pittsburgh defeated Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Mike Mottau and Ilya Kovalchuk each found the back of the net for the Devils, who play two straight and five of their next six at home, where they have won three straight.

With New Jersey playing the second of back-to-back games, former Islander netminder Yann Danis filled in for the resting Martin Brodeur and allowed four goals on 29 shots in defeat. It was Danis' first start since Feb. 2.

"We came out and played a real strong first 15 minutes of the game," said Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner. "We were really in control and then we stopped playing for you know 35 minutes or whatever it was. We can't do that."

Brodeur should resume his starting role tonight and is 23-15-0 with eight ties and a 2.43 goals-against average lifetime versus the Bruins. He won his lone start versus them this year, stopping 32 shots on Nov. 27 in a 2-1 shootout victory.

That win was the Devils' second in as many games versus the Bruins this year. New Jersey has won four of five and eight of its last 11 overall versus Boston as well as four of the last five played in the Garden State.

The Bruins head to Jersey with just a one-point edge over the Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, though New York is idle tonight and has played two more games.

Boston has dropped three of its last four, including Saturday's 3-2 setback in Montreal. Tuukka Rask made 24 saves, but also misplayed a dump in off the boards in the third period that allowed Montreal to score and take a two-goal edge. Milan Lucic later scored in the frame, but the Bruins failed to net the equalizer.

Blake Wheeler also tallied for the Bruins, who fell to 2-2-1 on a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season.

"We had a slow start, no question about that, we came out so sluggishly," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "The whole first period put us behind by a margin we find hard to come back from, but even so we battled hard."

Rask was making his second start in a row, but it is unknown who will start tonight. Rask has started three of Boston's seven games since the Olympic break and is 0-0-2 with a 1.73 GAA in two games (1 start) lifetime versus the Devils. He made 36 saves in November's shootout loss.

Tim Thomas, meanwhile, has started the other four games since the break and is 4-4-3 with a 2.36 GAA in his career against New Jersey.

Wwwintelihealth Hockey Betting News

<< Leafs-Oilers not what it used to be
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was a time when the Edmonton Oilers playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on a Saturday night was a glittering affair. In the 1980s, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Co. would come in to Maple Leaf Gardens a

<< Arenas: 'I deserve to be punished' for gun prank
WASHINGTON (AP) -Gilbert Arenas says he deserves to be punished for bringing guns to the locker room.The suspended Washington Wizards guard tells Esquire magazine he wasn't using ``longevity thinking'' when he took out four guns in what he says was

<< World Cup of Golf to become biennial event
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The World Cup of Golf will return in 2011 as a biennial event so it does not conflict with the sport's inclusion in the Olympics, the Asian Tour said Monday in a press release. The decision to hold the team event only

<< Indiana hoops: Hoosiers far behind state's top 3
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Basketball still rules in Indiana. Even if the Hoosiers no longer rule basketball in the stateThey're not even in the top three.For the 20th time in the past three decades, at least three teams from the state of Indiana have m

<< NCAA Capsules-West Regional
Syracuse, N.Y., 28-4.Nickname: Orangemen. Coach: Jim Boeheim.Conference: Big East. Bid: At large.Region: West. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 50-32, 32 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (81.5); Wesley Johnson 16.0; Andy Rautins 11.7; Kris J

Blue Jackets host Oilers in meeting of disappointing clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With both clubs headed towards disappointing finishes to the 2009-10 season, the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets face each other for the final time this year tonight at Nationwide Arena. Columbus made the postsea

Playoff-hopeful Flames, Red Wings square off in key battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Flames took on the Red Wings, they walked away with two points and the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Calgary will hope for similar results tonight at Pengrowth Saddledome versus Detroit, which wi

Streelman carries 3-shot lead into final round >>
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Streelman finished off an eight-under 64 in the third round Monday to carry a three-shot lead into the final round of the rain-delayed Puerto Rico Open. Streelman made five birdies in

Sixers, Knicks meet in Philly >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third place in the Atlantic Division is on the line tonight in Philadelphia. Of course, third place doesn't mean all that much if you are entering the contest at 23-43 like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Ne

Celtics and Pistons clash in Beantown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics hope to bounce back from a tough loss in Cleveland on Sunday when they welcome Eastern Conference also-ran Detroit to Beantown. In a possible playoff preview the C's came up short against the Cavs when

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.