Selanne's Ducks square off with Sabres in Finland
Hockey Betting Lines
10/07/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres will begin their 2011-12 regular seasons overseas, as the clubs are set to meet today at Hartwell Arena in Helsinki, Finland.
The Ducks and Sabres are among the four NHL teams that will start their seasons in Europe. The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings are playing today in Stockholm, Sweden. On Saturday, Buffalo and the Kings will meet in Berlin, Germany, while the Rangers and Ducks are slated to battle each other in Stockholm.
Anaheim has the two most recognizable Finnish players on its roster in forwards Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. Buffalo, meanwhile, has Finnish forward Ville Leino, who signed a six-year, $27 million deal with the Sabres in the offseason.
Selanne is the NHL's all-time leader in goals (637) by a Finnish player and the 41-year-old is still a formidable offensive weapon, having recorded 80 points in 73 games for Anaheim last year.
Both Anaheim and the Sabres were playoff teams in their respective conferences last year and both clubs suffered first-round losses last spring. The Ducks were eliminated in six games by Nashville, while the Sabres lost in seven games to Leino and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Buffalo hopes to be a much-improved team this season. In addition to Leino, the Sabres also signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a 10-year, $40 million deal and acquired fellow blueliner Robyn Regehr in a trade with Calgary this summer. Ehrhoff and Regehr join the 21-year-old Tyler Myers to form what should be a deeper blue line in front of star goaltender Ryan Miller.
Not only does Anaheim have elder statesmen Selanne back for at least one more year, the Ducks also boast one of the most potent lines in the NHL with centerman/captain Ryan Getzlaf and wingers Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. Big statistical years are expected from all three players and especially Perry, who is coming off a season that saw him win the Hart Trophy as league MVP after leading the NHL with 50 goals.
The biggest question mark for Anaheim heading into the season is goaltender Jonas Hiller, who missed a big chunk of last year, including all of the playoffs, with vertigo. Hiller is said to be back to normal and is expected to start today's game.
Hiller is 2-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average in two career outings against the Sabres, while Miller is 1-2 with a 2.49 GAA lifetime versus the Ducks.
In other news, Sabres forward Jason Pominville will make his debut as the team captain today after getting awarded the "C" on Thursday. The club also tabbed Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy as alternates.
The Ducks had won four straight in the series against Buffalo before the Sabres ended that slide with a 5-2 home win over Anaheim last season.
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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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