Posted on
1/25/2008 5:43:02 PM
Bet On NHL - 56th NHL All-Star Game
By Robby Maddux
If you're a fan of NHL betting enthusiasts or hockey fan in general you're in for a treat on Sunday, as the best hockey talent on the globe gathers in Atlanta to showcase their skills in the 56h NHL All-Star game to be played at Philips Arena with the puck dropping at 6:00pm EST.
Like any All-Star game, it's an event for the fans as players display why they're the best-of-the-best at what they do while having fun. But don't under estimate the level of competition and will to win by either side, as the Western Conference stars attempt to out shine the Eastern Conference in back-to-back years, and with a little NHL All-Star wagering on the line this game becomes spectacular.
In last season's All-Star event, the Western Conference's sharpshooters won by outscoring the East 12-9. There was no NHL All-Star game the previous two years. In 2005, the event was canceled as the entire season was locked out. In 2006, the stars didn't take to the ice because of the XX Winter Olympic Games. The West cashed in 2003 but the East won in 2004. So, in the last three All-Star games played, the Western Conference has earned bragging rights and cashed in two.
This contest always features totals higher than an MLB game being played at Wrigley Field with the wind briskly blowing straight out 40 mph. This year's game is no different with BetUS NHL odds listing the total at a robust 16. In the last three games, the star-studded line ups have combined for a hefty 42 points. As for the side, both teams are listed at -110 on the money-line.
League-leading Detroit Red Wings (37-10-4) has the most points in the NHL with 78 and had the most starters voted into the game with three, until forward Henrik Zetterberga decided not to play. As well, Detroit will send a reserved goalie and head coach.
So the starting line up for the West includes: Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk and defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom. The remaining starters for the West are Calgary's right wing Jarome Iginla, teammate defensemen Dion Phaneuf and center Mike Ribeiro of Dallas. Goalie Manny Legace of St. Louis will start between the pipes. Head coach Mike Babcock will call the shots for the West along with assistant coach Ron Wilson of San Jose.
Vancouver's net keeper Roberto Luongo was voted in by the fans as starting goalie but will not play. Detroit's Chris Osgood and Evgeni Nabokov of San Jose are the remaining goalies for the Western Conference as reserves.
The five sharpshooters of the West have combined for 82 goals, 171 assists and 253 points during the first half of the campaign. Iginla leads the starting unit with 63 points. Iginla and Phaneuf, who have helped Calgary place second in the Northwest Division, are All-Stars for the second time but will be making their initial starts.
The starting line up for the East includes: Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin, Tampa Bay center Vincent Lecavalier, defensemen Andrei Markov of Montreal, defensemen Zdeno Chara of Boston and Senators' right wing Daniel Alfredsson rounds out the unit. Markov is the only starter making his first All-Star appearance.
Surprisingly, the league's top two goal scorers, Washington's Alex Ovechkin with 39 goals and Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta with 37 weren't elected to start for the East.
New Jersey goal tender Martin Brodeur, who was voted in as starter but won't play in net because of a family obligation that has come up, will be replaced by Boston's Tim Thomas who may start.
This would have been Brodeur's 10th All-Star game appearance, tying Lidstrom for the most among this year's starters. Lidstrom is in the starting lineup for the eighth time wearing a West uniform.
Rick DiPietro of the Islanders and Tomas Vokoun of Florida are the remaining goal tending reserves for the East. Head coach John Paddock of Ottawa and Devils' assistant coach Brent Sutter will lead the team.
The starting five snipers of the East have combined for 107 goals, 178 assists and 285 points at the break. Alfredsson leads the group and the NHL in points with 67.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby topped All-Star voting for the second straight year and but will miss the event due to a high ankle sprain
suffered last Friday. Crosby received 507,274 votes, nearly 200,000 more than anyone else in the East, and about 30,000 more than West leader Lidstrom.
Crosby, who was tied for the league lead in points (63) at the time of his injury, will miss six-to-eight weeks and was placed on the injured reserve list as of Jan 19. The Penguins are 0-1-1 since Crosby was injured.
Iginla will be the captain of the Western Conference stars, and Lecavalier will wear the ''C'' on his jersey at the NHL All-Star Game for the East. This will be Iginla's fourth All-Star appearance for the West, and Lecavalier's third showing for the East squad.
Ironically, these two dropped their gloves and traded punches during Game 3 of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. Lecavalier was the aggressor and got the best of Iginla in that dance.
Both players, voted to the All-Star starting lineups in fan balloting, are on pace to top their career highs in points. Lecavalier enters the break second in the league with 66 points and Iginla is fourth (tied with Crosby and Ilya Kovalchuk) with 63 points.
This marked the 20th year that fans determined the starting lineups for the NHL All-Star game. Voting took place online and by cell phone only for the second straight season.
Analysis: As for basic handicapping stats, trends, past performance and other factors used in number crunching, any All-Star game is virtually impossible to 'cap with effectiveness. But as we all know: Any game is more exciting with action. The starting five for the East has scored 25 more goals then the starters for the West. But some coins on the East for that reason alone and enjoy the action from some of the world's best hockey players.
NHL Free Picks: Eastern Conference -110
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