Mighty Caps host sliding Stars

Hockey Betting Lines

03/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals were struggling heading into the Olympic break but the NHL's point leaders seemed to regain their swagger last week.

The Caps will shoot for a fourth straight victory tonight, when they host the Dallas Stars at Verizon Center.

Washington set a franchise record with 14 straight wins from January 13- February 7, but then lost its last three tests before the Winter Games. Since the league returned to action last week, however, Washington has been a perfect 3-0.

Washington has also won a club-record 13 straight on home ice and has a superb 25-3-3 record as the host this season. The Capitals' last loss in DC came December 28 against Carolina.

The Capitals lead the Eastern Conference and the NHL with 96 points. They are also 30-points ahead of Atlanta for first place in the Southeast Division.

Washington is coming off Saturday's victory in a defensive battle against the visiting New York Rangers. Jose Theodore stopped all 30 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, leading the Capitals to the 2-0 win at Verizon Center.

Eric Fehr and Eric Belanger lit the lamp for the Capitals.

"You need to win games 2-0, 2-1, when you're in the playoffs," said Theodore. "We played really well. We never panicked and never gave them much, especially in the third."

Washington failed to score at least three goals for the first time since January 2, a streak of 23 consecutive games. It was two off the Caps' franchise record of 25 straight games scoring at least three times, originally set from December 22, 1984-February 14, 1985.

Capitals superstar winger Alex Ovechkin also failed to register a point for the third time in his last four games. He is still leading the NHL with 90 points, but has just one assist in his last four outings.

The Stars, meanwhile, have lost three straight games and that slide is not helping the club's playoff chances. Dallas, which missed the postseason last year, is currently six points out of playoff berth in the West.

Dallas was dealt a decisive loss Saturday in Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby lit the lamp twice and collected an assist to lift the Penguins to the 6-3 win at Mellon Arena.

Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro and Brandon Segal each had a goal for Dallas. Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, making his first start since being acquired from Atlanta in February and first start overall since last April 11, stopped 28 shots in defeat. Lehtonen missed most of the 2009-10 campaign while recovering from offseason back surgery.

Marty Turco could get the start tonight as the Stars try to ease Lehtonen back into the regular grind of an NHL season.

Tonight marks the middle test of a three-game road trip for the Stars, who are just 10-16-7 as the guest this year. Dallas will cap the swing Wednesday in Buffalo.

The Caps and Stars are meeting for the only time this season. Washington notched an overtime win in Dallas last season. That snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for the Capitals.

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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.