Leafs to honor Sundin before hosting Habs

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02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the best rivalries in professional sports will be rekindled tonight in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs welcome the Montreal Canadiens for a Northeast Division clash at Air Canada Centre.

Before the old Original Six foes take the ice, however, the Maple Leafs will honor one of their all-time great players, Mats Sundin. The Swedish centerman will have his No. 13 jersey raised to the rafter in a ceremony prior to tonight's game.

Sundin is Toronto's all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987) and is sixth on the Maple Leafs' list in games played (981). The 40-year-old played his final NHL season with Vancouver in 2008-09 and he posted 564 goals and 1,349 points in 1,346 games with Toronto, Quebec and the Canucks.

The Maple Leafs enter tonight holding onto the eighth and final playoff seed in the East and are nine points ahead of Montreal in the conference standings, but the Canadiens have fared better in recent games. The Habs have won three in a row for the first time in months, while Toronto has suffered consecutive regulation losses on the heels of a three-game win streak of its own.

The Leafs are 2-1-0 against Montreal this year and each club has four wins over the last eight encounters in this series. The Canadiens have won two of the last three meetings at the ACC.

Montreal recorded a 4-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Thursday, giving the Habs their first three-game winning streak since a season-best four-game stretch from Oct. 26-Nov. 4. Max Pacioretty netted his first career hat trick to help lift the Canadiens at Nassau Coliseum. The big night pushed Pacioretty's team high in goals to 22 on the year.

Scott Gomez also scored -- his first goal since February 5, 2011 -- and Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadiens. Gomez goal drought has been a big story in Montreal, where fans have been less than thrilled with the highly-priced forward's lack of production.

"Obviously I want to score," said Gomez. "But the team has to win."

The victory improved Montreal's road record to 11-13-2 this season.

On the injury front for the Canadiens, defenseman Yannick Weber is questionable for tonight after missing the last game with a knee injury.

The Maple Leafs, who are just one point ahead of Washington for the eighth seed, are back for one home game after going 0-2 on their recent tour of Winnipeg and Philadelphia. After today's test against the Habs, Toronto will head out on a three-game swing.

Toronto was dealt a 4-3 loss by the Flyers on Thursday, as Scott Hartnell led the way for Philadelphia with a goal and an assist.

Tyler Bozak scored twice in the loss, while former Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul also tallied a goal. James Reimer stopped 35 shots in a losing effort.

"We didn't really start playing until the beginning of the second period. They had us on our heels," Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said.

The Maple Leafs have won their last three home games and are 16-8-4 as the host this year.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.