Oilers become Red Wings' latest victim at Joe Louis Arena

Hockey Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit just cannot be beaten at home this season.

Goals in the third period by Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg helped the Red Wings extend their home winning streak to 18 games in a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

It's been over three months since Detroit last dropped a home contest -- a loss to Calgary on November 3 -- as the team has the longest home winning streak since the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers notched a league-tying 20 straight wins at The Spectrum.

Detroit is now 21-2-1 at Joe Louis Arena this season.

Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen also scored while Joey MacDonald posted 15 saves for the Red Wings, who had gone 2-2-1 on a five-game road trip.

Edmonton center Sam Gagner continued his recent tear with two goals in the loss and now has eight in his past four games. Including an eight-point effort against Chicago last Thursday, he now has eight goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak.

Nikolai Khabibulin allowed all four goals on 30 shots for the Oilers, who have lost their past two games.

Gagner had tied the game earlier in the third, but the Red Wings went on top with 9:14 to play as a wrist shot from Justin Abdelkader in the slot was stopped by Khabibulin, but it sat behind him and he couldn't find it before Miller jammed it in.

Zetterberg gave the Red Wings some insurance when he pounced on a rebound in the slot and slid to the left before putting a wrister into the net with 5:16 left.

Detroit scored on the power play at the 13:18 mark of the first when Ian White used a slap-pass from the high slot to get the puck down low to Franzen, who redirected it into the net for his 21st of the year.

It was a 2-0 game 2:45 into the second when Abdelkader brought the puck out from the deep boards and got a shot on net that was stopped, but Emmerton was in front to clean up the rebound.

The hottest man in hockey, though, made it a one-goal game with 8:52 to play in the second as Gagner got the puck near the Detroit blue line and nearly lost control of it, but avoided the poke-check attempt from MacDonald and lifted a backhand into the net.

Gagner struck again at the 8:23 mark of the third while Edmonton was on the power play. Magnus Paajarvi grabbed a bad Detroit pass inside the right circle and made a power move to the front. MacDonald stopped Paajarvi's shot, but Gagner swooped in to backhand home the rebound to tie the game.

Game Notes

Detroit hosts Anaheim on Friday...The Oilers play in Ottawa on Saturday...Detroit took three of the four games against Edmonton this season...Detroit was 1-for-4 on the power play while Edmonton went 1-for-7.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.