The Los Angeles Kings make the trip over to the SAP Center on Monday for a date with an instate rival, the San Jose Sharks. The teams enter heading in very different directions as San Jose has won six in a row, while Los Angeles has dropped each of their last five games.
Broncos Early Favorites to Win Super Bowl
A terrific season of NFL action culminates February 2 in New Jersey when the best offense in the NFL, the Denver Broncos squares off with the best defense in the league, the Seattle Seahawks. It’s the first time since 1990 that the league’s top offense will face the No.1 defense in the Super Bowl.
The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos have punched their tickets to Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey in the first cold-weather Super Bowl of the modern era. Seattle defeated San Francisco in thrilling fashion to win the NFC, while Denver handled New England on their home turf.
It’s been interesting to many NFL handicappers and observers that the Super Bowl 48 points spread has not only remained a low number, but has only moved 2 points since it opened on Sunday.
Michigan is 9-6-1 ATS with an O/U record of 8-7-1 and Michigan State is 10-6-2 ATS with an O/U record of 9-9.
The Indiana Pacers will make the trip over to Oakland on Monday for a late night visit with the Golden State Warriors. Indiana enters with a comfortable lead in the Eastern Conference after winning seven of their last eight games, while Golden State has hit a bit of a rough patch with losses in three of their last five games.
The Bears have not been very good since B12 play started. They have dropped 3 of 4 games including both last week…however, they are still ahead of Kansas in the national rankings (go figure).
The Grizzlies are playing some of their best basketball of the season and will aim to take advantage the Pelicans who are flying straight into a storm of nine straight losses, when the two meet in Memphis on Monday night.
This season the Knicks are 7-13 at home and the Nets are 6-13 on the road.
In their last games the Knicks lost to the L.A. Clippers 109-95 and the Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 127-110.
Villanova is 11-5 ATS with an O/U record of 7-8-1 and Creighton is 12-3 ATS with an O/U record of 11-4.
Bruins Face Recent Cup Winner For the Second Afternoon in a Row – Host Kings Monday
The Boston Bruins get back on the ice Monday afternoon after dropping a 3-2 decision in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final against Chicago. On Monday, the Bruins have the honor of hosting the team that won the Cup a year earlier – the LA Kings in the teams’ second meeting in 11 days. The Kings won the first meeting 4-2 and enter this game having lost two straight games in a shootout.
Los Angeles (29-14-2-4) at Boston (30-15-0-3)
When: 3:00 PM ET, Monday, January 20, 2014
Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast: NHLN-US, NHLN-CA, FS-W, NESN
Kings vs. Bruins Betting Lines from betonline.com
Los Angeles Kings +1½ -310 +102 Ov 5 +114 Ov 2½ +110 Un 2½ -140
Boston Bruins -1½ +260 -113 Un 5 -126 Ov 2½ +110 Un 2½ -140
The Los Angeles Kings were perhaps unlucky to lose in Detroit but the team has little time to think about it – the mighty Bruins are next on tap. The Kings have been playing much more consistent hockey of late and it coincides with the return of Jonathan Quick to the lineup after a groin injury. Quick has been sensational – he has gone 4-1-2 with a terrific 1.40 GAA since returning. He is once again giving the Kings a chance to win every night – all by himself. Quick has posted a 2.17 GAA while winning six of eight career starts against Boston.
Offensively, the Kings are still struggling to score goals – something that might haunt them against Boston. The team averages an OK 2.45 goals per game but they have had a difficult time as of late finding the back of the net. Jeff Carter has goals in consecutive games for the Kings and a three-game point streak overall – he has 19 points in 18 games while Slava Voynov has three points in two games and Drew Doughty has two points in his last two games. The Kings’ old nemesis – goal scoring may be an issue Monday – unless Quick can weave his magic once again.
The Boston Bruins have lost four of six and two of its last four have been decided by one goal – they are in every game but not getting the results. Boston is just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games overall but are playing better than that record indicates.
The Bruins are playing well defensively to nobody’s surprise – just 2.17 goals per game allowed and they are also getting it done offensively this year – scoring 2.85 goals per game.
Patrice Bergeron has two goals and three assists during a three-game point streak for the Bruins – including two goals yesterday, Brad Marchand has five points in three games, Milan Lucic has two points in two games and Riley Smith has three points in three games. Some veterans on this team are struggling however – Loui Eriksson is pointless in three games and Jarome Iginla hasn’t hit the score sheet in five games.
Tuukka Rask was pulled in the first meeting between the two clubs and could get a rest Monday after making 35 stops against Chicago Sunday. That would leave Chad Johnson who is 1-1-0 with a 1.78 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last three games to start between the pipes.
Betting Prediction: A few trends to consider:
• Under is 18-6-12 in LA last 36 road games.
• LA are 9-3 in their last 12 vs. Eastern Conference.
• LA are 20-7 in their last 27 Mon. games.
• Over is 8-2-4 in BOS last 14 overall.
• Over is 6-2-3 in BOS last 11 Mon. games.
• BOS are 8-3 in their last 11 vs. Pacific.
• LA are 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
It looks as though the LA Kings may have caught the Boston Bruins at precisely the right time. For some reason good play isn’t translating to victories for Boston. After an emotional hard-fought game yesterday, look for the Bruins to come out a tad flat Monday and for the Kings to take full advantage.
Pick: LA Kings +102
The North Carolina Tar Heels find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they reside near the bottom of the ACC, and will aim to build on a big win over Boston College when they arrive in Virginia to take on the red-hot Cavaliers on Monday night.
While the NFL AFC Championship game is sure to provide some serious offensive flash with two of the league’s most prolific quarterbacks, the NFC Championship should provide just the opposite, as two of the NFL’s best defenses go head-to-head on Sunday in Seattle.
Well here we go again with Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning and the Patriots vs. Broncos for a trip to the Super Bowl.
The Huskies got off to a shaky start to their conference season by dropping both games to their league mates in Texas – Houston and SMU.
The Thunder are in a funk having lost three of their last four games, all on the road too. The really surprising part is that a couple of those were not even close – like losing at Utah by 11 – and that is a big reason they are the underdog for the second game in a row for the first time all season.
