Fisher's OT winner lifts Senators over Lightning

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03/11/2009 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Fisher scored 2:38 into overtime and the Ottawa Senators won their fourth straight with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Place.

Ryan Shannon and Chris Kelly lit the lamp in regulation for the Senators, who ended a season-high eight-game homestand 5-2-1. Brian Elliot made 22 saves to get the win. Ottawa had lost six out of seven games prior to its current streak.

Cory Murphy and Adam Hall scored for the Lightning, who have lost four straight, six of seven and 10 of their last 12 games.

Karri Ramo turned aside 24-of-27 shots in the loss coming off a forgettable performance in Saturday's 9-3 loss to Carolina, in which he allowed six goals on 22 shots.

On the game-clinching play, Chris Phillips offered up a wrist shot from the left point and Fisher, circling toward the left post from the slot, chipped the rebound past Ramo to win the game.

Both teams got a power-play goal in the first period, as Murphy's slap shot from the left point got things started 2:37 into the game. Shannon then took a feed from Jason Spezza across the goal-mouth at the right side of the net for a wrister that tied the game a little over two minutes later.

Tampa Bay set up for another power play in the second, following a tripping call on Cristoph Schubert just over eight minutes in. But Daniel Alfredsson broke out of the Tampa Bay zone and motored up the right wing shorthanded, setting up a streaking Kelly in the low slot to gain a 2-1 lead at 9:25.

That lead lasted all of 13 seconds, as the Lightning used a series of crisp passes to break into the Ottawa zone. Hall sent the puck on net from the right boards at a wide angle and it found its way between the legs of Elliot for a power-play marker.

The game stayed tied at two entering the third and each team had a pair of chances on the power play, but the goaltenders prevailed with a little help from the officials.

Spezza had the puck go off his skate while charging the net and the disc scooted through the legs of Ramo with just under five minutes remaining. But a review determined it was scored with a kicking motion and the contest moved to overtime.

Game Notes

The Sens are 17-12-6 as the host club this season while Tampa Bay is 10-18-5 as the guest...The home team has won in each of the three meetings in the season series between these clubs...The Sens have taken four of the last six overall in the series, while Tampa Bay has dropped three of four in Canada's capital city...Both Phillips and Alfredsson had two assists for Ottawa.

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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.