Elliott tops former team, leading Blues over Sens

Hockey Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Almost a year after the Ottawa Senators traded him to the Colorado Avalanche, Brian Elliott made his regular season return to Scotiabank Place.

Elliott stopped 28 shots and led the St. Louis Blues over Ottawa, 3-1, on Tuesday.

A ninth-round pick by Ottawa in 2003, Elliott appeared in 130 games with the club. He went 59-45-15 in that span with a 2.81 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

Elliott, who signed with the Blues this past offseason, made his initial return to Ottawa as a member of Team Chara in the 2012 NHL All Star Game. The first-time All Star made 13 saves in the contest.

David Perron scored twice and Chris Porter also lit the lamp for the Blues, who had lost three of four coming in. St. Louis moved to 10-0-2 against the Eastern Conference this season.

Craig Anderson, who was acquired from Colorado in the Elliott trade, allowed two goals on four shots and was quickly pulled in favor of Alex Auld, who made 13 saves.

Daniel Alfredsson scored the lone goal for Ottawa, which has lost a season- high seven straight games.

The Blues recorded two quick tallies just 3:49 into the opening period.

The first came on the Blues' first shot on net at the 1:37 mark of the stanza. From the right boards, Roman Polak sent a quick wrister on net which was redirected by Porter for a 1-0 St. Louis advantage.

On the second tally, Patrik Berglund skated up the left wing and wristed a shot on net from the top of the left circle. Anderson mishandled the rebound and Perron pounced on the loose disc and put it home from the crease to make it 2-0.

Using the power play, the Senators got on the board less than a minute into the second. Sergei Gonchar took a slap shot from the high point and Alfredsson redirected it home to make it 2-1.

St. Louis regained its two-goal advantage at the 6:35 mark of the second on Perron's backhander in the slot.

Elliott stopped eight shots in the third to preserve the win for the Blues.

Game Notes

The Blues snapped a five-game losing as the guest in this series. St. Louis last won in Ottawa on Jan. 26, 2000...Ottawa dealt the 26-year-old Elliott to Colorado on February 18 of last year...St. Louis is 25-7-7 since Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach.

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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.