Sabres look to continue home dominance of Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

02/17/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres continue what's been a successful homestand thus far when the Eastern Conference leaders entertain the rival Boston Bruins tonight at HSBC Arena.

Buffalo has won the first three tests of this six-game residency and four in a row overall, a streak which has enabled the club to open up a comfortable 13- point lead on second-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division.

The Sabres have needed extra minutes to earn their two latest wins. After edging Calgary in a shootout last Saturday, Buffalo came through with a 2-1 triumph over Edmonton Thursday on Daniel Briere's goal 1:02 into overtime.

Maxim Afinogenov also scored for the Sabres, but suffered a broken bone in his left wrist later on during the contest. The talented Russian wing, who currently ranks second on the team with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists), will be sidelined a minimum of six weeks.

Buffalo also lost rookie center Jiri Novotny to a left ankle injury on Thursday and is without two other key performers in defenseman Jaroslav Spacek (broken hand) and forward Paul Gaustad (torn ankle tendon).

The Sabres are an impressive 20-7-2 as the host this season and will try to extend a six-game home win streak tonight.

Buffalo has also won six in a row over the Bruins at HSBC Arena, where Boston hasn't tasted victory since a 3-2 overtime decision on March 11, 2004. The Sabres have taken 12 of the last 14 overall meetings between the divisional foes, including five of six matchups so far this season.

The cellar-dwelling Bruins started off a six-game road trip on a down note, falling to the New York Islanders by a 4-1 count on Thursday.

Glen Murray notched the lone goal of the contest for the Bruins, who had a two-game win streak halted. Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots in defeat.

Boston played without second-leading scorer Patrice Bergeron, who suffered a lower body injury during a 3-0 victory over Edmonton last Saturday. The playmaking center's return to the lineup tonight is questionable.

The Bruins bring a 10-14-2 road record into tonight's clash.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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