Stan James Canada Betting News

Blues scrap prevent defence

St. Louis heads into Monday night's game against Columbus riding a season-best four-game winning streak and the Blues say they have their aggressiveness late in games to thank for it.

"We're just sticking with the plan," Blues coach Davis Payne said. "We're not there to change our game in the third period. There will be some times when you have to, when you're chasing a lead. But when you've got one, it's about keeping your feet moving. It's about moving in sync."

Payne is just a few weeks into the head coaching gig, but already seems to be getting through to the young Blues. The 39-year-old was handed the ball to try a different approach than Andy Murray's old-school philosophy.

Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens

Despite a tough bout with the injury bug, Ottawa is hanging tough. The Senators come into this one with an identical record as Montreal - 23-21-4.

The Sens got another scare when goaltender Pascal Leclaire took a puck to the head during Thursday's morning skate, after already missing 16 games due to a broken jaw he suffered when a puck hit him while he was sitting on the bench.

Luckily for Sens bettors, Mike Brodeur stepped in and stonewalled the New York Rangers later that evening in a 2-0 win, but there's still no word on Leclaire's status moving forward.

NFL Previews and Picks Divisional Playoffs

Saturday, January 16

Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints (-7, 57)

This is a classic example of the rest versus momentum argument - New Orleans hasn't won in a month after starting 13-0 and rested its starters in Week 17 while Arizona has scraped and clawed its way into the final eight.

I'm not sure the Saints will be able to just turn it on after the long layoff.  New Orleans puts points on the board a lot of different ways, but much of the team's offense revolves around timing routes and rhythm. Plus, Arizona can disrupt a lot of plays by getting into the backfield - just ask Aaron Rogers.

Raptors report - All about Bosh

Chris Bosh has been all over the headlines this week, from a trade rumor that had him on his way to the Lakers to coach Jay Triano calling him out for bigger games.

"I think he's starting to fade a little bit," Triano said of Bosh before Friday's game. "We expect him to have more bounce tonight than he did in the Orlando game."

Consider it done. Bosh answered by dropping 29 points, including a three-point play that was the nail in Detroit's coffin on Saturday.

Marc Savard out up to a month

Just as the Boston Bruins finally got Milan Lucic back in the lineup, they lost centre Marc Savard for up to a month. Savard suffered a partial MCL tear in his right knee when he fell awkwardly along the boards on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"Any time you lose a player it's an unfortunate situation, especially when we know what Savvy can bring to our hockey club," coach Claude Julien told reporters. "But again, it's part of the game. Every team goes through it and you're hearing me repeat myself. But we'll just make the best of it, try to grind it out a little bit more and get those gritty wins."

Colorado Avalanche at Buffalo Sabres

For a good part of this season, Buffalo's success depended largely on Ryan Miller standing on his head in the crease.

But apart from the shutout Miller pitched against the Canadiens last Sunday, the Sabres have allowed three goals in each of the other four contests that make up their current five-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Colorado has streaked and slumped on the back of its rejuvenated netminder, Craig Anderson. He got the Avalanche out of the gate quickly, but things have turned sour lately as the team has won only 14 of its last 31 after starting the year 10-1-2.

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals (-2 ½, 34)

So Marvin Lewis says he had a basic game plan in place when his Bengals were destroyed 37-0 by the Jets in Week 17 because they knew there was a chance of a rematch. Well, sure, but that's baloney.

Cincinnati was pushed around like the nerd on the playground all day by New York's nasty defense and offensive line. You don't go game planning for that.

Raptors report

Not that getting Jose Calderon back from injury is a problem for the Toronto Raptors, but it definitely makes for some interesting decisions for head coach Jay Triano. Calderon started 22 of Toronto's first 23 games before hitting the shelf with a hip injury that's kept him out of 12 of the last 13.

During the 12 games without him, Toronto went 7-5 with Jarrett Jack leading the charge. Now Triano has to decide whether to fire Calderon right back into the starting lineup and risk messing with the team's rhythm, or ease the shifty point guard back in to the mix. 

"If we have to limit his minutes, we'd have to decide whether that's at the start or during the game," Triano told reporters. "I don't know what way we'd go."

Changing of the guard

The St. Louis Blues sent Andy Murray packing this weekend and brought in 39-year-old Davis Payne from its AHL club to take over the NHL coaching duties.

The move seems to be rooted in Murray's inability to get through to St. Louis' group of talented youngsters.

"To give Andy some slack there, we fast-tracked," GM John Davidson told reporters. "We did not have the wonderful opportunity to put them in the minor leagues for two or three years, let them develop and become pros before they hit the NHL street. These kids were raw when they got here.

Washington Capitals at Los Angeles Kings

Drew Doughty was rewarded for a great start to the season by being named to Team Canada's Olympic roster this week. This kid's the real deal. At 20 years old, he logs about 25 minutes a night, anchors the team's top power play unit, and faces the opposition's most dangerous forwards all night long.

Unfortunately for Kings bettors, Doughty can't do it all by himself. Los Angeles has dropped three straight games and four of its last five despite getting workhorse Ryan Smyth back. The team has fallen to sixth place in the West and needs to stop the bleeding quickly.

The Caps continue to make noise in the East and even traded their captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina in exchange for Jason Chimera last week.