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Top Five Best NHL Goalie Bets For 2008

By BetOnline | View all Posts
Posted Wednesday, October 22, 2008 02:46 PM   0 comments
Masked men; men of mystery; lonely souls beneath 100 pounds of padding. Call them what you will, but being a goaltender in the NHL is arguably the hardest job in professional sports. As teams strategize ways to clog up the neutral zone and control the play along the boards, it is the crease that is the most important area on the ice.

In terms of NHL betting, goaltender props are enticing plays every fall, as teams’ performances are generally in direct relation to their netminder’s performance. Everyone has a prediction in mind for how the NHL standings will pan out, but goalie props can pay out even more than NHL win totals, based on the added difficulty and possible circumstances involved.

That being said, let us lay out the five best goalie-related NHL betting plays for the upcoming season!

5. Chris Osgood over 35 wins
Everyone, including online sportsbooks, continues to doubt the ‘Wizard of Oz.’ Yes, he’s old, he has a sub-par rating in your favorite NHL video game, and worst of all, he continues to wear an ugly mask. But in reality, Osgood is the perfect goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings - he’s cool under pressure, and doesn’t need 40 shots a game in order to focus (a la Jose Theodore). If there’s a safe goalie bet on the board, it’s this one - would you rather take the goalie facing 10 shots a game, or 40 shots a game to amass 35 wins this year? Just sayin’.

4. Pekka Rinne to become the Nashville Predators starter; Dan Ellis will be traded
Check out the Predators’ goaltending timeline:- Tomas Vokoun took over for Mike Dunham- Chris Mason pushed Tomas Vokoun out of town- Dan Ellis usurped the throne from Chris MasonThat’s just the way it is in Music City. Unheralded, late-blooming `tenders shock the world, take over the starting role, lose it, and get dumped to a team way out of contention in exchange for marginal talent or draft picks. The Preds basically found Pekka Rinne under the carpet (or more literally, Karpat of the Finnish Elite League) and drafted him 258th overall in 2004. He’s quietly emerged as a viable starter in the AHL, and will overtake last year’s revelation, Dan Ellis, as Nashville’s No. 1 by year’s end. NHL odds will love this guy.

3. Andrew Raycroft under one All-Star vote
Raycroft is another sad tale of a career being ruined in Toronto, and is heading to Colorado, where crippled veterans and no-names come to play as of late. The former Calder Trophy winner has managed to maintain his youthful exuberance in terms of facial hair, however. On the bright side, if the NHL held a “Best Pre-Pubescent Moustache Contest,” Raycroft would be in a tight battle with Sidney Crosby and Brent Sopel.

2. Ed Belfour over one arrest
He’s not in the NHL anymore, but his antics are sure fun to follow. It’s only a matter of time before Eddie the Eagle caves to the sweet, sweet taste of Sahti in Finland, and embarks on another drunken rampage. Everyone’s favorite hammered goalie is always a prime candidate for repeat DUI, domestic battery, public drunkenness, public indecency and assault offenses.

1. Evgeni Nabokov over 80 games played
Current Maples Leafs coach Ron Wilson suggested last season that Nabokov would be willing and able to play every single game of the regular season - so why not go to your online sportsbook and bet on it? In a tough Pacific Division, the Sharks may need to work their Vezina candidate to the bone just to finish first. Bet on NHL, and donate some of your winnings to Nabby’s retirement fund.
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