Online Play Sport

Whether you are an NHL Hockey fanatic or you like betting on games in the office hockey pool, there are five basic steps to ensuring success when forecasting game outcomes. At the end of this 5-step process you will have a good-enough understanding of the teams in question, making your experience much more enjoyable (and possibly profitable).

1. Study the odds. There are several websites out there that compute odds for any given NHL game. Running down these statistics will give you a good measure of where other people see the game headed. In the case of serious betting, the payouts will be higher when you bet against teams with higher odds of losing versus placing bets that are in-line with others.

2. Consider player injuries. When it comes to NHL hockey, each player contributes a considerable amount to the overall effectiveness of the team. When looking at injuries, consider the player’s specific performance contributions as well as the cumulative effect of the team’s entire injured list. In the case of some teams, two key players on an injured list will result in a much higher probability for loss.

3. Investigate the team standings. With the NHL, there are two conferences - Western and Eastern - and three divisions within each conference. Understanding where your teams stand in terms of their own division as well as the league as a whole will give an indication of how they might perform in a particular game. Here, pay attention to the Games Played (GP), Wins, Losses, Ties, and Points columns, as a fourth place team in one division may be a first-place team in another. Teams with excessive points may be powerhouses, but divisions with thin points spread might consist of equally strong, or equally poor performing teams.

4. Review the headlines. Several sites provide detailed headline reports for specific NHL hockey teams (e.g. a New York Rangers-only fan website) as well as the league as a whole. When taking a position on a game, at the very least skim the headlines to get a feel for how the team has been performing.

5. Participate in a specialized forum. One of the great things about leagues such as the NHL is there are plenty of other people in your position. Find a forum you like and take an active role in it; share ideas, thoughts, and predictions. In many cases, the people you find in the forums will bring their own analysis to the thread and can offer insights not seen elsewhere in the media (public knowledge).

Not surprisingly, ensuring you cover each of these five areas will allow you to improve your own odds when taking a position in the outcome of an NHL game. While these steps are not overly time-consuming, it is shocking how many enthusiasts overlook these topics and either follow the popular calls (going with the odds) or make emotional based decisions (e.g. picking their favorite teams). While following your gut instincts play a minor role, thorough analysis should never get traded for speculation.

An injury to a leading player in the team could definitely derail the thought process of a team’s management. Surely, the Dallas Mavericks faced a similar problem when they had to put up with Josh Howard’s injury. For the Mavericks, the problem has been ongoing for some time now, with him being absent from the starting line up for a lot of games. The game against the Spurs was a classic example of how the Mavericks believe in fighting it out.

Without their most potent force at both side of the court, the Mavericks definitely struggled to get some flair going in their game. It happens to the best of teams when their best players get knocked over in the previous games or are suffering from injuries. With the Mavericks, the absence of Howard from the line-up meant their defense and their attack were absolutely toothless. To their credit, the Mavericks did put up a fight.

Spurs were expected to roll through a Howard-less Maverick. Maverick’s strategy of playing a tight game coupled with their hard-working defense really ran the Spurs ragged. They managed to take the game into double-overtime, where tired legs and a slight blip in concentration allowed the Spurs to put it over them. But really, the experts felt that the fact Mavericks could stretch a full-strength Spurs without Howard thus far was testimonial to their spirit and attitude with which they approached this game.

Josh Howard could see all of this only from the sidelines. After the game, the head coach of the Mavericks felt the need of Howard to be there in the middle. He has never been known to mince words and here he made it amply clear that he needed Howard out there in the middle, if the Mavericks were to win games. This comment is not to say that the Mavericks were helpless ducks without Howard. But this comment is primarily to stretch home the fact that with Howard in the team, the Mavericks seem like hungry vultures!

As the curtains draw on this game, clearly there is no room for introspection for the Mavericks. For them, the choice is simple - Get Howard back to avoid such painstaking games in future! It symbolizes the spirit of the Mavericks, but it does little to get them moving on the scorecard. And to win championships, you ought to get your scores up on the card as soon as possible.

Josh, to his credit, desperately wishes to be back in the squad. He has seen enough of the beatings the Mavericks have taken in his absence. And though his spirited team mates put on one stellar performance after the other, Josh and other Mavericks would definitely want their team to win. And for that, Josh must return!