Jeff Haney offers some tips on betting on the new NHL season

Friday, Oct. 6, 2006 | 7:44 a.m.

Fans of the National Hockey League, traditionally a small but loyal contingent, greeted their sport's return warmly a year ago after the previous season was wiped out by labor strife.

For bookmakers, enticing sports gamblers to bet on hockey has always been a much dicier proposition.

Hockey wagering, while readily available in Nevada casinos, accounts for just a sliver of the sports betting pie chart.

"A lot more people watch hockey than bet on it," said Jeff Sherman, assistant manager of the Las Vegas Hilton sports book.

Oddsmakers at the Hilton cater to NHL specialists, offering over/unders on regular-season points for each team along with competitive odds to win the Stanley Cup and each conference title.

The Hilton also offers a 10-cent, or "dime" line, on individual NHL games, giving gamblers a better value than the 20-cent hockey lines found elsewhere in Las Vegas. (Using a 10-cent line, if the favorite is minus-120, the underdog is plus-110.)

"We're continuing with the 10-cent line this year to try to create some more interest in" hockey betting, Sherman said. "With a 20-cent line, you'll generate very little action."

Bettors are expected to rally behind powerhouses Anaheim in the Western Conference and Ottawa in the Eastern Conference this season, which began Wednesday.

Hilton oddsmakers attached an over/under of 108 1/2 points to the Senators for 2006-07 after they finished with 113 points last season.

Ottawa, a 7-1 favorite to win the Stanley Cup and a 7-2 shot to win the East, figures to display a fearsome offense, especially on the power play, led by its front line of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza. The Senators lost top defenseman Zdeno Chara to free agency and replaced Dominik Hasek with Martin Gerber in goal.

Anaheim's over/under for this season stands at 106 1/2 points after the Ducks finished with 98 points last season. Defense should be the team's strong suit, as the Ducks acquired defenseman Chris Pronger from Edmonton to join captain Scott Niedermayer and a solid offense led by Teemu Selanne.

The Ducks were installed as a 10-1 shot to win the Stanley Cup, tied for the second-shortest price on the board with Detroit (as always, odds are subject to change), and a 4-1 choice to emerge as Western Conference champ.

The Red Wings finished with a league-best 124 points last season, but their over/under was set at 104 1/2 this year, as their first-round exit from the playoffs raised questions about the team's aging roster.

Other teams entering the season with high expectations, according to Hilton odds, are the Nashville Predators (over/under 104 1/2 points), San Jose Sharks (103 1/2), Calgary Flames (101 1/2) and Philadelphia Flyers (100 1/2).

The Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are 13-1 to repeat with an over/under of 97 1/2 points at the Hilton.

Football contest updates

Las Vegas handicapper Andy Iskoe advanced past Tony Ricci in last week's matchup in the Leroy's $100,000 Money Talks invitational. Iskoe went 2-4-1 against the spread but connected on his top two selections (worth $770 and $660 in the contest's hypothetical bankroll) to eliminate Ricci, the winner of last year's Hilton Super Contest, who went 3-4.

In this week's matchup (7 p.m. today at the Silverton, KSHP 1400-AM), online gaming columnists and handicappers Stephen Nover and Bill "Krackman" Krackomberger square off.

Professional gamblers Fezzik and Nick Bogdanovich fared better in their $50,000 head-to-head matchup. Fezzik went 5-0-1 and Bogdanovich was 5-1 against the spread. Fezzik improved to 16-5-3 on the season (76.1 percent) and Bogdanovich to 17-6-1 (73.9 percent). They meet again at 2 p.m. today at Fitzgeralds (KENO 1460-AM).

Fight game

After their first fight ended in a sixth-round stoppage and their second went the distance, the over/under on Saturday's rubber match between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor has been set at 11 1/2 rounds by oddsmakers. Corrales is a minus-190 favorite in the lightweight title bout at Mandalay Bay.