SBC Sports Betting News – NHL Playoffs Turn On Injuries; In

[Freddy Wills]

An overview of the main sports headlines tells you that the San Jose Sharks are fighting a distinctly uphill battle in the NHL postseason. The Indiana Pacers have their point guard back.

Sharks Are Swimming In Choppy Waters As Game 4 Approaches In NHL West Semifinals

You know that are always monitoring the injury reports as the NHL postseason moves into the second round, also known as the conference semifinal round. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night to trim their series deficit to 2-1, but they’re still in a considerable amount of trouble over the long haul. You would probably find that in a set of , experts will point to the Kings as the favorites in Game 4 on Tuesday night and for the series at large.

Here’s an excerpt from a column by Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury-News from Saturday night, after the Sharks’ overtime win over Los Angeles:

“(San Jose player Logan) Couture was not available for comment after the game because he was receiving treatment for his unspecified injury, though he is expected to play Tuesday night. He'd better. The rest of the roster is so depleted, any hands are welcome. If you wish, you can also give the Sharks an unofficial victory in a "Survivor" contest after Saturday's win. They began the evening without forward Raffi Torres because of his suspension. Then they lost two more forwards (Couture and Marty Havlat) and one defenseman (Scott Hannan) by the middle of the second period to injuries. Havlat never returned. Hannan did. Couture went to the training room for 15 minutes and returned, to loud cheers. Pavelski claimed -- with tongue in cheek -- that he didn't really know what had happened when Couture had left the ice originally. So he wasn't stunned when his teammate returned.”

Pacers’ Hill Returns For Game 6 Against Knicks, Will Be Available For NBA East Finals

Whereas an involves many speculative kinds of activities as part of the larger theater of game playing, there won’t be any speculation – at least not at the outset – about the health of George Hill for the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. When the Indiana Pacers face the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the series on Wednesday night in Miami, Hill will be on the floor and ready to help the third-seeded Pacers as they try to take down the defending NBA champions. Hill was not a dynamic presence for Indiana this past Saturday in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks, but he still provided a lot of value for his team, if only because the Pacers experience a substantial drop-off in production at both ends of the floor when backup point guard D.J. Augustin is pressed into service. The smart sports betting assessment in the Pacers-Heat should account for Hill’s presence on the court. It will help Indiana; the only question is, “How much?”