11/29/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will take aim at their first three-game winning streak since early October when they visit the rival Montreal Canadiens for tonight's Northeast Division battle at the Bell Centre.
The Sabres are coming off back-to-back victories, but haven't won three straight since opening the 2008-09 season on a four-game winning streak. Buffalo had lost a season-high five in a row before posting recent wins over Boston and Pittsburgh.
Buffalo ended a four-game homestand with Friday's close win over the visiting Penguins. Paul Gaustad scored two goals, including the game-winner with 3:24 remaining in the third period, as the Sabres rallied to overtake Pittsburgh, 4-3, at HSBC Arena.
Drew Stafford registered two goals and an assist for the Sabres. Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots for Buffalo, which had lost five straight to Pittsburgh.
Buffalo tied the game at three early in the third period on an odd-man rush. Derek Roy carried the puck across the blueline and handed off to Thomas Vanek, among the NHL leaders with 15 goals, on his right side. Vanek then slid a pass to Stafford driving to the net and he tucked the puck in on the backhand at the 3:11 mark.
Late in the frame, Jason Pominville fired a shot from the low right circle and Gaustad whacked in the rebound. Buffalo then held on down the stretch for the win.
The Sabres are just 4-3-2 as the visiting team this year and, beginning tonight, are playing four of their next five games on the road.
Montreal, meanwhile, was shut out on Friday night to lose for the third time in four games. Tomas Fleischmann scored the deciding goal in the opening period and Jose Theodore earned his 27th career shutout as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Canadiens, 3-0, at the Verizon Center.
Theodore, who played for the Canadiens from 1995-2006, stopped all 28 shots for Washington.
Jaroslav Halak was solid in the net for Montreal, turning aside 27-of-30 shots. It was the sixth loss in nine games for the Habs, who are second in the Northeast Division with 28 points. Buffalo is third in the division and just three points in back of the Canadiens.
Tonight's test marks the opener of the longest homestand of the season for Montreal. The Canadiens, who are 5-2-2 at the Bell Centre, will play their next seven games in front of their home fans.
Buffalo won the first of six meetings with the Habs back on October 10, as it posted a shootout victory in western New York. The Sabres have taken four of the last seven encounters between the clubs, but Buffalo has dropped five of six in Quebec.
<< Panthers and Badgers mix it up in Madison
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate foes meet up in the Kohl Center this
afternoon, as the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers play host to the Wisconsin-
Milwaukee Panthers in non-conference play in Madison.
The Badgers return from a trip to t
<< Rhode Island challenges Villanova for Philly Classic title
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philly Classic wraps up tonight, with
the 20th-ranked Villanova Wildcats clashing with the Rhode Island Rams in the
title game at The Palestra.
The Wildcats have won all five of their games on the youn
<< No. 16 Xavier plays host to instate rival Miami-Ohio
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State rivals collide in a non-conference
game this afternoon as the Xavier Musketeers play host to the Miami-Ohio
RedHawks.
Miami-Ohio has yet to play a home game this season, and the squad will not
host an
<< No. 12 UCLA returns home to play Florida International
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins return to the
friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion this evening, for a non-conference
matchup with the Florida International Golden Panthers.
Ben Howland's Bruins came up a littl
Caps head to Ohio to face Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will try to close out their
November schedule on a positive note when they visit the struggling Columbus
Blue Jackets for tonight's encounter at Nationwide Arena.
The Capitals have won two straight
Devils ride hot streak into Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging New Jersey Devils will try to extend their
season-high winning streak to six games tonight, when they visit the
Pittsburgh Penguins in an Atlantic Division battle at Mellon Arena.
The Devils' hot play has come
Struggling Lightning make a stop in Colorado >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try for just their second
win in the seventh game since the firing of head coach Barry Melrose when
they visit the Colorado Avalanche for tonight's matchup at the Pepsi Center.
The Lightning ax
Mighty Sharks visit Phoenix, aim for seventh straight win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The powerful San Jose Sharks will try to match their
longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Phoenix Coyotes for a
Pacific Division battle tonight at Jobing.com Arena.
The Sharks have won six straight cont
MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.
(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.
Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season.
MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.
Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown.
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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