11/29/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will aim for their third win in four outings when they visit the Music City tonight to face the Nashville Predators at the Sommet Center.
The Wild posted a victory over visiting Tampa Bay on Friday afternoon to complete a five-game homestand with a 2-3-0 record. Minnesota was able to salvage the stand with wins in two of its last three tests after beginning the residency with consecutive losses.
Mikko Koivu scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to lift the Wild to the 4-2 decision at Xcel Energy Center. Koivu was then sent to the locker room later in the game after receiving a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct for arguing with officials with 5:05 left in regulation.
James Sheppard had a goal and an assist, while Owen Nolan and Eric Belanger also tallied for the Wild. Antti Miettinen and Marc-Andre Bergeron each had a pair of assists for Minnesota.
Niklas Backstrom had a solid game in goal for Minnesota, stopping 35-of-37 shots.
The Wild are 6-3-0 as the visiting team this season, but won't be on the road long as they'll begin a three-game homestand Monday against Colorado.
Nashville has won two of its last three games and earned a rare victory in Atlanta on Friday night as Ryan Suter scored 1:44 into overtime to lift the Predators to a 4-3 decision at Philips Arena. It was Nashville's first win in Atlanta since December 6, 1999, as the club had gone 0-2-1 with a tie in its last four stops at Philips Arena.
In the extra frame, Shea Weber sent a lead pass to the left circle to Suter, who snuck a wrister between the pads of Johan Hedberg for the win.
Dan Hamhuis and Scott Nichol each had a goal and an assist while Jason Arnott also lit the lamp for the Predators. Pekka Rinne made 22 saves and also had an assist in the win.
Nashville is 5-2-1 on home ice and is playing three of its next four games at the Sommet Center beginning with tonight's test.
Minnesota has handled the Predators in recent seasons as it has won five of six and six of the last eight encounters between the clubs. However, the Wild are just 3-6 with a pair of ties in their last 11 trips to Nashville.
<< Flames and Canucks tangle in Calgary
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will try to inch closer to the Vancouver
Canucks in the division standings tonight, as the two Northwest Division
rivals wrap a home-and-home set at Pengrowth Saddledome.
The Flames picked up their first
<< 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
<< 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
<< 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
Rangers falls further behind Celtic >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers title hopes took another hit on
Saturday at Tynecastle Stadium as the club suffered a 2-1 loss to Hearts,
while league-leaders Celtic earned a 1-0 win over Inverness.
The day's results lea
Bayern doubles up on Leverkusen to take over second >>
Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich moved into second place
on Saturday after recording a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at Bay Arena.
Luca Toni scored the first goal for Bayern in the 59th minute, while Miroslav
Klose ad
Bolton blasts Sunderland to claim top half spot >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton moved into the top half of the
Premiership standings on Saturday after recording a 4-1 win over Sunderland at
the Stadium of Light.
Djibril Cisse put the Black Cats in front just 11 minutes i
Bears place Vasher on IR >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears have placed cornerback
Nathan Vasher on injured reserve because of a broken hand.
Vasher originally injured his wrist in a Week 4 game against Philadelphia and
missed three games becau
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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