Maple Leafs aim to end slide in road test with Oilers
Hockey Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to end their longest losing streak of the season when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for tonight's battle at Rexall Place.
The Maple Leafs have lost four in a row -- all in regulation -- and another setback tonight would give Toronto its longest skid since an eight-game drought from Oct. 28-Nov. 13 of last season.
Toronto, which was dealt a lopsided 5-1 loss Tuesday in Calgary, cannot afford its losing streak to get any longer, as the club is hanging onto the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference by a thread. With 62 points, the Leafs are just one ahead of Washington for the East's final postseason berth.
The Leafs fired 42 shots on Tuesday night, but Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 41 of them in the rout at the Saddledome. Tyler Bozak scored the only goal for the Maple Leafs, while Jonas Gustavsson was tagged for all five goals on 34 shots in defeat.
"We had a couple of really bad mistakes on the back end and the puck ended up in the net," Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson said.
Phil Kessel posted an assist in the loss and also registered five shots on net for the Maple Leafs, who are 12-14-2 on the road this season. Toronto is playing the middle test of a three-game swing that is set to end Saturday in Vancouver.
Toronto posted a 6-3 win over the visiting Oilers on Feb. 6 and the Leafs will try to complete the season series sweep tonight. Kessel scored twice and added an assist in the previous win for the Maple Leafs, who have taken two straight and three of four from the Oilers. Toronto has also won three of four and four of its last six games in Edmonton.
The Oilers, who are 14 points out of a playoff spot in the West, ended a two- game slide in their last game and have posted a solid 5-2-1 record over their last eight trips to the ice.
Edmonton has also won three straight on home ice to improve its record as the host to 15-8-3. Tonight's test kicks off a three-game homestand for the Oilers, who will also welcome Colorado and Vancouver before the week is done.
The Oilers earned a dramatic victory when they last played Saturday in Ottawa. Taylor Hall scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift Edmonton to a 4-3 win over the Senators. Hall led a rush in overtime, getting off an initial shot that was stopped by Craig Anderson. Shawn Horcoff then tried to whack the rebound in, but was also denied before Hall came around the net on the left side and backhanded a loose puck into the open side of the net.
Horcoff had a goal and two assists in the win, while Magnus Paajarvi and Ben Eager also scored goals. Nikolai Khabibulin had 39 saves for Edmonton.
"We pushed ourselves into the game. Kudos to our team," said Oilers coach Tom Renney. "We got it going."
The Oilers hope to get defenseman Theo Peckham back tonight after he sat out the last five games due to a facial injury suffered in practice. Fellow blueliner Corey Potter is also questionable after suffering a groin injury in Saturday's game.
Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has still not returned to practice after re-injuring his shoulder earlier this month. The No. 1 overall pick of last summer's draft has 13 goals and 35 points in 40 games as a rookie.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a history-making year thus far for the Charlotte Bobcats. Unfortunately, it's not the type of records they'd like to be associated with. Tonight, Charlotte attempts to snap their franchise-record 15-game losing
<< Pistons and Celtics clash at TD Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before exiting the New England area for five straight
games, the Boston Celtics will take care of some business at home when the
Detroit Pistons pay a visit to TD Garden this evening.
The Celtics opened a brief two-game ho
<< Spurs search for 9th straight win in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging San Antonio Spurs will resume a nine-game Rodeo
Road Trip tonight against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The Spurs have won eight in a row overall and improved to 4-0 on the annual
trip following Tue
<< Georgia State opener will be Aug. 30
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia State has set its season-opening
football game against South Carolina State to Thursday, Aug. 30, director of
athletics Cheryl L. Levick announced Wednesday.
Kickoff at the Georgia Dome is 7:30 p.m. ET
<< Malkin, Pens host surging Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no hotter player in the league right now than the
Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, who has kept his team among the top contenders in the
Eastern Conference even without Sidney Crosby.
Malkin looks to continue his surge th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers are in position to win four in a row for the first time this season, but to do so they'll need to beat the Ottawa Senators for the first time in nine meetings. That's the task for the Panthers tonight
Canucks host Avs hoping to extend series dominance >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to continue their recent
dominance of Colorado when they welcome the Avalanche for tonight's Northwest
Division clash at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks have taken all three meetings against the Av
Back to basics: Bruins seek a return to form versus Habs >>
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three games, Claude Julien would like the Boston Bruins to get back to basics
tonight when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
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New Yale football coach Reno finalizes staff >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-year Yale head football coach Tony Reno
announced on Wednesday his nine-man assistant coaching staff, which has a
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Wizards seek third straight road win against Clippers >>
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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
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ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
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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