Period Rangers Salvage Start From Goal

Hockey Betting Lines

Holding a 2-1 lead, Stamkos' game-winner came at 10:05 of the second period when the star winger got a perfect feed from Vincent Lecavalier in the left circle and snapped a quick shot past Mason for a 3-1 advantage.

 

Columbus pulled Mason in favor of the extra attacker with a minute to go in regulation, but was unable to generate any significant offensive pressure.

 

The Lightning made it 2-0 at 18:12 of the first period when Stamkos controlled the puck in the left circle and sent a cross-ice pass to a wide open Brewer, who slapped it through traffic and past Mason from the right point.

 

"We kept it close, but made too many mistakes in the first period," Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel said. "You can't get behind in this league. We had chances early on but couldn't beat their goaltender and we have to find a way to do that, especially when we have the momentum early."

 

Prior to the game, Prospal was honored for reaching 1,000 games played in his career...Saturday marked the first meeting of the season between the teams...Lightning defenseman Matt Gilroy was scratched with a lower-body injury...Carter had his four-game goal scoring streak snapped...Tampa Bay failed on three power play opportunities, while the Blue Jackets went 1-for-5 with the man advantage...Columbus will face the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, while the Lightning will head west to tangle with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

 

Legwand followed with the winning tally. He skated into the high slot, faked a wrister, and then beat Jaroslav Halak with a backhand.

 

T.J. Oshie netted a goal for the Blues, who got 19 saves from Halak.

 

The Blues outshot the Predators 29-13 in the first two periods, but Rinne kept the game scoreless heading into the third period.

 

But the Blues tied it on the power play with 3:52 left. David Backes controlled the disc in the left circle, and slipped a backhanded pass to Oshie, who finished with a backhand from the slot.

 

St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frans Nielsen scored in the second round of the shootout, lifting the New York Islanders over the Minnesota Wild, 2-1. Andrew MacDonald scored in regulation for the Islanders, who snapped a four- game skid. Al Montoya made 20 saves.

 

MacDonald's slapper from the top of the right circle made it 1-0 at the 11:13 mark of the middle stanza.

 

The Wild tied the game at the 8:22 mark of the third. After New York turned the puck over in its own zone, Dany Heatley fired a shot on net from the high slot. Clutterbuck put home the rebound to make it 1-1.

 

New York posted a 2-1 home win over the Wild on October 10 and has won three straight in this series after losing the previous five encounters...Wild forwards Mikko Koivu (leg) and Casey Wellman (wrist) missed the game... Islanders forward Brian Rolston and defenseman Steve Staios both missed the game with concussions.

Foxspoets Hockey Betting Blog

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.