Girardi keeps Rangers streaking with game-winner against Atlanta
Hockey Betting Lines
10/30/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Girardi scored the game-winner with 6:27 to go in the game, and the New York Rangers defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden.
Nikolai Zherdev and Markus Naslund also scored for the Rangers, who have won four straight games. Paul Mara assisted on two of the goals, and Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves in the victory.
New York, with 10 wins in its first 13 games, set a franchise record for most victories to start a season, eclipsing the 1983-84 Rangers, who started 9-4-0. The team currently leads the league with 21 points.
Vyacheslav Kozlov and Bryan Little tallied for the Thrashers, who have now lost five consecutive games. Todd White had helpers on both the goals, and Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals on 33 shots in taking the loss.
Tied at one, Zherdev put New York ahead 6:58 into the final period. On the power play, Zherdev stole the puck away from Atlanta defenseman Tobias Enstrom in the offensive zone. Having a clear path to the net, Zherdev was able to easily lift the puck over Lehtonen's shoulder for the lead.
With Naslund off for hooking, Atlanta tallied the equalizer just 3 1/2 minutes later. On the power play, Little gathered the puck in front of the crease and was able to shoot it over a sprawled-out Lundqvist.
The Rangers grabbed the lead for good on a goal by Girardi. Zherdev took the puck all the way around the net, forcing Lehtonen out of position. Zherdev's shot went off the goalie and out in front, and Girardi was able to hammer it home for the game-winner at 13:33.
The Thrashers struck first just 4:41 into the opening period. White took the puck behind the net and found a streaking Kozlov in the right circle. Kozlov's wrister beat Lundqvist above the shoulder for the early lead.
Naslund tied the game later in the frame. After taking a pass from Marc Staal, he streaked from his own blue line all the way down to the offensive zone, beating Lehtonen with a wrist shot at 12:25.
The Rangers kept the game tied with about five minutes left in the period, as Ilya Kovalchuk had a point blank shot out in front. The one-timer hit the right post and bounced back out after Lundqvist had looked behind him to locate the puck.
New York appeared to go ahead early in the second, but a Naslund tally was disallowed after replays showed it was directed into the net by his shin. The Rangers outshot Atlanta 14-9 in the middle period, but neither team could find the back of the net.
Game Notes
Thrashers rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian, the third overall pick in this year's draft, will be out indefinitely after breaking his leg in Tuesday's loss to the Philadelphia Flyers...Naslund now has a five-game point streak...Zherdev has tallied a point in four straight contests...New York has defeated Atlanta three straight times, and the home team has won six straight meetings in the all-time series...Each team tallied a power-play goal.
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Andrew Bynum to a multi-year contract extension. Terms weren't announced by the team, but the Los Angeles Times reported it's a four-year deal worth $57.4 millio
<< Rockets pick up option on G Brooks
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks had his
contract option picked up by the team on Friday.
The 6-foot second-year player, who is currently sidelined with a bone
contusion in his right ankle, ave
<< Manny, Teixeira highlight free agent filings
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira highlight a
list of 65 Major League players who filed for free agency on Thursday.
Garret Anderson, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, Ryan Dempster and Ben Sheets were
also among
<< Colts' Sanders expected back Sunday
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders is
expected to return to action Sunday night for a home game against the New
England Patriots.
Sanders has missed the previous five games due to a high a
<< Mets ink Tatis to one-year deal
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets re-signed third
baseman/outfielder Fernando Tatis to a one-year contract Thursday. Per team
policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Tatis, the National League Comeback
Quebec City, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak reached the quarterfinals at the $175,000 Bell Challenge after defeating American Carly Gullickson. The fifth-seeded Wozniak made quick work of her opponent, defeating Gul
Carter lifts Flyers past Isles in OT >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Carter's second goal of the game came
with 22.9 seconds to play in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers downed the
New York Islanders, 3-2, at the Wachovia Center.
On the power play in the extra
Stamkos scores twice as Bolts top Sabres >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos notched his first and second
career NHL goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning cruised to a 5-2 win over the
Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena.
The first overall selection in the 2008 entry draft,
James helps Cavs dominate Bobcats >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James narrowly missed a triple-double
with 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, as the Cleveland Cavaliers
dominated Charlotte, 96-79, keeping the Bobcats and Hall of Famer Larry Brown
winless
Kelly's tally in third caps Sens' comeback over Panthers >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kelly banged home the second of Ottawa's
two third-period goals, as the Senators posted a 2-1 comeback victory over
the Florida Panthers.
Dany Heatley tallied the tying goal, and Alex Auld was s
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.