Leafs Leads Philadelphia Against Jets

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Buffalo used three power-play goals to snap a two-game slide and conclude a five-game homestand 2-1-2. The Sabres will now look to win back-to-back contests for the first time since a four-game win streak from Nov. 4-11.

 

The Sabres are set to play three straight and five of their next six on the road, where they are 8-3-0 this season compared to 8-9-3 at home.

 

Vancouver picked up wins over Montreal and Ottawa to begin its trek, but has since dropped a shootout decision at Columbus and Thursday's 4-3 setback in Carolina. That has dropped the Canucks' road record to 10-7-1 on the season.

 

Cory Schneider made 37 saves, and Henrik Sedin recorded two assists in defeat.

 

"We had quite a few quality chances to put that game away and we didn't," said Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault. "Casual in front of their net and weren't able to bury some Grade-A scoring chances, made a couple of mistakes and then all of a sudden you're in penalty trouble and the score's 4-2. It's really tough to come back in this league."

 

Toronto was in action last night and dropped a 5-4 decision in Buffalo. Nikolai Kulemin converted the Maple Leafs' first successful penalty shot since 2006 and Dion Phaneuf had a goal before receiving a five-minute major and ejection for boarding in the second period.

 

"It was a great atmosphere out there tonight," said goaltender James Reimer, who allowed five goals on 29 shots. "Lots of Leafs fans and lots of Sabres fans. It was a fun game to play in but it was disappointing to not get the win."

 

Selanne was a first-round pick of the original Jets franchise back in 1988 as he was selected 10th overall by the club. He quickly made an impact on the team and in the league by posting NHL rookie records of 76 goals and 132 points in 1992-93.

 

The Finland native's tenure with the Jets lasted only three-plus seasons, however, as he played his final game with them on Feb. 4, 1996 before getting dealt to the Ducks three days later along with Marc Chouinard and a fourth- round pick in the 1996 draft in exchange for Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and a third-round pick in 1996. The Jets then relocated to Phoenix at the end of that season.

 

"Well, obviously that was my first NHL team, and obviously starting there, I always said that the hockey is just such a big thing and all the fans and the whole city makes the players feel so special," he said. "It's a dream come true to start your career in Canada, and obviously all the memories that I have there is just so, so awesome."

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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.