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Ovechkin's red-hot Caps host Crosby and PensHockey Betting Lines02/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown at Verizon Center. The Capitals won their 13th consecutive game Friday night, extending the franchise-record winning streak with a triumph over visiting Atlanta. Washington comes into today with 86 points, placing the Caps one point ahead of San Jose for the most in the NHL. Pittsburgh, which ousted Washington in last spring's conference semifinals en route to the Stanley Cup, has lost two of its last three games and is coming off Saturday's loss in Montreal. The Penguins have 71 points and are three behind New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Capitals have won the only meeting with Pittsburgh this season, notching a 6-3 victory in the Steel City on January 21. Ovechkin had two goals and an assist to lead Washington, while Crosby had a goal for the Pens. Ovechkin has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 17 career games against Pittsburgh and Crosby has nine goals and 18 assists in 16 appearance versus the Caps. Washington has taken five of the last seven regular-season matchups with the Penguins, but Pittsburgh has eight wins in its last 12 trips to D.C. The Caps recorded a 5-2 victory Friday against the Thrashers, improving Washington's record this year against Southeast Division opponents to 13-2-0. Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and assist for the Caps, who hold a 25-point lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the Southeast. Michal Neuvirth made 43 saves in the victory, as Washington became the first NHL club to win 13 in a row since the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils did so. The 1992-93 Penguins were the last club to win 14 in a row when they set an NHL record with 17 consecutive victories from March 9-April 10, 1993. "We want to win, but the most important thing is wins in the future," Ovechkin said. "Right now we keep winning, but we'll think about the playoffs and we'll think about what we have to do better in the playoffs." Alexander Semin and Jason Chimera scored 68 seconds apart in the third period, while Mike Green scored on an empty net to secure the game for Washington, which hasn't lost since January 12. Washington has won 10 straight on home ice and can set a new club record for consecutive home wins tonight. The Capitals, who will play their next four games on the road, are 22-3-3 as the host this year. The Penguins were dealt a 5-3 loss by the Canadiens on Saturday afternoon. Brian Gionta recorded two goals and one assist to lead Montreal to the home victory. Evgeni Malkin posted a goal and one assist for the Penguins, who had won four of five coming in. Bill Guerin and Pascal Dupuis added scores as well. Starter Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in the third period after allowing four goals on 28 shots. Brent Johnson finished the contest by yielding one score on four shots. Pittsburgh, which is 18-12-0 as the guest this year, will begin a four-game homestand Wednesday against the New York Islanders. On the injury front, Pens forward Chris Kunitz, out since January 3 due to abdominal surgery, has resumed practicing and could be back in the lineup as soon as today. The 30-year-old has produced six goals and 14 assists in 30 games this season.
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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. |
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