Canucks top Blackhawks in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

02/17/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden each scored in the shootout to lift Vancouver over Chicago, 2-1, at the United Center.

Matt Cooke scored the lone goal in regulation and Roberto Luongo made 34 saves, plus two more in the shootout for the Canucks, who have won three straight and moved into first place in the Northwest Division two points ahead of Calgary.

"This wasn't our best game," said Luongo. "We need to improve the effort, but it was good to get the win."

Patrick Sharp scored the only goal for the Blackhawks, who have lost two straight games in a shootout. Patrick Lalime made 28 saves for Chicago, which despite the loss has recorded at least a point in three consecutive games.

After Martin Havlat was stopped by Luongo to open the shootout, Linden skated in on Lalime and beat him stick side with a wrister. Martin St. Pierre was then stoned by Luongo and Morrison capitalized by beating Lalime stick side for the victory.

"I didn't know what to expect from St. Pierre," said Luongo of the shootout. "I was lucky to be able to stop it."

"We gave a great effort, especially in the third period," said Lalime. "It was a tight-checking game. We played very well and we just came up short."

The Blackhawks broke the scoreless deadlock early in the third period thanks to a great faceoff win by St. Pierre. Facing Morrison at the left faceoff circle, St. Pierre beat Morrison to the puck, unloading a shot off the drop. Luongo made the initial save, but the rebound found its way out front to Sharp, who hammered it home for the lead 5:14 into the stanza.

Cooke, though, tied the game 5:13 later when he skated into the offensive zone along the left side boards and from the top of the circle riffled a slap per past the stick side of Lalime.

The overtime went back and forth with it ending when Luongo made a save of a Havlat breakaway shot as time expired.

Havlat argued that a penalty shot should have been given, feeling that he was hooked enough off the puck to call one. However, the officials felt differently, especially since Havlat got the shot off.

Game Notes

Chicago was playing at the United Center for the first time since January 28...The Blackhawks went 4-2-1 on a seven-game road trip...Chicago has lost nine of 10 at home...Vancouver ended a two-game road trip unbeaten and improved to 3-0 in its last three on the road...Chicago went 0-for-8 on the power play, while Vancouver went 0-for-5...Morrison has scored in 6-of-7 shootout tries this season...Havlat had an eight-game point streak end...The Canucks won the season series 3-1.

Slost Hockey Betting News

<< Lee leads sophomores past rookies
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York's David Lee garnered MVP honors with 30 points, making all 14 of his shots from the floor, as the sophomores beat the rookies, 155-114, in the All-Star rookie challenge Friday night. Lee, who tops

<< Patriots place franchise tag on Samuel
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots put the franchise tag on cornerback Asante Samuel, which should keep the 26-year-old standout with the organization for at least one more year. A fourth-round pick in the 2003 NFL

<< Chela advances to quarterfinals in rainy Brazil
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth seed Juan Ignacio Chela had to wait an extra day, but finished off a straight-set win over Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals at the $456,000 Brasil

<< Blues finally beat Predators
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Legace stopped 19 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and 18th of his career, as St. Louis snapped a 14-game losing streak to Nashville with a 1-0 win over the Predators. Bill Guerin scored

<< Sprague wins truck opener at Daytona
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jack Sprague captured the first Craftsman Truck Series event of 2007. The No.60 Toyota crossed the finish line just a few feet ahead of Johnny Benson. The victory was Sprague's first of the season an

Lee leads sophomores past rookies; Reggie Bush sprains ankle >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York's David Lee garnered MVP honors with 30 points, making all 14 of his shots from the floor, as the sophomores beat the rookies, 155-114, in the All-Star rookie challenge Friday night. Lee, who tops

Creamer still tied for lead at SBS Open >>
Oahu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer and Sherri Steinhauer both shot two- under 70 Friday to remain tied for the lead after two rounds of the SBS Open. Creamer and Steinhauer, part of a three-way tie for the lead after the first round

Roddick into semifinals in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed Andy Roddick fought off fellow American Vincent Spadea to move into the semifinals at the $416,000 SAP Open. Roddick, who titled here in 2004 and '05, topped the eighth-seeded Spadea, 6-3,

Three share lead at Jacob's Creek Open >>
Lockleys, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Sterling and David Lutterus both fired rounds of six-under 66 Saturday to jump from 17th place into a tie for the lead at the Jacob's Creek Open Championship. Sterling and Lutterus were joined

Minoza holds tentative lead at suspended Indonesia Open >>
Jakarta, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frankie Minoza of the Philippines held a one-shot lead when the third round of the Indonesia Open was suspended Saturday due to inclement weather. Minoza was five-under par through 17 holes in h

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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