Canucks try to run home win streak to eight in test with Kings

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of seven straight on home ice, the Vancouver Canucks begin a four-game homestand tonight versus the Los Angeles Kings at GM Place.

The Canucks haven't lost as the host since a January 31 overtime setback to Minnesota that marked their franchise-record ninth straight defeat at GM Place. However, the club has responded with the league's second-longest active home winning streak behind only New Jersey's eight-game run.

Vancouver, which is now 18-11-4 at home this year, does enter this contest off back-to-back road setbacks that ended a four-game overall win streak. The Canucks saw their win streak end with last Monday's loss in Los Angeles prior to Wednesday's 4-3 overtime defeat in Anaheim.

Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler and Kyle Wellwood each notched a goal for the Canucks, who lost for just the fourth time in their last 16 games and still hold a one-point edge over Columbus for the fifth seed in the Western Conference. For Burrows, he netted his fifth goal in his last five games and reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career.

Roberto Luongo got the loss after stopping 37-of-41 shots.

The Kings have been out of action since their 3-2 win versus the Canucks on Monday. Jarret Stoll netted two power-play goals to pace Los Angeles to the win.

Denis Gauthier also tallied and Teddy Purcell recorded two assists for the Kings, who have won three games in a row and are one victory shy of their longest winning streak of the season. Jonathan Quick stopped 20 shots for the victory.

The Kings and their 67 points are five points back of a playoff spot in the West.

Los Angeles begins a stretch tonight that sees it play 12 of its final 16 games this season on the road. The Kings, who are 13-15-1 as the guest and have lost four straight away from LA, visit San Jose on Saturday before returning home to host Nashville on Monday.

However, following that test, the Kings head east to kick off a six-game road trip in Boston next Thursday.

The Kings and Canucks split their two meetings in Los Angeles this year and will play in Vancouver for the first time this season. LA has won four of the last six meetings overall as well as three of its last four in Vancouver.

Mysportdbook Hockey Betting News

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

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.

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