Reimer's 49 stops carries Leafs to shutout win over Sens
Hockey Betting Lines
02/04/2012 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Reimer stopped 49 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs took a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel each posted a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won four of their last five. Cody Franson added a goal and an assist.
Craig Anderson made 35 saves on 40 shots for the Senators, who have dropped a season-high six straight.
Kessel gave Toronto the only goal it needed with 6:13 to play in the first as he skated into the Ottawa end through the middle, snapped a shot on net that was stopped and banged in his own rebound for his 27th goal of the season.
It was a 2-0 game just over three minutes later when Kessel sent a pass from the left point to the right circle where Phaneuf quickly gathered the puck and slapped it in.
The Leafs took a 3-0 lead at the 8:25 mark of the second as Bozak received a lead pass from Kessel and got down low before chipping the puck over a sprawled out Anderson.
Reimer made 12 saves in the first period and stopped 21 in the second to keep Ottawa off the board.
Luke Schenn made it a 4-0 game 5:39 into the third with his second of the year while Franson scored with 7:43 to play to account for the final score.
Game Notes
Reimer has six shutouts over his two years in the NHL...Toronto hosts Edmonton on Monday...The Senators welcome St. Louis to Ottawa on Tuesday...Ottawa has won three of the five games against Toronto this season.
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was another highlight-reel night for Blake Griffin, and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 107-81 victory over the Washington Wizards. Griffin, who registered 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight
<< St. Louis leads Tampa over Florida
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis recorded his fifth career hat
trick in his 900th NHL game, as the Tampa Bay Lightning dominated the Florida
Panthers, 6-3.
Vincent Lecavalier added a goal and three assists for the Lightning,
<< Murray State remains perfect in win over Skyhawks
Martin, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Latreze Mushatt had 11 points and nine rebounds,
as 10th-ranked Murray State remained perfect with a hard-fought 65-58 win over
Tennessee-Martin.
Jewuan Long and Isaiah Canaan also scored 11 points for the Racer
<< Magic take down Pacers in feisty affair
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 27 points and the
Orlando Magic pushed their win streak to three games Saturday with an 85-81
victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers never led after 7-6, but they had s
<< Skinner's goal lifts Carolina over Kings
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Skinner scored a tiebreaking goal early in
the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1,
on Saturday.
Skinner battled down low and banged home the rebound of a Jussi Joki
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Boyes netted the game-winning goal in the first round of the shootout to cap a comeback as the Buffalo Sabres rallied to top the New York Islanders, 4-3, at Nassau Coliseum. Boyes picked up t
Wolves reach .500 in win over Rockets >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love had 25 points and 18 rebounds
Saturday and the Minnesota Timberwolves reached .500 for the first time this
season with a 100-91 win over the Houston Rockets.
Luke Ridnour added 22 points w
Korpikoski, Coyotes top Sharks >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lauri Korpikoski netted a pair of goals,
including the game-winner in the third period as the Phoenix Coyotes skated
past the San Jose Sharks, 5-3, on Saturday.
Radim Vrbata finished with a goal and
Monroe helps Pistons beat skidding Hornets >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Monroe led the way with 24 points and
16 rebounds as the Pistons defeated the Hornets, 89-87, at the Palace of
Auburn Hills on Saturday.
Detroit had five scorers in double figures including
No.1 Baylor thumps Kansas State >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner netted a game-high 29 points
and pulled down nine rebounds as top-ranked Baylor took care of business with
a convincing 70-41 win over Kansas State on Saturday.
Destiny Williams finished with
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.