11/19/2008 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chuck Kobasew and Zdeno Chara both scored twice, as the red-hot Boston Bruins scored the last five goals and defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 7-4, at TD Banknorth Garden.
Marc Savard registered a goal and three assists, while David Krejci had a goal and two helpers for the Bruins, who have won 10 of their last 12 games and lead the Northeast division with 28 points.
Phil Kessel scored a goal and assisted on another for Boston, which has won six straight games as the host. Manny Fernandez stopped 25-of-29 shots to pick up the win.
"We are happy but not satisfied," Chara said. "Tonight we didn't play the whole sixty minutes. We need to put sixty minutes together. I felt that as the game went on we were better."
Thomas Vanek finished with two goals and an assist for Buffalo, which was handed its third consecutive lopsided loss. The Sabres have been outscored 18-7 during their skid.
Jason Pominville recorded a goal and two assists in defeat.
Ryan Miller allowed seven goals on 20 shots and was lifted in the third period in favor of Patrick Lalime, who made three saves the rest of the way.
"We got off to a good start again, got a couple of goals," said Pominville. "You can't give up the goals like we did. We handed them their opportunities. They didn't get that many shots."
It was a shooting gallery as the clubs combined for seven goals in the first period. Pominville's fourth goal in as many games got things started. On the rush, he accepted a feed from Vanek and swept a backhander over the glove of Fernandez at the 1:41 mark.
A bad turnover resulted in the tying marker just 1:18 later. Blake Wheeler picked off Henrik Tallinder's clearing pass and dished to Krejci in the left circle. Krejci faked the one-timer to freeze the goaltender before sliding the puck to Kobasew in the slot, and he tucked it into the empty net.
Derek Roy restored the lead for Buffalo less than two minutes later on a redirection of a Toni Lydman shot from the left point, and Vanek gave the Sabres a two-goal edge just 29 seconds later.
The Bruins, though, got one back, as Krejci fired a shot that ricocheted off Buffalo defenseman Teppo Numminen and behind Miller at 5:38.
Vanek's power-play tally made it 4-2 with 7:23 remaining, but Boston, once again, had an answer. Matt Hunwick sent a outlet pass to Kessel, creating a 2-on-1 for the Bruins. The former first-round pick streaked down the right wing and his pass was slowed by the stick of Lydman, but Savard still was able to shovel the puck home on the backhand 29 seconds after Vanek netted his league-leading 15th goal of the season.
Boston evened the score in the middle stanza on the power play. Chara let go a drive from up high that made its way through traffic and beat Miller on the glove side at the 2:37 mark.
Kobasew's second goal of the game gave the Bruins their first lead with 7:29 remaining, and another blast by Chara from the point put the Bruins up 6-4 with 2:48 remaining.
Kessel capped the scoring 1:16 into the third frame.
Game Notes
The four-point performance gave Savard 600 points for his career...Kobasew appeared in his 300th career game...Boston finished 2-for-6 on the power play, while Buffalo converted once in three opportunities...Hunwick and Patrice Bergeron each collected two assists for Boston...The Bruins lead the season series 2-1, with the home team winning each game...Before the game, Boston placed defenseman Andrew Ference (fractured right tibia) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Matt Lashoff from Providence of the American Hockey League.
<< T'Wolves fend off Sixers to snap eight-game skid
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson led all scorers with 25
points, as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped an eight-game losing streak with
a 102-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Craig Smith added 21 points off the benc
<< Hawks' Horford misses game against the Wizards
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center/forward Al Horford didn't
play in Wednesday's 91-87 win over the Washington Wizards due to a sprained
right ankle.
Horford hurt the ankle against the Pacers on Tuesday and is listed as day-
<< Ball State stays perfect with win over Central Michigan
Mount Pleasant, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Davis threw four touchdowns and
MiQuale Lewis rushed for 177 yards as the 14th-ranked Ball State Cardinals
stayed perfect on the season with a 31-24 decision over Central Michigan in an
excitin
<< Burrows scores twice as Canucks double up Rangers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Burrows had two goals and Vancouver
doubled up the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Madison Square Garden.
Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Pavol Demitra and Daniel Sedin also scored for
the Canucks, who
Jazz top Bucks to extend home win streak; Boozer exits early >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Miles scored 25 points to lead Utah
to a 105-94 comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks, as the Jazz won their 14th
straight home game going back to last season.
Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 11
NCAA denies Stepheson's waiver petition >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA has denied forward Alex
Stepheson's waiver petition for immediate eligibility to compete for Southern
California.
Stepheson, who transferred this fall from North Carolina, will not be e
Portland G Blake leaves game >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Steve Blake left
Wednesday's 116-74 win over the Chicago Bulls after cutting his head on a
camera in the third quarter.
Blake dove for a loose ball out of bounds but
Ovechkin leads Caps past Ducks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin registered a goal and three
assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-4, at Honda
Center.
David Steckel had a goal and an assist, while Michael Nylander collected
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting