Canes rally to beat Panthers in OT
Hockey Betting Lines
12/24/2006 - Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Erik Cole scored a power-play goal 1:59 into overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes came back to beat the Florida Panthers, 3-2, at BankAtlantic Center.
With Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester off for tripping in the extra period, the Hurricanes had the puck in the offensive zone for most of the power play. The game ended when Cory Stillman fed a nice pass from the point over to Scott Walker, who one timed it from the top of the left circle. Ed Belfour made the initial save, but the rebound came out to Cole, who redirected the puck into the open net for the game winner.
Ray Whitney contributed with a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won four straight games. Rod Brind'Amour also tallied for Carolina, which will play the Panthers in the second game of the home-and-home set on Tuesday night.
Goaltender John Grahame stopped 34-of-36 shots, including all 12 shots he faced in the third period.
Olli Jokinen had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who had their three- game winning streak snapped. Belfour made 14 saves on 17 Carolina shots.
The Panthers started quickly in the first stanza as Jokinen beat Grahame just 24 second into the frame on a slap shot that handcuffed the Carolina netminder and gave Florida the early 1-0 advantage.
After both teams had chances to score, the Panthers lit the lamp 5:36 into the opening period when Jokinen set up Gary Roberts, who beat Grahame with a wrist shot and increased the Panthers lead to 2-0.
Carolina got a goal back midway through the period when Brind'Amour fed a nice pass to Whitney, who ripped a slap shot passed Belfour from the middle of the left circle to cut the Hurricanes' deficit to 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
The score remained the same until late in the second period. With both teams skating at even strength, the Hurricanes knotted the game at 2-2. Whitney got the puck to Justin Williams, who took a shot that went wide of the goal. Williams, though, wouldn't be denied as he reclaimed the disc and took a wrist shot that got past Belfour to tie the contest.
Game Notes
Glen Wesley played in his 800th game with the Carolina/Hartford Whalers organization...Whitney played in his 800th career NHL contest...Hurricanes center Erik Staal appeared in his 200th career game...The Panthers were 0- for-6 on the power play, while Carolina was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
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Chris Webbe
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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.