Kovalev, Canadiens host Hurricanes

Hockey Betting Lines

12/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A three-time 30-goal scorer, Montreal's Alex Kovalev is showing signs of breaking out of his scoring slump. Kovalev aims to light the lamp for a fourth straight game tonight, as the Canadiens host the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre.

Kovalev is coming off a 2007-08 season that saw him post 35 goals and 49 assists for 84 points. It was his best scoring campaign since notching 44 goals, 51 assists and 95 points in 2000-01 with Pittsburgh.

However, he has just eight goals and 18 assists in 32 games this year, but since going 19 games without a tally he has scored in three straight contests. That includes the overtime game-winner in last night's 4-3 win versus Buffalo.

Kovalev's wrister from in close with just 25 seconds left on the clock gave the Canadiens their second straight win on the heels of a three-game slide. It also came on Montreal's second man advantage of the overtime session and was just Kovalev's second power-play goal of the year. He had a career-high 17 last season.

Sergei Kostitsyn scored twice and Alex Tanguay tallied for Montreal, which closes out a three-game homestand tonight and is 11-4-3 as the host this year. Jaroslav Halak allowed three goals on 34 shots in the win and Andrei Markov had two assists.

Halak continues to play with Carey Price out with a left quadriceps/knee injury. Andrei Kostitsyn, meanwhile, missed last night's test due to a knee ailment and is day-to-day.

The Hurricanes began a four-game road trip on Saturday night and had a six- game point streak (3-0-3) halted with a 4-2 setback to the Boston Bruins.

Joni Pitkanen and Ray Whitney scored for Carolina, which had won two in a row. Rod Brind'Amour assisted on both goals for the Hurricanes to give him seven helpers over a six-game assist streak.

Cam Ward made 32 saves in defeat.

Carolina, eight points back of first-place Washington in the Southeast Division, is 6-5-4 on the road this year and has lost three straight and six of its last seven as the road team.

These two clubs will close out their four-game season series. Montreal took the first meeting at home, but has since lost two straight in Carolina. The Hurricanes have won seven of the last 10 in the series overall and six of its last seven at the Bell Centre, with the Habs' earlier win there snapping a six-game series home losing streak.

Las-vages Hockey Betting News

<< Hawks square off with Pistons at Philips Arena
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks resume a season-long eight-game homestand Sunday when they welcome the Detroit Pistons to Philips Arena. The Hawks improved to 3-1 on the residency Friday when Flip Murray scored 14 of his 20 points in th

<< Bruins aim for first win in St. Louis since 1995
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins are one of the top home teams in the NHL this year but will close out 2008 on a five-game road trip. They begin that swing this evening in St. Louis, where they take on the Blues at Scottrade Center. St.

<< Celtics aim for 18th straight vs. Knicks in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics will attempt to match a franchise record Sunday when they shoot for their 18th straight win against the reeling New York Knicks. Ray Allen scored 27 and Kendrick Perkins added a ca

<< Avalanche end road trip with test versus Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche conclude a four-game road trip this evening against a team they have had much road success against, as they visit the Florida Panthers and BankAtlantic Center. The Avalanche began the eastern trek wi

<< Mavs visit Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks conclude a three-game road trip on Sunday when they arrive in the nation's capital to take on the hapless Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. The Mavs fell to 1-1 on the trek Friday when Devin Ha

Ajax thrashes Graafschap >>
Doetinchem, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax kept pace with league-leaders AZ Alkmaar on Sunday as Dario Cvitanich and Luis Suarez scored two goals apiece in a 6-0 pounding of Graafschap at De Vijverberg. Cvitanich and Miralem Su

Celtic surges late to maintain four-point edge >>
Falkirk, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic restored its four-point lead atop the Scottish Premier League table on Sunday as the Hoops scored three times in the second half, including two in stoppage time, to beat Falkirk, 3-0 at Falkirk

Sterne wins again, beats Maybin in playoff >>
Paarl, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Sterne is peaking. The 27-year-old South African birdied the first playoff hole on Sunday to beat Gareth Maybin and win the South African Open Championship -- his fifth European Tour vic

NFL Inactives (Sunday, December 21, 2008) >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players for today's NFL games. PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 P.M. (ET) Steelers - 3rd QB Dennis Dixon, T Marvel Smith, DE Orpheus Roye, DT Scott Paxso

Dolphins' Crowder sits in Kansas City >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder was listed as inactive for Sunday's game against Kansas City because of a knee problem. Crowder entered the day as Miami's leading tackler this season with 105 st

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.