Sharks aim to get on track versus Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling clubs will try to get back in the win column tonight, as the San Jose Sharks visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for a clash at Air Canada Centre.

The Sharks have been floundering on the road, posting a 1-4-1 record at the start of a lengthy nine-game swing. San Jose has lost its last four tests, including three straight in regulation, and is in the midst of its worst skid since dropping six straight from Jan. 3-13 of last season.

Meanwhile, Toronto has found few positives in February after starting the month on a three-game winning streak. The Maple Leafs have gone 1-5-1 since the hot stretch from Feb. 1-6.

San Jose's recent slide has allowed Phoenix to tie the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division and Los Angeles is just three points behind. The Maple Leafs are currently locked in a tie with Winnipeg for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference, with Washington two points back.

The Sharks last played on Tuesday and were handed a 6-3 loss by the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. Jeff Carter notched his fourth career hat trick to lift the Blue Jackets, who led 4-0 in the first period and never allowed San Jose to come closer than two goals of the lead after that.

"They were obviously much better prepared to compete than us," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "The disappointing thing for me is the lack of urgency that we entered the game with."

Logan Couture scored a pair of goals and Joe Thornton added a goal for the Sharks, who fell to 13-11-5 as the visiting team this season.

Antti Niemi was rocked for three goals on just 11 shots before getting pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss, who yielded three tallies on 24 shots in the loss. Niemi has yielded 12 goals on 64 shots over his last three games and Greiss could get the start tonight over San Jose's No. 1 netminder.

Sharks forward Dominic Moore left Tuesday's game with an unspecified injury after blocking a shot in the first period. Moore, who was playing in just his third game with San Jose since coming over in a trade with Tampa Bay, did not return to the game and is questionable for tonight.

San Jose defenseman Douglas Murray has missed three straight games since suffering a fractured Adam's Apple last Thursday in Tampa. Murray is questionable for tonight's tilt.

The Maple Leafs were able to earn a point in their last game, as they dropped Tuesday's contest against visiting New Jersey in overtime. Mark Fayne scored 1:18 into the extra session to lift the Devils to a 4-3 decision. Toronto's Phil Kessel forced overtime by scoring his 31st goal of the year for the Leafs with just 44 seconds left in regulation.

Toronto goaltender Jonas Gustavsson took the blame for New Jersey's winning goal, as he failed to stop Fayne's one-timer that bounced before reaching the net.

"It just skipped there a little bit and I kind of lost it," said Gustavsson. "That's no excuse because I should have stopped it. It's too bad and I feel bad for the guys because they worked really hard out there."

In addition to Kessel's goal, the Leafs also received markers from Tim Connolly and Clarke MacArthur. Gustavsson allowed four goals on 32 shots.

Tuesday's game marked the start of a three-game homestand for Toronto, which is 16-9-5 at the ACC this season.

Tonight's test marks the only meeting between the Maple Leafs and Sharks this season. Toronto posted a 4-2 win in San Jose on Jan. 11 of last season, ending San Jose's four-game series winning streak. The Sharks have won their last two games in Toronto.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

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Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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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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