Home sweet home: Canucks return to GM Place to battle Senators

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The wait is finally over.

After playing 14 straight times on the road over a span of six weeks, the Vancouver Canucks finally return to GM Place for tonight's interconference showdown with the slumping Ottawa Senators.

That epic stretch -- the longest sequence of away games by any team in NHL history -- was necessitated by the city of Vancouver's hosting of the Winter Olympics. The Canucks played eight of those contests prior to the league's stoppage for the Games, then began their post-break schedule with a six-game trip that culminated with Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss at Phoenix.

"There were days when you woke up in another hotel and wondered Where are we now?' before you get it together a little bit," center Ryan Kesler recently told the Canucks' official site. "The last six we've played here on the other end of the Games, that hasn't been as bad, but those first eight were real tough. They took forever."

Vancouver acquitted itself well over the massive trek, compiling an 8-5-1 record over the 14 games. The team was especially successful over the second leg, winning four of five outings before coming up just short against the Coyotes.

Down 1-0 in the third round of the shootout, Radim Vrbata kept Phoenix alive by firing the puck past Canucks goaltender Andrew Raycroft. After Mikael Samuelsson missed for Vancouver on the ensuing attempt, both teams were successful in the fourth and fifth rounds before the Coyotes' Adrian Aucoin opened the sixth with a shot that beat Raycroft upstairs. The Canucks' Mason Raymond then misfired on a backhand try to give Phoenix the two points.

The Coyotes claimed a 3-2 lead on Lee Stempniak's goal 35 seconds into the third period, but Vancouver's Christian Ehrhoff scored less than a minute later to tie the score.

Samuelsson had a goal earlier in the game and has now lit the lamp in each of Vancouver's last five matchups, with seven tallies over that span. Kesler assisted on Ehrhoff's marker to extend his scoring streak to 11 games, with the U.S. Olympic team member having notched 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) during that span.

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin also has a notable streak going, as the standout Swede has registered an assist in eight consecutive tilts after getting one on twin brother Henrik Sedin's goal in Wednesday's loss. He has 11 helpers over that run.

Although a few Vancouver players, including Kesler, the Sedin brothers, Ehrhoff and goaltender Roberto Luongo, had the opportunity to play in their home venue while competing in the Olympics, tonight's clash will be the Canucks' first game at GM Place since a 3-2 decision over St. Louis on January 27.

The Canucks will attempt to build on their three-point lead over second-place Colorado in the Northwest Division when they take on an Ottawa squad that's gone just 1-3-1 since the break. The Senators were able to defeat doormat Edmonton in the opener of the team's three-game swing through Western Canada, but were stymied by Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff (33 saves) in Thursday's 2-0 loss to the Flames.

"I thought we worked hard and played well, we just couldn't get one past Kiprusoff," said Senators head coach Cory Clouston. "They did a great job of blocking shots. I'm not going to criticize any of our effort; we had the chances and had the opportunities."

Ottawa is presently two points back of Buffalo for first place in the Northeast Division.

The Senators have lost two straight games at GM Place since a 2-1 triumph there on March 13, 2004. Vancouver had won four straight in this series before a 3-1 defeat in Ottawa on February 4.

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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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