Caps hope to stay in first as they battle Jets

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Washington Capitals will try to post consecutive wins for the first time in over three weeks when they host the Winnipeg Jets tonight at Verizon Center.

The Capitals posted a big win Tuesday against visiting Florida, as the 4-0 victory allowed Washington to vault one point ahead of the Panthers for first place in the Southeast Division. Even though the Caps are leading the Southeast, the club would like to go on a run since it hasn't posted back-to- back victories since a three-game run from Jan. 11-15.

Washington used Alex Ovechkin's first points since serving a three-game suspension in late January to notch the win over Florida. Ovechkin scored twice to give him 22 goals on the season and Tomas Vokoun made 42 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 48th of his career.

Mathieu Perreault and Jason Chimera also scored for the Capitals, who are 3-3-2 in their last eight games. Perreault scored just 13 seconds into the game and Ovechkin's first tally made it 2-0 before the end of the opening period.

"We got two quick goals on them and they had to play a different game," said Caps head coach Dale Hunter. "It ended up being the advantage for us."

Tonight's tilt marks the close of a three-game homestand for Washington, which is 19-7-1 in D.C. this year compared to a 9-14-3 mark on the road. After this evening, the Caps will play five of their next six away from the Verizon Center.

The Jets enter tonight just four points behind Washington for first place in the Southeast and Winnipeg is also five back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Winnipeg ended a two-game slide and won for the third time in five games with Tuesday's 2-1 regulation win over visiting Toronto. Bryan Little scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Jets midway through the second period and Winnipeg held on for the close victory at MTS Centre.

Chris Thorburn also lit the lamp for the Jets, while Ondrej Pavelec needed to make just 17 saves for the win.

The game also marked the return of Jets forward Evander Kane, who missed the previous seven games with a concussion. Kane leads Winnipeg with 18 goals this year, but he failed to register a shot on goal in nearly 14 minutes of ice time against the Leafs.

Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian left Tuesday's game briefly with a wrist injury before returning and is expected to play tonight.

Like the Capitals, Winnipeg has done most of its damage at home this year, boasting a 16-8-2 mark at the MTS Centre and a 9-16-4 record on the road. The Jets will visit Pittsburgh on Saturday before returning to Winnipeg to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

The Jets are 1-1-1 against Washington this year after they won the final three meetings of last year's season series while they were still known as the Atlanta Thrashers. The Jets/Thrashers franchise has lost 10 of its last 11 games in D.C.

Happysportsbook Hockey Betting News

<< Flyers seek to halt skid vs. Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in tonight's Eastern Conference clash at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers are in the midst of an 0-2-1

<< Canucks could be without Sedin against Wild
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks keep finding ways to win close games, but tonight they may have to find a way to do so without former Hart Trophy winner Henrik Sedin. The Minnesota Wild are hoping the possible return of their captai

<< Sens welcome Fisher back to Ottawa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators were already burned by one former teammate this week. They hope that same thing doesn't happen this evening against the Nashville Predators in Mike Fisher's return to Scotiabank Place. The 31-year-old F

<< Flames hope to stay hot in Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Needing a big two points on Wednesday night, the Calgary Flames turned to pair of Finns to get the job done. The Flames aim to jump into the playoff picture this evening and stop the Phoenix Coyotes' three-game winning streak

<< Stars aim to get right against hapless Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing for pride, the Dallas Stars have stumbled as of late in their chase of a postseason spot. The Stars hope to break out of their scoring slump and get back on the winning track thi

Kings try to continue mastery of Panthers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three goals seems to be the magic number for the Kings, but their first meeting with the Panthers this season was one of the exceptions to the rule. Los Angeles shoots for its eighth straight win over struggling Florida th

Fish will open for U.S. against Federer-led Swiss >>
Fribourg, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An opening-round Davis Cup tie between the United States and host Switzerland will commence Friday when American Mardy Fish takes on Swiss slugger Stanislas Wawrinka. The best-of-five aff

Illini and Hoosiers duke it out in Big Ten brawl >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini are hoping a win tonight at No. 23 Indiana will give them a boost as they come down the home stretch in what has been a fairly odd season thus far. Illinois is 16-7 on the year,

Big Ten showdown pits Badgers against Gophers >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple of teams jockeying for position in the ultra-competitive Big Ten Conference meet in Minneapolis tonight, as another chapter of the legendary "Border War" is added when the Minnesota Golden Gophers pla

Gaels and Zags collide in key WCC affair >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Saint Mary's Gaels have the opportunity to all but end Gonzaga's reign atop the West Coast Conference, as the two teams meet in Spokane this evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Saint Mary'

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.