Devils double up Rangers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was one of six different goal-scorers, as New Jersey doubled up the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Prudential Center.

Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Travis Zajac and Rob Niedermayer each had a goal and an assist for New Jersey, while Zach Parise and Bryce Salvador also lit the lamp.

Dainius Zubrus, Andy Greene and Mike Mottau each collected two helpers for the Devils, who returned from a 1-3-0 road trip to play their first home game since a 5-2 triumph over Nashville on February 12.

Martin Brodeur made 16 saves on 19 shots to earn the win, which pulls New Jersey to within three points of first-place Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division.

Vinny Prospal, Erik Christensen and Brandon Prust scored for the Rangers, who are winless in four straight (0-2-2) and remain three points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

New York starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was relieved by Alex Auld late in the second period after allowing five goals on just 17 shots. Auld recorded nine saves the rest of the way.

Langenbrunner drifted through the low slot and redirected Mottau's shot past Lundqvist for a 4-3 New Jersey edge with 6:54 to play in the second period.

Rolston gave New Jersey its first two-goal cushion when his shot was deflected by Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi between the pads of Lundqvist with 4:41 remaining in the middle stanza.

Zajac beat Auld with a wicked slap shot to seal the win with 3:39 left in regulation.

Niedermayer jumped on a rebound in the high slot for a 1-0 Devils lead at 4:16 of the first period.

Propsal netted the equalizer 57 seconds later. Olli Jokinen slipped the puck to Marian Gaborik cutting through the middle, and he quickly dished to Prospal at the far post for an easy tap-in.

New Jersey regained the lead when Salvador's one-timer from the right point deflected in off a Rangers player's stick with 1:43 to play in the opening frame.

Christensen evened things up at the five-minute mark of the second period. The Devils then led for the third time in the game when Parise buried a loose puck to Lundqvist's left for a power-play tally at 8:38.

Once again, New York had a rebuttal, tying the game just 37 seconds on a goal by Prust.

Game Notes

Langenbrunner reached the 600-point plateau with the secondary assist on Salvador's goal...Zajac has 21 goals this season, a new personal best...Prust appeared in his 100th NHL game...New Jersey has won three of the five meetings with the Rangers this season...The Devils improved to 21-9-1 as the host, while New York fell to 15-14-3 on the road.

Icvholdings Hockey Betting News

<< Fleischmann, Capitals edge Hurricanes in overtime
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Verizon Center. In the extra session, Fleischmann hamme

<< Sabres continue winning ways against Stars
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Vanek scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period, as the Buffalo Sabres continued their recent dominance over the Dallas Stars with a 5-3 victory at HSBC Arena. The Sabres have

<< Bobcats handle Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Wallace led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-10 shooting to push the Charlotte Bobcats past the Philadelphia 76ers, 102-87, at the Wachovia Center. Stephen Jackson added 24 points and 10 reb

<< Ravens re-sign WR Mason
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens have agreed in principle on terms of a two-year contract with veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason. Mason became an unrestricted free agent after his five-year contract with t

<< Rams re-sign TE Fells
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams re-signed tight end Daniel Fells on Wednesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fells became a restricted free agent last Friday. The tight end caught 21

Jazz continue mastery of Pistons >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams paced a balanced attack with 18 points and 12 assists, and the Utah Jazz trounced the Detroit Pistons, 115-104, at the Palace at Auburn Hills. Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap each added 18

Road warriors: Grizzlies run road streak to seven with rout in Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay led a potent Memphis attack with 28 points, as the Grizzlies' ran their road winning streak to seven games with a convincing 111-91 win over the Celtics. O.J. Mayo notched 17 points, and Marcus Wil

Robert Morris wins second straight Northeast Conference title >>
Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karon Abraham scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Robert Morris secured its second straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 52-50 w

Billups, Nuggets send T'Wolves to seventh straight loss >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups delivered 25 points to lead Denver in a 110-102 final over Minnesota at the Target Center. Carmelo Anthony recorded 19 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets, who wo

Red-hot Thunder dominate Hornets >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored a team-high 29 points to lead the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive 98-83 win over the New Orleans Hornets at Ford Center. Russell Westbrook had a near-triple double with

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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.