11/20/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miikka Kiprusoff needed to make just 18 stops to post his second shutout of the season as the Calgary Flames edged the Colorado Avalanche, 1-0, at the Pepsi Center.
Daymond Langkow scored the only goal of the game on assists from Mike Giordano and Jarome Iginla for the Flames, who have won three of their last four games.
Kiprusoff's shutout was the 28th of his career with both of his zeroes this season coming against Colorado.
"Tonight was both teams playing really tight," said Kiprusoff. "This is how you want to win on the road. Their goaltender was really solid tonight, too."
Peter Budaj made 32 saves in the loss for the Avalanche, who have dropped their past two games after a three-game winning streak.
"It's not frustrating, but disappointing," said Budaj. "We did a great job penalty killing, but we're just not putting the puck into the net. I trust my players and I know we can score. They are just not going in right now, but I know that will change."
The only goal of the game came halfway through the second period. Giordano blasted a shot from inside the right circle that Budaj made a stop on, but the rebound kicked out front where Langkow buried it for his fifth goal of the year.
"I think the original shot was such a hard shot that it was hard for him to control the rebound," said Langkow. "I just jumped on it and got it past him."
Kiprusoff needed to stop just five shots in the second period to keep the shutout going.
The third period went quickly as Colorado was limited to just six shots in the frame.
The best chance came with under two minutes to play during a furious scrum in front as Kiprusoff was scrambling to keep the puck out of the net. The Avs threw several shots on net that either Kiprusoff or his surrounding defenseman stopped.
A scoreless first period saw Budaj make 10 saves while Kiprusoff stopped all seven shots he faced.
Game Notes
Colorado plays in Los Angeles on Saturday...Calgary hosts Detroit on Tuesday...Colorado right wing Marek Svatos left the game in the second period with an abdominal injury...Calgary has won all four games against Colorado this season...Calgary went 0-for-7 on the power play while Colorado failed to score on its one man advantage.
<< Dwyer leads Georgia Tech past Miami
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romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and
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Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his
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Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jiri Hudler tallied a pair of goals, including
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a late Edmonton rally for a 4-3 victory.
Pavel Datsyuk had a goal for Detroit, wh
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red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.
Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po
Kings cool off Capitals >>
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Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar an
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.
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