Huselius paces Columbus over Oilers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kristian Huselius played a huge role with a goal and added three assists, as the Columbus Blue Jackets held on for a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Nationwide Arena.

Antoine Vermette sealed the victory with an empty-net tally and dished out two assists for Columbus, which was coming off a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on Saturday. Jakub Voracek, Chris Clark and Marc Methot each registered a goal for the Blue Jackets, who have won three of their last four.

Steve Mason stopped 29-of-32 shots and improved to 3-1 lifetime against Edmonton.

Robert Nilsson and Aaron Johnson each picked up a goal and a helper, while Dustin Penner lit the lamp for the Oilers, who have dropped four straight and seven of nine overall. Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves for Edmonton, which has now lost 16 of their last 17 road games.

The Blue Jackets held a 2-1 lead after two periods and went up by a pair on Methot's tally 40 seconds into the third. Penner quickly cut the deficit to 3-2 when he beat Mason through the five-hole from in close at 4:07 before Huselius restored Columbus' two-goal advantage with a slap shot from the top of the left circle that squeezed through Dubnyk at 6:36.

Edmonton made it a 4-3 game just over a minute later on Johnson's third goal of the season, on a rebound attempt from the slot. Columbus then used a strong forechecking effort to limit the Oilers chances the rest of the way and with Dubnyk pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Vermette sealed it with an empty net tally with 55 seconds to play.

Columbus opened the scoring with 5:25 left in the first period off an Edmonton turnover. Derick Brassard intercepted an Oilers' clearing attempt and sent a cross-ice pass to Voracek, who one-timed it home from the right circle.

Nilsson then drew Edmonton even 1:52 into the middle stanza when Taylor Chorney picked off a Blue Jackets outlet pass and fed Nilsson for quick wrist shot that beat Mason to the short side.

However, Clark took a feed from Huselius and fired a wrister over Dubnyk's glove hand from the slot to give Columbus a 2-1 lead at 4:30 of the middle period.

Game Notes

Columbus captain Rick Nash missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury...Blue Jackets defenseman Jan Hejda suffered a right leg injury in the first period and did not return...Columbus took the season series over the Oilers with a 3-1 mark.

Wwwalpscasino Hockey Betting News

<< Knicks finally win two straight, top struggling Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danilo Gallinari finished with 21 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 94-84 victory over the struggling Philadelphia 76ers. Rookie Toney Douglas added 20 points and seven assists for

<< Devils hold on to edge Bruins
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise scored the eventual game-winner late in the first period, as the New Jersey Devils held off the Boston Bruins, 3-2, at Prudential Center. David Clarkson had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who

<< Ducks' Selanne, Getzlaf undergo MRIs
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anaheim Ducks forwards Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf underwent MRIs on Monday for injuries sustained in Sunday's 4-2 win over San Jose. Selanne, who scored career goal No. 599 in the victory, suffered an

<< Detroit F Prince suffers back injury
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince suffered an injury to his back and had to be assisted off the floor in the first quarter of Monday's game against the Boston Celtics. With 4:53 remaining in the qu

<< Broncos release QB Simms
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos on Monday released quarterback Chris Simms in the wake of the acquisition of Brady Quinn. On Sunday, the Broncos acquired Quinn from the Browns in exchange for fullback Peyton Hill

Seahawks release Grant, re-signed Tapp >>
Kirkland, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks released safety Deon Grant and re-signed defensive end Darryl Tapp Monday. Grant ranked among the team leaders in tackles in each of his three seasons with the club, including a

Seton Hall women's hoops coach Mangina steps down >>
South Orange, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phyllis Mangina, head women's basketball coach at Seton Hall, has resigned, the school announced Monday. Mangina has spent the last 25 seasons in the position at her alma mater, and compiled a 352-36

Hot-shooting Celtics rout Pistons >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce was one of three Boston players to record 15 points and the Celtics surged to a big halftime lead before beating the short-handed Detroit Pistons, 119-93, at TD Garden. Ray Allen and Michael Fin

Nadal and Djokovic sneak into fourth round at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 2 Novak Djokovic barely survived his third-round match Monday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event, while world No. 3 Rafael Nadal cruised in two sets against Croati

Rangers' Hamilton leaves game with hand injury >>
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton exited Monday night's Cactus League game against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning after taking a pitch off his left hand. Giants pitcher Madison B

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.