Halak, Canadiens edge Blue Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves in his NHL debut to guide the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

Saku Koivu, Michael Ryder and Francis Bouillon all scored for the Canadiens, who snapped a six-game losing streak. Koivu and Ryder also added primary assists in the win.

Halak was called into action after Cristobal Huet suffered a hamstring tear in Montreal's 5-2 loss at New Jersey on Wednesday. Huet was expected to undergo surgery on Sunday, and will be out indefinitely.

Nikolai Zherdev and Gilbert Brule both had goals in the third period for Columbus, which has dropped six of its last eight contests. Pascal Leclaire made 25 stops in a losing effort.

Montreal erupted for three goals in the second period to assume control.

The first goal of the game came 18 seconds into the stanza, as Ryder took a feed from Koivu along the left side of the net and snuck a shot past Leclaire for the power-play marker.

The Canadiens broke out on an odd-man rush moments later, with Ryder barreling into the zone before deeking past the lone defender. With the attention squarely on him, Ryder dished the puck to Koivu, who tucked the puck home from the doorstep.

Bouillon's wrister from the point with 11:23 left in the second made it through traffic and into the back of the net to make it a three-goal game.

Zherdev got his club on the board 8:05 into the third, and Brule beat Halak with a wrist shot from the left circle just over three minutes later to make it 3-2.

The Blue Jackets applied heavy pressure in the closing seconds with their goalie pulled, but came away empty.

Game Notes

Columbus went 2-4 on its franchise-long six-game homestand. The Blue Jackets are 14-14-3 at Nationwide Arena for the campaign...This clash marked the first encounter between these teams since they fought to a 1-1 tie in Montreal on November 11, 2003. The Canadiens have only visited Columbus one other time previously, back on October 12, 2001. The Habs came away with a 3-1 decision.

Wwebmillion Hockey Betting News

<< No. 12 Vandy blows by South Carolina
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Williams scored a career-high 26 points, and No. 12 Vanderbilt cruised to an 83-65 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Carla Thomas scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for

<< Howell takes down Mickelson in Nissan playoff
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charles Howell III got up and down for par on the third playoff hole Sunday to defeat Masters champion Phil Mickelson and win the Nissan Open. Mickelson birdied the 17th hole in regulation

<< Top-ranked Duke stays perfect
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lindsay Harding scored 29 points on 12- of-20 shooting as top-ranked Duke bested No. 6 Maryland, 69-57, at the Comcast Center Carrem Gay added 14 points for the undefeated Blue Devils (28-0, 13-0 ACC

<< Shanahan out of hospital; resting at home
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Rangers left wing Brendan Shanahan is out of the hospital and resting at home, one day after an accidental on-ice hit landed him in a local hospital overnight. The veteran forward collided with t

<< No. 11 Georgia downs Auburn
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janese Hardrick scored 20 points to lead No. 11 Georgia past Auburn, 62-55, on Sunday. Tasha Humphrey netted 14 points for Georgia (23-5, 10-3 Southeastern), which won its fourth straight. Christy Marshall ad

No. 10 ASU tops UCLA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Briann January had a career-high 22 points with nine assists and six steals, and the 10th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils downed UCLA 80-69. Emily Westerberg and Danielle Orsillo added 12 points apiece

Blues skate past Wild >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Backes' pair of scores lifted the Blues to a 5-3 win over the Wild at Scottrade Center. Jamal Mayers, Jay McClement, and Keith Tkachuk also lit the lamp for St. Louis, which has won three in a

Murray wins SAP Open for second straight year >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray defeated Ivo Karlovic in an exciting final at the SAP Open on Sunday to successfully defend his title in San Jose. In their first-ever meeting, Murray battled back to down the big-se

Sun Devils stun USC >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Pendergraph scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the longest losing streak in Division I basketball came to an end, as Arizona State recorded its first Pac-10 win of the season, 68-58, over 22nd-ra

Kings top Ducks in shootout >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lubomir Visnovsky scored in the sixth round of the shootout, to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. Visnovsky added a goal and an assist in regulation and

MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.