Penguins aim for fifth straight win in clash with hosting 'Canes

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to stay perfect since returning from the Olympic break when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center.

The Penguins are 4-0 since the league came back from the Winter Games. The surge has helped Pittsburgh stay atop the Atlantic Division, which it leads by three points over New Jersey.

Pittsburgh is playing its first game since beating visiting Boston on Sunday. Evgeni Malkin scored early in the third period to lift the Penguins to the 2-1 victory at Mellon Arena.

Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the Penguins and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves.

However, the game will be most remembered for a blindside hit by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke on Boston star forward Marc Savard. Cooke caught an unsuspecting Savard in the head with a shoulder moments after he released a shot from the high slot.

Savard lay motionless for several minutes while being attended to by the medical staff. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher. No penalty was called on the play and the league announced Wednesday that Cooke would not be suspended.

However, partially as a result of the Cooke hit, the NHL proposed a rule change that would penalize a "blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted." The potential ban was revealed Wednesday at the conclusion of the NHL GM meetings in Boca Raton.

The Pens are kicking off a five-game road trip tonight. Pittsburgh is 19-12-1 as the visiting team this season, matching Washington for the most road wins in the conference.

Carolina is coming off Wednesday's close loss in Washington. Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to lift the Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Hurricanes at Verizon Center.

In the extra session, Fleischmann hammered a Eric Belanger feed past Carolina goaltender Manny Legace, who made 35 saves in a losing effort.

Jussi Jokinen, Tuomo Ruutu and Patrick Dwyer each tallied for the Hurricanes, who have dropped two of their last three games after winning seven straight.

"I thought we got better as the game went on," said Carolina head coach Paul Maurice. "We're trying to get as many points as we can. You can't walk away now without any."

The Hurricanes are now eight points behind Boston for the final playoff spot.

Tonight marks the start of a four-game homestand for the 'Canes, who have won seven straight on home ice. Carolina is 17-12-3 as the host this year.

Pittsburgh has split a pair of games with the Hurricanes this year and has taken five of nine overall in the series. The Pens have two wins in their last three trips to Raleigh, but have also lost five of their last seven on the road against Carolina.

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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 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.

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