10/13/2008 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Nylander scored on a penalty shot and added two assists, as Washington handed Vancouver its first loss of the young campaign, 5-1, in a bout at the Verizon Center.
Alexander Semin scored twice, Mike Green added a goal and an assist and Milan Jurcina also lit the lamp in the victory.
Brent Johnson only allowed one goal on just 10 shots against him, picking up his 100th career victory. The Washington defense was superb -- allowing a franchise-best 10 shots on goal --, while the offense peppered a pair of Vancouver goaltenders with 35 shots.
Roberto Luongo saved 20, allowing all five Washington goals past him, and Curtis Sanford was solid in relief, denying all 10 shots he faced.
Alexander Edler scored the lone Canucks goal.
Washington struck the initial blow early in the first period. A puck that scooted along the boards eventually found the stick of Semin courtesy of Nylander and Green. Semin skated to the front of the crease, bought enough time to judge the goaltender's position and flipped a backhand high and to the glove side into the net just 2:54 into the contest.
The lead lasted just 68 seconds. Edler found the puck off a deflection and flipped it past Johnson into the net on the one-man advantage to square the contest.
Washington regained the edge with 3:49 left in the first period. Nylander was again a helping hand, moving with the puck along the back boards to the side of the net before sliding a pass to the center point, where Green clocked a slapshot that whistled past Luongo for a 2-1 edge on the power play.
The Capitals kept on the attack in the second period. Off a face-off in the Vancouver zone, the Capitals controlled the puck and it ended up with Jurcina, who slapped a shot from near the blue line that was re-directed by a defender's skate past Luongo on the glove side at the 4:17 mark.
Semin lit the lamp for a second time after a mad scrum in front of the net just 66 seconds later. The forward controlled the loose puck on his stick in traffic near the front of the net and punched the puck past Luongo for the 4-1 advantage.
Nylander stopped aiding scoring chances and capitalized on his own late in the second period. After a major penalty on the power play, Nylander got Luongo off balance with his patience and puck skills then dumped the puck into the net for the 5-1 advantage at the 16:36 mark.
Game Notes
The Canucks were 1-of-4 on the power play, while the Capitals converted on half of their four chances...Luongo dropped to 15-10 lifetime against the Capitals, while Johnson was between the pipes after Jose Theodore started the first two contests.
<< Homer-happy Rays rout Red Sox to grab ALCS lead
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli each hit a three-
run homer as Tampa Bay crushed Boston, 9-1, in Game 3 of the American League
Championship Series at Fenway Park.
Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena also went dee
<< Calgary moves into first with rout of Saskatchewan
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris threw for three touchdowns as the
Calgary Stampeders crushed the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 42-5, to take sole
possession of first place in the West Division.
Nik Lewis, Jeremaine Copeland and
<< Seahawks QB Hasselbeck out at least one more week
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck
will miss at least one more week due to a bulging disc in his back that is
causing problems with his sore knee.
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said in his pr
<< Winslow out for Browns
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns starting tight end Kellen
Winslow was inactive for Monday's game against the New York Giants due to an
undisclosed illness.
Winslow, who was released from a hospital on Sunday, had been
Canadiens overtake Flyers with four-goal third period >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roman Hamrlik finished with a goal and one
assist as Montreal used a four-goal third period to shake off Philadelphia,
5-3, at the Wachovia Center.
Andrei Kostitsyn, Mike Komisarek, Robert Lang and
Peverley, Dumont score in shootout to help Preds edge Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Peverley and J.P. Dumont each found the
back of the net in a shootout, helping the Nashville Predators spoil the
Chicago Blackhawks' home opener at the United Center by a 3-2 margin.
Peverley and
Anderson, Browns completely dominate Giants >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Anderson threw for 310 yards and a pair
of scores to lead a potent offensive attack, and the Browns picked off Eli
Manning three times, on the way to a 35-14 thrashing of the New York Giants,
handing
Report: Cowboys' Felix Jones out with hamstring injury >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Felix Jones
is reportedly going to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a left hamstring injury suffered
in Sunday's loss against Arizona.
According to the Dallas Morning News, starting ru
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."
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