Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls

Hockey Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place.

Andrew Brunette and Martin Skoula also lit the lamp for the Wild, who ended a four-game road trip with a 2-2-0 mark. Owen Nolan had two assists for the victors. Niklas Backstrom stopped 31 shots to improve to 34-23-7 on the year.

Center Mikko Koivu returned to the lineup after missing three games with a knee injury.

Minnesota sits in the 11th spot in the Western Conference with 80 points. The Wild are three points behind St. Louis for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Ales Kotalik and Fernando Pisani scored for the Oilers, who have dropped four of their past five outings. Dwayne Roloson turned aside 18 shots in the loss.

Since Anaheim beat Colorado on Sunday, Edmonton dropped to 10th in the West with 81 points.

Trailing 2-0, the Oilers cut the deficit in half on a goal from Pisani just 1:04 into the third stanza. Ethan Moreau charged down the right side of the ice and made his way behind the net before dumping the puck off to Pisani out front. Pisani chipped the disc between Backstrom's pads.

Gaborik lit the lamp just over three minutes later to extend Minnesota's margin back to two. Gaborik's wrister from the left circle beat Roloson glove- side during a delayed penalty.

Kotalik and Hemsky teamed up to cut the gap to 3-2 with 4:52 to play. Hemsky set Kotalik up for a one-timer from the left circle. And Kotalik's shot went sailing past Backstrom on the stick side.

The Oilers pulled Roloson with about one minute left to gain the extra attacker. But Backstrom and the Wild defense held strong to secure the victory.

The Wild drew first blood at the 7:01 mark of the first period on Brunette's 20th goal of the year. The puck was slowly sliding in front of Roloson after Gaborik fanned on a shot. Brunette collected the disc and fired a backhander past Roloson.

Less than two minutes later, Skoula's slap shot from the left point snuck through the five-hole of Roloson to give the visitors an early 2-0 lead.

Both teams had nine shots on goal during a scoreless second stanza.

Game Notes

Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play...Minnesota had lost their previous four games in Edmonton...Minnesota won the season series with Edmonton, 4-2.

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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 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.

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