Sharks begin epic trek in St. Louis

Hockey Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place San Jose Sharks will make the first stop on their longest road trip of the season tonight, as they visit the St. Louis Blues in a Western Conference showdown at Scottrade Center.

The Sharks lead the Pacific Division by three points over Los Angeles and they'll try to hold onto that advantage while they pick their way through a nine-game swing that starts tonight in the Gateway City and ends Feb. 26 in Minnesota. San Jose is 12-7-4 as the road team this year compared to an 18-9-2 home record.

San Jose ended a two-game slide and won for the fourth time in six games Friday night against visiting Chicago. Benn Ferriero's goal early in the third period proved to be the winner, as the Sharks notched a 5-3 win over the struggling Blackhawks at HP Pavilion.

Justin Braun, Dan Boyle, Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn also tallied goals for the Sharks, while Antti Niemi stopped 30-of-33 shots for the win.

"We have got to find ways to be a little more consistent," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "You could see the desperation in both teams, which are good games to play in, especially when we're winning."

The Sharks will not face a single Pacific Division foe during its road trip, but will have five tests against teams from the Western Conference.

St. Louis will try to improve to 3-0 against the Sharks this year after posting a win at home and one in San Jose during the season series. The clubs have split the six meetings overall and St. Louis has won two of the last three on its home ice.

The Blues have won three straight overall and are three behind Detroit for first place in the Central Division and the Western Conference.

St. Louis has recorded its last two victories after regulation and is coming off Saturday's overtime win over visiting Colorado. The dramatic victory over the Avalanche improved St. Louis' record at home this year to 23-3-4 and the Blues have gained a point in a club-record 18 straight home games (15-0-3).

Carlo Colaiacovo scored the first goal since the opening period with 1:42 to play in overtime, sending St. Louis to the 3-2 victory over Colorado.

"I had a lot of chances tonight. I've been getting a lot of chances lately. I'm just happy that one finally went in and it didn't take my stick to put it in," said Colaiacovo, who admitted that he felt the puck glance off his elbow after a wrist shot by Patrik Berglund.

Brian Elliott stopped 17 shots for St. Louis, which also received a pair of assists from T.J. Oshie.

Jason Arnott is not expected to play tonight for the Blues after sitting out the last four games with a bruised left shoulder. Matt D'Agostini will also miss a third straight game since sustaining a blow to the head on Tuesday against Ottawa.

However, the Blues could get forward Andy McDonald back today. McDonald, who had 50 points in 58 games for the Blues last year, has been out since suffering a concussion on Oct. 13 in Dallas.

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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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