Sharks to unveil new look against Predators

Hockey Betting Lines

02/28/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams that made significant acquisitions before the trade deadline meet tonight in San Jose, as the Sharks welcome the Nashville Predators to HP Pavilion.

The Predators were early birds in the annual frenzy and were rewarded by acquiring Peter Forsberg from Philadelphia on February 15. Forsberg was dealt in exchange for right wing Scottie Upshall, defenseman Ryan Parent and a first-round and a third-round draft pick in the 2007 draft. The Swedish centerman has just one goal and one assist in five games with Nashville, but the Preds are 3-1-1 in those outings.

The Sharks made a big move on Tuesday, as they acquired veteran forward Bill Guerin from St. Louis for left wing Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball and a first-round pick in the 2007 draft. The 36-year-old Guerin, who is expected to make his debut with the Sharks tonight, was leading the Blues in goals (28) and points (47).

The Predators are coming off back-to-back wins and the most recent victory occurred Sunday in Columbus. Alexander Radulov scored the lone shootout tally to lead Nashville to a 4-3 decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Vernon Fiddler, Jean-Pierre Dumont and Paul Kariya each had a goal in regulation for the Predators, who have 88 points on the year and are tied with Detroit for the most points in both the Central Division and Western Conference.

Chris Mason made 31 saves and was not scored on in the shootout.

The Predators, who are playing the second test of a five-game swing tonight, are 19-13-0 as the road team this year.

Meanwhile, the Sharks will try to rebound from consecutive setbacks when they take the ice tonight.

San Jose's latest loss was in Monday's important test against the rival Anaheim Ducks, who are seven points ahead of the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division. However, the Sharks are still in the postseason picture with 77 points and are currently holding onto the sixth spot in the West.

Teemu Selanne scored the game-winning goal in Monday's test to give the Ducks the 3-2 victory at the Shark Tank.

Milan Michalek scored two goals and Joe Thornton had two assists for the Sharks, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 16 shots in the loss.

San Jose also traded for defenseman Craig Rivet on Sunday, but he was unavailable for the game against the Ducks because of an illness. The Sharks are hoping he will be ready for tonight's contest.

The Sharks acquired Rivet and a fifth-round selection in the 2008 NHL Draft from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Josh Gorges and the Sharks' first- round pick in the 2007 Draft.

Rivet, who had spent his entire 12-year career with Montreal, recorded six goals and 10 assists in 54 games with the Canadiens this season.

The Predators and Sharks have met three times this season and Nashville has taken two of those encounters. However, the Preds have dropped five in a row at HP Pavilion.

Casinoplauer Hockey Betting News

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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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