Brodeur, Devils take on Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/20/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur will be back between the pipes for the New Jersey Devils when they try to rebound from a loss in tonight's home test against the Minnesota Wild.

Brodeur was given a rare rest on Wednesday -- just one night after the legendary goaltender set the NHL's all-time record for victories -- and the Devils had a four-game winning streak halted at Carolina.

Kevin Weekes spelled Brodeur on Wednesday and stopped 28-of-32 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Brodeur had defeated Chicago in New Jersey on Tuesday to earn the 552nd win of his career and pass Patrick Roy for the record.

Zach Parise and Brian Gionta tallied for the Devils, who lost for just the second time in 10 games.

The Devils come into tonight's contest with an 11-point lead over Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for first place in the Atlantic Division. With 95 points, Jersey is also just five points behind Boston for the Eastern Conference's top seed.

New Jersey has won a club-record 10 straight games on home ice and is 25-10-1 as the host this season. Following tonight's test the Devils will head back out on the road, as they are scheduled to begin a three-game trip Sunday in Boston.

Meanwhile, the Wild are fighting for their playoff lives and are currently just outside the Western Conference postseason picture. Minnesota has 74 points on the year and is just three behind Edmonton and Nashville, who are occupying the conference's final two playoff berths.

The Wild ended a four-game losing streak with Tuesday's close victory over Colorado, but despite that recent slide have recorded at least a point in five of their last six contests (2-1-3).

Minnesota recorded a 3-2 victory over the Avalanche as Nick Schultz tied the game late in the third period and Marek Zidlicky netted the deciding goal in the shootout, leading the Wild to the win at Xcel Energy Center.

Stephane Veilleux also scored in regulation for the Wild, while Niklas Backstrom stopped 24 shots for the win.

Minnesota is just 14-18-2 as the visiting team this season and has lost three straight, four of five and seven of its last nine road tests. The Wild will return home for Sunday's game against Edmonton, but will then head back out on a four-game road trip.

New Jersey is 5-1 with two ties in the eight all-time meetings against the Wild. Minnesota has never won in New Jersey, going 0-3 with a tie in the Garden State.

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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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