Red Wings put home streak on the line against Blackhawks

Hockey Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings shoot for their 13th consecutive victory on home ice when the rival Chicago Blackhawks enter Joe Louis Arena tonight for a matchup between Central Division foes.

Detroit has been tremendous in the Motor City all season long, having amassed a gaudy 21-3-3 home mark for the campaign, and hasn't lost as the host since a 3-2 setback to Ottawa on December 12.

The franchise record for consecutive home victories is 14, set from January 21-March 25, 1965.

The Red Wings can also climb back into first place in the Central, where they currently trail Nashville by just one point, with a win tonight. The Predators also hold a slim edge on Detroit for the all-important top spot in the Western Conference.

Detroit completed a three-game road trip with a 4-1 triumph over lowly Phoenix on Saturday. Henrik Zetterberg was the offensive star for the Red Wings, as the All-Star forward recorded his first career hat trick and added an assist on Justin Williams' empty-net tally in the closing seconds.

Pavel Datsyuk assisted on all four Detroit goals and Dominik Hasek made 20 saves in the win, the Red Wings' eighth in their last 10 games.

Zetterberg continued his torrid scoring pace during February. In eight games this month, the Swedish star has racked up 10 goals and 11 assists.

Chicago will be attempting to halt a three-game overall losing streak as well as ending its recent lack of success in this series. The Blackhawks have lost 11 of their last 12 meetings with Detroit, including all three tests this season.

In its most recent contest, Chicago came up on the short end of a 2-1 decision to the New York Rangers Sunday in Madison Square Garden. Martin Havlat scored the only goal for the Blackhawks, who couldn't get out of an early 2-0 hole.

Patrick Lalime stopped 27-of-29 shots for Chicago in a losing cause.

The Blackhawks, who are 11-15-5 on the road for the season, will open a four- game homestand Thursday against San Jose.

Chicago has lost in eight of its last nine visits to Joe Louis Arena, including a 6-3 setback on January 13.

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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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