Bruins hope to bolster playoff chances vs. Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to bolster their playoff hopes when they visit the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's clash between Original Six clubs at Air Canada Centre.

The Bruins are currently holding onto the eighth and final postseason berth in the East with 69 points -- giving them just a two-point edge over the ninth- seeded New York Rangers.

Despite being fourth in the Northeast Division, the Bruins are just 10 points behind first-place Buffalo. Toronto is last in the division, as well as the conference, with 52 points.

The Bruins have won three of four meetings against Toronto this year and have taken 10 of 12 overall. Boston has also notched seven victories in its last nine trips to Air Canada Centre.

Boston had a two-game win streak halted Sunday in Pittsburgh, losing 2-1 to the Penguins in a game that saw Bruins forward Marc Savard suffer an injury on a dangerous hit.

Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion late in regulation on a blind-side hit to the head by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Cooke caught an unsuspecting Savard with a shoulder moments after he released a shot from the high slot. Savard lay motionless for several minutes while being attended to by the medical staff. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher and is out indefinitely.

No penalty was called on the play, but the league is still investigating the hit and a suspension could be levied against Cooke as early as today.

"A guy like that has to be suspended," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said of Cooke. "And that's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from the blind side. That's exactly the example they show of what we've got to get out of this game."

Savard has missed 23 of Boston's 64 games this year, mostly due to foot and knee injuries. Despite missing time, he is tied for third on the Bruins with 33 points.

Blake Wheeler had the lone goal for Boston on Sunday and Tim Thomas was saddled with the loss despite making 31 saves.

The Bruins are playing the third test of a seven-game road trip tonight. Boston is just 15-11-5 as the visiting club this season and had won five straight as the guest before Sunday's loss.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs were defeated for the fifth time in six games on Sunday, losing a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia.

Nikolai Kulemin scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three of four since the NHL returned from its Olympic break. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 stops in the loss.

Tonight marks the first of three straight on home ice for Toronto, which is just 11-14-5 as the host this year.

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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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