Canucks go up early and hold off Avs for ninth straight home win

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2009 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wellwood, Alex Burrows and Taylor Pyatt scored first-period goals and Vancouver held on for a 4-2 win over Colorado, snapping an eight-game series slide against the Avalanche.

Alexander Edler added a power play goal with 1:13 remaining in the third period for the Canucks, who are entrenched in the fifth slot in the Western Conference playoff race. Roberto Luongo stopped 18 shots for Vancouver, which has won six of its last eight overall. Ryan Kesler tallied three assists as Vancouver won its ninth straight home game right after setting a team record with nine straight losses at home from December 30-January 31.

"We couldn't buy a win a month and a half ago," said Burrows. "I think we always found a way to lose very game, but we turned it around and we have a lot of confidence in our own building. It's a good sign heading into the playoffs."

Darcy Tucker and Ryan Smyth scored for Colorado, which had won its previous two games. Andrew Raycroft stopped 19 shots in defeat.

Wellwood scored 2:50 into the game during a power play, deflecting Kesler's shot above the right circle past Raycroft.

Burrows made it 2-0 with a shorthanded tally at 7:25. Burrows first went in on a breakaway, but Raycroft made a save. Moments later, the netminder came up with another great sprawling stop of Burrows, but the Vancouver left winger got the rebound and scored into an open net.

Pyatt scored on a shot high above the left circle with 4:42 remaining in the first before Smyth lit the lamp on the power play 4:36 into the second.

Tucker made it a one-goal game 14 seconds into the third thanks to a mistake by Luongo. Tucker shot the puck from behind the net on the left side and directed it toward the net. The disc got caught up in Luongo's skates and trickled into the net.

Colorado pressured the net with 10 third-period shots, forcing Luongo to make some key stops. Also, Colorado's Scott Hannan missed a wide open net that was vacated by Luongo nearly four minutes into the period, just after Edler's delay-of-game penalty expired.

Edler ended any hopes of a comeback with a power play tally, blasting a shot from the high slot past Raycroft.

"We weren't real sharp. The first one that led to a short-handed goal was certainly a big goal for them," said Avalanche coach Tony Granato. "As the game moved on we got our legs going and played a lot better, but obviously it wasn't good enough."

Game Notes

Colorado went 1-for-7 on the power play, while Vancouver was 2-for-4...The Canucks haven't lost at home since January 31 against Minnesota.

Skybppk Hockey Betting News

<< Safina advances at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open after downing 28th-seeded Peng Shuai of China, 7-5, 6-4. Safina will next face American

<< Nadal, Djokovic, Roddick move on at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, third-seeded Serbian and defending champion Novak Djokovic and seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick moved into the third round at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, the ATP's f

<< JMU, Liberty part of new college tournament
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Madison and Liberty were part of a 16-team field chosen to play in the new CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament, which starts Tuesday. The tournament is to be played at campus sites in

<< Charleston, Nevada part of CBI field
Princeton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charleston and Nevada were two of the teams selected to play in the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, which will give diehards another helping of postseason play to go along with the NCAA Tournam

<< Novak's buzzer-beater gives Clippers win over Nets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Novak drained a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New Jersey Nets, 107-105, at Staples Center. Novak finished with a team-high 21 points, while Al Thornton a

Report: Broncos QB Cutler formally asks to be traded >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cuter has asked to be traded, according to the Denver Post. The newspaper is reporting that Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, made the request on behalf of his client. The demand comes

Attorney Smith to lead NFL Players Association >>
Wailea, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeMaurice Smith, a partner in a Washington DC law firm, has been elected to serve as the new leader of the NFL Players Association. According to several media reports, Smith was chosen as the new e

Report: Stallworth expected to be charged after pedestrian death >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth is reportedly expected to be charged after he was the driver in an accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian on Saturday morning. According to Yah

Louisville tops Midwest Region >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After winning their first Big East Tournament title, Louisville holds the top seed in the Midwest Region and the top overall seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals (28-5), led by Rick

UConn and Memphis tops in the West >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut garnered the top seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament while a dangerous Memphis team looms as the second seed. Missouri, Washington and Purdue round out the top five seeds, respecti

MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.