Hiller stops 51 shots as Ducks top Oilers in shootout

Hockey Betting Lines

12/20/2008 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Hiller tied an Anaheim record with 51 saves and denied all three Oilers in the shootout as the Ducks pulled out a 3-2 victory over Edmonton.

Corey Perry scored in regulation and was the only successful skater in the shootout, as the Ducks won for the second time in three games. Rob Niedermayer also recorded a goal in the win.

Erik Cole and Kyle Brodziak each tallied a third-period goal for Edmonton, which has lost four of five. Dwayne Roloson stopped 34-of-36 shots for the Oilers, who converted just 1-of-10 power-play chances.

After near misses from each team in the extra session, Perry was the first to go in the shootout. He skated in on Roloson from the right side and waited for the goaltender to commit before sliding the disc in for the goal.

Hiller denied Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner in succession to pull out the additional point for the Ducks.

After 19-plus scoreless minutes, Niedermayer tapped in a short-handed goal with just 21 ticks remaining in the opening period.

The Ducks padded the 1-0 lead on the power play midway through the second, as Bobby Ryan wheeled at the left circle and hit Perry with a pass in front for a redirection into the back of the net.

The Oilers caught a break when Zachery Stortini deflected Lubomir Visnovsky's shot from the point to Brodziak, who blew the disc past an unsuspecting Hiller at the 6:32 mark of the third.

After failing to capitalize on a 5-on-3 advantage, Edmonton was granted its ninth power play of the game and Cole made that one count by knocking in a rebound out of the air with 6:03 remaining in the game.

Game Notes

Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne left the game after suffering a laceration on his right thigh...Ducks regular netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere was absent from the bench as he returned to his home in Montreal for personal reasons...The Ducks were 1-for-8 on the power play...The Ducks had lost 14 of their previous 16 in Edmonton.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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