Leafs and Hurricanes tangle in Toronto

Hockey Betting Lines

10/09/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue an early-season homestand tonight, when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Air Canada Centre.

Toronto was swept in a season-opening home-and-home series with Ottawa, but did earn a point in last Wednesday's overtime loss to the Senators. The Maple Leafs then posted a dramatic home victory over the rival Montreal Canadiens on Saturday for their first win of the season.

Tomas Kaberle scored a power-play goal with 1:34 left in overtime to lead Toronto to a 4-3 home win over the Habs. The game marked the second portion of a four-game homestand for the Leafs.

With both teams skating three aside in the extra period, Francois Bouillon was assessed a two-minute minor for holding with 1:42 to play and the Leafs went on a 4-on-3 advantage. With the faceoff in the Canadiens' right defensive circle, Mats Sundin won the draw back to the left point to Kaberle. The defenseman passed to Sundin in the low left circle, got the puck back and one- timed the pass along the ice, beating Habs goaltender Cristobal Huet for the game-winner.

Alexei Ponikarovsky netted a pair of goals, while Sundin chipped in with three assists. Ian White also tallied for the Toronto, while Vesa Toskala stopped 25-of-28 shots for Toronto.

Sundin is now just one point shy of tying Darryl Sittler for the club's all- time point lead. The Toronto captain will also pass Sittler for the Leafs goal record with his next marker. Sittler, who played 12 seasons in Toronto, notched 389 goals and 916 points with the Leafs.

Carolina, meanwhile, began a six-game road trip with Saturday evening's loss at Washington. Alexander Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season and Olaf Kolzig stopped all 23 shots he faced as the Capitals blanked the Hurricanes, 2-0.

Netminder John Grahame finished with 31 saves for the Hurricanes, who outshot the Capitals 12-4 in the third period to no avail.

The Hurricanes, who will next travel to Ottawa for Thursday's game, was 19-18-4 as the visiting club last season.

Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican (illness) and left wing Cory Stillman (upper body) are questionable for this evening's contest. Hurricanes defenseman Mike Commodore is probable with a hip injury.

The Maple Leafs went 3-1 against Carolina last season and have won five of eight and six of the last 10 meetings. The Hurricanes have also been defeated in three of their last four trips to Toronto.

Wskybook Hockey Betting News

<< 2007 VS. COLORADO
BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS EHammock .400 .455 10 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Salazar .375 .545 8 3 3 1 1 0 2 3 3 2 0 0Smith .333 .3

<< 2007 VS. CLEVELAND
BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS ERamirez .417 .517 24 7 10 4 0 3 7 5 4 0 0 0Pedroia .370 .433 27 3 10 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0Clayton .364 .4

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -Brandon Tate has spent the first half of the season proving something to coaches who no longer are with North Carolina.With every acrobatic catch and end-around rush, the Tar Heels receiver has tried to prove that his fired f

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In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

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