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03/16/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Slater scored with 6:44 to play to give the Atlanta Thrashers a much-needed 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at Philips Arena.
It was a desperately needed two points for Atlanta as the team snapped an ill- timed six-game losing streak and moved to 69 points on the season, five back of the eighth-place Boston Bruins, who took a 5-2 decision over Carolina on Tuesday.
Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov each had a goal and an assist while Niclas Bergfors added three helpers for Atlanta, which got 29 saves from Johan Hedberg.
"We got off to a great start and got some bounces," said Hedberg. "We gotta keep this going and get on a roll here. The guys played well tonight and I'll do my best I can to help the guys when they need it."
Tim Kennedy had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who have dropped their past three games and hold a three-point lead over Ottawa for first place in the Northeast Division. Ryan Miller started the game in net, but was pulled 5:40 in as he gave up three goals on five shots. Patrick Lalime came on in relief and stopped 20-of-21 shots.
Kennedy's goal in the first half of the third period tied the game, but Atlanta took the lead back with 6:44 to play in the third as Bergfors' shot from the right boards hit off of the glove of Slater and went into the net.
"I just charged the net and it went right to me," said Slater. "I just did what I like to do and got the goal."
Buffalo pulled Lalime late in the game for the extra attacker, but Atlanta was able to keep the puck away from Hedberg on the way to the win.
The two teams combined to score four goals in the first 5:40 of the game, resulting in one goaltender getting pulled.
Atlanta got on the board just 33 seconds in as Antropov chipped the puck past Miller from in front after the disc was knocked off the side of the net.
Just over four minutes later, the Thrashers made it a 2-0 game when Rich Peverley sent a pass from the right to the left where Bryan Little wristed it home.
Buffalo got one back just 16 after that goal as Jason Pominville's shot from a bad angle at the left side found its way past Hedberg.
Moments later, though, Miller misplayed the puck behind his net and before he was able to get reset Afinogenov one-timed it home to make it a 3-1 game against his former team and chase Miller from the net.
"I worried about him a little bit, three goals in five opportunities is not what you want to see," said Lundy Ruff about Miller. "It's never an easy decision, you just take the emotion out of it and do it and hope it works out."
Buffalo made it a one-goal game 4:38 into the second period as Kennedy threw a shot on net from the right point that Matt Ellis tipped in.
Lalime needed to stop just six shots in the middle frame to keep Atlanta from adding to its lead.
The Sabres tied the game 7:02 into the third as Kennedy's shot from the right boards hit off of Ron Hainsey's stick and snuck past Hedberg.
Game Notes
Atlanta hosts Ottawa on Thursday...Buffalo continues its five-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Thursday...Each team won twice in the season series, but both of Buffalo's wins came in overtime...Atlanta went 0-for-5 on the power play while Buffalo was 1-for-4.
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With the win, the Coyotes set a new franchise
<< Maple Leafs rout sliding Senators
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Gustavsson made 30 saves to help the
Toronto Maple Leafs take down the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, in a battle between
two Northeast Division foes at Scotiabank Place.
Phil Kessel, John Mitchell, Mikh
<< Caps cruise without Ovechkin, beat Panthers
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Laich had two goals and an assist as
Washington took a 7-3 win over Florida as Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin
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The NHL's best offense didn't seem to
<< Hawks rout Nets in New Jersey
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford led all scorers with 25
points, as the Atlanta Hawks handed the New Jersey Nets yet another loss, this
time a 108-84 defeat at the IZOD Center.
Both Al Horford and Marvin Williams adde
James' triple-double helps Cavs down Pistons >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mo Williams backed LeBron James' 28th
career triple-double with 20 points, as Cleveland turned it on in the fourth
quarter to post a 113-101 victory over Detroit.
James ended with 29 points, 12 a
Predators edge Flyers in shootout >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Erat's goal in the shootout lifted the
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Erat also scored in regulation along with Steve Sullivan and J
Mayo, Grizzlies survive depleted Bulls >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - O.J. Mayo paced a balanced attack with 24
points, as Memphis withstood a spirited effort from a depleted Chicago Bulls
squad to post a 104-97 win at FedEx Forum.
Mike Conley registered 19 points and 1
Mueller continues hot streak for Avs in win over Blues >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Mueller continued his hot play for his
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5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Mueller has tallied at least a point in each of
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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