'Hawks aim to tie record win streak vs. Flyers

Hockey Betting Lines

12/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blackhawks will try match their franchise record for consecutive wins tonight against a team they haven't beaten in over seven years. Chicago will play host the also red-hot Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the United Center.

The Blackhawks return home after posting a perfect 3-0 mark on their tour through western Canada. That includes a 3-1 victory over Vancouver last Saturday that was the club's seventh win in a row. Chicago hasn't won seven consecutive games since it matched a franchise record with eight straight victories from January 4-21, 1981. That mark was originally set from December 9-26, 1971.

Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist to lead Chicago on Saturday, while Patrick Kane scored in his third straight game. Kane also has three assists over his last four contests.

Patrick Sharp, a former Flyer, notched his club-best 18th goal, while Cristobal Huet stopped 30-of-31 shots in the win. Andrew Ladd had an assist to give him a goal and six helpers over a five-game point streak, while Cam Barker has five assists over his last four games.

Chicago, which is also 8-0-1 in its last nine games, is just seven points back of first-place Detroit in the Central Division and has won a season-high four straight at home. The Blackhawks are 10-1-4 overall as the host this year.

But first, the Blackhawks will try for their first win over the Flyers since a home victory on November 6, 2001. Chicago has lost six straight to Philadelphia since, including two in a row at home. The teams last met on October 30, 2006 in Philadelphia, a 3-0 victory for the Flyers.

Philadelphia also comes into this game on a roll, as it has won seven of its last nine games (7-1-1) and is just two points back of the New York Rangers for first place in the Atlantic Division. The club was last in action on Tuesday, a 6-4 victory over Ottawa.

Jeff Carter notched his NHL-leading 26th goal, while Simon Gagne had a goal and assist in the win. Gagne and Carter are both tied for fourth in the NHL with 40 points each, while Gagne's 18 goals are tied for fifth-best in the league.

Matt Carle, Mike Richards, Andreas Nodl and Joffrey Lupul also had a goal each for the Flyers, who won their sixth straight at home but will play the first of six in a row on the road tonight. Philadelphia, which is 7-4-4 overall as the road club this year, won't play at home again until January 8.

Antero Niittymaki has made five straight starts for the Flyers, as No. 1 netminder Martin Biron continues to recover from the flu. Niittymaki made 17 saves versus Ottawa to improve to 3-1-1 with a 2.76 goals against average in his last five starts.

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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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