Flyers have two-goal lead after one period in Game 4

Hockey Betting Lines

06/04/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goals from Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and Matt Carle were countered by a goal from Patrick Sharp as the Philadelphia Flyers hold a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Blackhawks after 20 minutes of action in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Chicago took Games 1 and 2 in the Windy City, but the Flyers returned to the City of Brotherly Love for Wednesday's Game 3, which Philadelphia won in a 4-3 overtime contest that was capped on Giroux's goal 5:59 into the extra frame.

The Flyers had the first power play opportunity of the game when Andrew Ladd was called for interference just 36 seconds in. The best chance for the Flyers came when Richards centered the puck with Ville Leino in front, but the disc was unable to find the back of the net.

A few minutes later, Antti Niemi made a nice save on a Jeff Carter blast, and Michael Leighton followed a bit later with a stick save on a point blank shot from Patrick Kane.

Shortly after the save on Kane, Tomas Kopecky was called for high sticking, and the Flyers struck just five seconds after the call. After losing the right circle faceoff, Richards stole the puck off of Niklas Hjalmarsson behind the net and threw a quick backhander from the left side that found its way past Niemi at the 4:35 mark.

Chicago got a power play with 11:44 left in the first when Kimmo Timonen was called for hooking, but the Flyers' penalty killing unit kept the chances to a minimum, and Leighton made a pad save on a Brian Campbell blast near the end of the advantage.

With 5:12 to play in the frame, the Flyers made it a 2-0 game. James van Riemsdyk had the puck behind the net and sent it out front for Giroux, who threw a turnaround shot on net. The shot never made it to Niemi, but the puck kicked out front, and Carle buried it for his first goal of the playoffs.

Chicago made it a one-goal game with 1:28 to play in the frame as Duncan Keith kept in a clearing attempt at the right side and fed it over to the high slot for Sharp, whose blast hit a stick in front and got past Leighton.

Philadelphia, though, got the goal back just 51 seconds later to restore the two-goal edge. Scott Hartnell had the puck at the left boards and sent it high for Timonen, who took a stride down and dished the puck to the left side where a wide-open Giroux deposited it into the empty net.

Leighton finished the first period with 10 saves, while Niemi made just five.

Each team made lineup changes for the game, as Chicago dressed Ladd, who missed the first three games with an upper body injury, and defenseman Nick Boynton while scratching defenseman Jordan Hendry and right wing Adam Burish. Philadelphia inserted forward van Riemsdyk into the lineup and benched forward Daniel Carcillo, who had taken van Riemsdyk's spot for Games 2 and 3.

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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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