Doughty scores in final second as Kings down Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Doughty rammed home the game-winning goal with two-tenths of a second remaining to send the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Staples Center.

After Blue Jackets' center Samuel Pahlsson was whistled for holding with 1:06 to play, the Kings went to work with the man-advantage, bombarding Jackets goalie Curtis Sanford with shots.

Kings' defenseman Jack Johnson ripped a slap shot from the right point that was kicked out by Sanford, but Doughty pounced on the rebound and ripped it past Sanford from the slot just before the clock hit zero.

"It was a great job on our power play," Doughty said. "I've never scored many goals to win it. "It's a good feeling. It's good to get this win right after the break and before our long road trip."

Doughty also added an assist, while Justin Williams and Dustin Penner scored for the Kings, who got 20 saves from Jonathan Quick en route to their second straight win.

Derek Dorsett and Colton Gillies scored and Sanford made 30 saves in defeat for the Blue Jackets, who have now lost six consecutive games.

Los Angeles opened the scoring with a power-play tally at 8:40 of the first period after Williams took a nice feed from Doughty and snapped a wrist shot high over the left shoulder of Sanford from the left circle.

Columbus drew even just 1:09 into the second period when Vinny Prospal threw one in front right on the tape of Derick Brassard, who backhanded a weak shot on net that was stopped by Quick, but Dorsett stuffed home the rebound.

The Kings took a 2-1 edge at 14:32 of the second period off a sloppy turnover by Columbus at the defensive blue line.

R.J. Umberger held the puck in his own zone and looked to head up the ice on the rush, but was pickpocketed by Penner at the blue line. Penner moved in with speed and snapped one past Sanford to the short side.

The Jackets tied it at two at 4:52 of the third period when John Moore ripped a shot from the right point that was kicked to the right corner by Quick. Antoine Vermette chased down the puck and found Gillies, who ripped it home from in front.

"This is hugely disappointing, we thought we were going into overtime with at least one point," Sanford said. "They controlled the puck at the end, got it on the guy's stick and he made the shot. This one is tough, it's happening too many times this season."

Game Notes

Los Angeles leads the season series between the teams, 2-1...Columbus failed to convert on three power play chances, while the Kings were an efficient 2- for-3 with the man advantage...Doughty has 15 points in his last 19 games.

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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.