Kings continue homestand against Blue Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The All-Star break interrupted the Kings' four-game homestand and Los Angeles will try to complete the residency on a positive note when they host the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at the Staples Center.

The Kings lost the first two tests on their homestand before posting a 4-1 victory over Ottawa on Jan. 23. That victory improved LA to 14-11-4 as the host this year and allowed the Kings to enter the break just two points behind San Jose for first place in the Pacific Division. The Kings are now four behind the Sharks, but they're also seeded seventh in the West and hold a three-point lead over eighth-seeded Minnesota.

Jonathan Quick -- the Kings' lone representative at Sunday's All-Star Game in Ottawa -- turned aside 27 shots to help lift his club to the win over the Senators. Quick also stopped 10-of-13 shots while playing for Team Alfredsson in the third period of a 12-9 All-Star loss to Team Chara.

Following tonight's test, the Kings will head out on a six-game road trip that is set to begin Friday in St. Louis.

The Blue Jackets are last in the NHL with 32 points and have recorded just 13 wins this season. One of those victories came less than a month ago in Los Angeles, as Columbus posted a 1-0 decision at the Staples Center on Jan. 7. It was the second victory in the last three trips to the City of Angeles for the Blue Jackets, but the Kings have still won seven of the past nine meetings overall.

Columbus turned in a poor effort in its first game following the break, as it was slammed Tuesday in San Jose by a 6-0 score. It was the fifth straight loss for the Blue Jackets, who posted a dismal 3-8-1 record in January.

Joe Thornton had two goals and an assist for the Sharks in the rout and Antti Niemi made 30 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Steve Mason made 37 saves for the Blue Jackets, who are 11 points in back of Edmonton for the 14th seed in the West.

"They are a very good team and we made things harder on ourselves tonight just [with] poor puck management and poor decisions," said Blue Jackets interim head coach Todd Richards.

The Blue Jackets are 0-3-1 so far on a six-game road trip that is set to end Friday in Anaheim. Columbus is just 5-18-3 as the visiting team this season.

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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.

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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.

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