Olympic Hockey total

Olympic Hockey total I made a half unit bet on Russia/Latvia over 7 (-120). Margin of victory is one of the key factors for determining future seeding in the Olympic hockey tournament.It is probably for this reason that the Canadian women won their first game 18-0 and the American women won 12-1.Similarily,even after the the outcome is already determined, I would expect the dominant men's teams (e.g.Canada and Russia)to continue scoring in the third period. #2 seed Russia is a 4 goal favorite versus Latvia.Their matchup follows Canada's game versus Norway (note: Canada is a 6 goal favorite).The Russians will already know of Canada's margin of victory before their game starts. It is my belief that the Russians will want to at least match Canada's margin. It can be argued that Russia has the most offensive firepower of the 12 entrants.Their only possible weakness is a lack of depth on the blue line.When Russia met Latvia in the last Olympic Games, they won 9-2.Ovechkin,Semin, Kovulchuk,Gonchar,Malkin et. al. will be going against a Latvian squad with virtually no NHL quality defensemen or goal tenders.I would not be surprised to see the Russians light the lamp at least 7 times by themselves. Since this is the first game of the Olympics for both teams, we do not know about the crispness of the passing or the efficiency of the special teams.This is why I am making only a "recreational" bet on this game scheduled for Tuesday night. Good luck, charliej

I played it. The question is will Latvia score? Thanks and Good luck!

It is a valid question to ask if Latvia will score. I made the bet assuming that Latvia will score no more than a goal.The only case that I can make for Latvia's offense is that 16 of their 23 players are from Dinamo Riga (Latvia's team in the KHL).At least, they will have some efficiency and familiarity because they have played together for nearly a full season.If nothing else, the power play may be aided by the fact that the unit is pretty much intact from their KHL games.One could also argue that Gonchar will probably receive the most ice time for Russian defensemen.He is a good point man on the power play and a good "offensive" defensemen. However, no one will accuse him of being a "shutdown" defender.If we can somehow get 2 goals from Latvia,I will be very confident that we will cash the over 7 bet.However, I am making this bet with the assumption that Russia will do all or most of the "heavy lifting." charliej

If you like over 7, why not just bet Russia -4? how much lifting is Latvia going to do? 1?

If I handicapped sides, I would play Russia -4 goals. However, I am probably the worst handicapper of sides on this board.I have already made my one "sides" bet this season. When the Minnesota Wild had their equipment burned by a van fire, I had to bet Ottawa.It wasn't great handicapping,but a use of common sense.That was probably my last bet on a side for this season.In fact, it may have been my first sides bet in three years. If you ever saw the movie "Cooler,"it would remind you that certain people can "jinx" any bet that you make.My experience betting sides could lead me to a starring role in the sequel to "Cooler."If I bet Russia - 4 goals, Latvia would score a goal in the final minute to bring the margin to 3 goals. Perhaps, my greatest gambling strength is that I can assess my weaknesses. Through 20+ years of sports betting and logging all of my bets,I can honestly tell myself that I really suck when trying to beat the books on "sides" bets..Even though it hurts the ego, it has saved my bankroll from a major disaster.My last NFL side bet was in 1999. I actually pushed on KC +3.Since I went 0-0-1 on the 1999 season, it was my best year ever on NFL sides bets. charliej

[QUOTE=blackout;17132]If you like over 7, why not just bet Russia -4? how much lifting is Latvia going to do? 1?[/QUOTE] THe line is not 4, it is 4.5 anywhere I see it. THat is a big difference. It might have been 4 initially....

[QUOTE=charliej;17160]If I handicapped sides, I would play Russia -4 goals. However, I am probably the worst handicapper of sides on this board.I have already made my one "sides" bet this season. When the Minnesota Wild had their equipment burned by a van fire, I had to bet Ottawa.It wasn't great handicapping,but a use of common sense.That was probably my last bet on a side for this season.In fact, it may have been my first sides bet in three years. If you ever saw the movie "Cooler,"it would remind you that certain people can "jinx" any bet that you make.My experience betting sides could lead me to a starring role in the sequel to "Cooler."If I bet Russia - 4 goals, Latvia would score a goal in the final minute to bring the margin to 3 goals. Perhaps, my greatest gambling strength is that I can assess my weaknesses. Through 20+ years of sports betting and logging all of my bets,I can honestly tell myself that I really suck when trying to beat the books on "sides" bets..Even though it hurts the ego, it has saved my bankroll from a major disaster.My last NFL side bet was in 1999. I actually pushed on KC +3.Since I went 0-0-1 on the 1999 season, it was my best year ever on NFL sides bets. charliej[/QUOTE] Like the honesty. SOrry we posted at the same time above. Good luck to us.

When I bet the over 7, Pinny had the line Russia -4 (-127). Obviously, the market thought that the line was too short. I don't pay much attention to the lines on "sides" and am prone to mistakes when quoting the bettable numbers.I am sorry that I wasn't aware that the line has moved to -4.5. charliej

total has been bet up to 7.5... lets get em! gluck mags

Russia 3 PP's and no goals on them. The kiss of death. 2-0 late in the first.