By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz,com
Deep in December, the Vegas Golden Knights were suddenly hot.
Or at least they appeared to be. They had won three straight — a 7-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, a 3-2 victory over the division-leading Calgary Flames and a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars.
Then the Philadelphia Flyers, on a 10-game winless streak, came to T-Mobile on a Friday night. The boys in the gold-toned helmets were heavy favorites in the -260 range. The Flyers certainly looked like victim No. 4 on a Golden Knights winning streak that was building momentum.
Problem was no one had told the Flyers, who were 8-12 and bringing up the rear of the Metropolitan Division. And after three periods of hockey, the Flyers had snapped the Golden Knights win streak with a 4-3 victory. Bets on the Flyers paid in the +215 range.
Vegas coach Peter DeBoer: “I think we’re going through a spell here where we’re making some mistakes. I think both our special teams have to be better.”
The result is a reminder of why one handicapper has called hockey “the least predictive” of all sports.
Regardless there was another game 48 hours later. This time it was the Minnesota Wild invading the exuberant and occasionally unmasked arena crowd at T-Mobile Arena.
And the home team opened at a more reasonable -130 on the betting line with the total at 5.5. That was bet up as high as -170 in some spots before the puck drop.
Led by two goals from Zach Whitecloud and four assists from Chandler Stephenson, the Golden Knights overpowered the Wild , 6-4.
The streaking VGK, now 16-11, visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Will it continue? The Bruins are -135, and the Golden Knights are +115. The total is 6.
Elsewhere:
— Ambushed at Arrowhead: The Las Vegas Raiders were anywhere from +9.5 to +10 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. The teaser line was +14. But after the Chiefs rolled to a 35-3 halftime lead, Raiders bettors had to be discouraged. The Raiders finally scored a touchdown in the third quarter but by then the fates of the betting slips were virtually determined. CBS mercifully switched coverage away from the annihilation late in the fourth quarter. The final score of 48-9 pushed the total over 48.
Interim coach Rich Bisaccia: “Our mood right now is not very good, obviously. [We] talked amongst ourselves but that’s exactly what I told them. I told them that these kinds of games will bring out the best and worst in all of us, and it will be easy to see which one comes out.”
But it was an exceptional day for playing favorites in the NFL. Favorites were 11-2 ATS and 12-1 straight up, and the public was queuing up to cash tickets all day long.
The silver-and-black, who are now 6-7 on the season, visit the Cleveland Browns next Sunday. The Browns are a 6-point favorite with the total at 42.5.
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— Sweet payday: In the UFC 269 light heavyweight championship on Saturday night, Charles Oliveira upended favorite Dustin Poirier with a Round 3 submission. Oliveira paid about +115. Poirier was about a -140 favorite. Over 2.5 rounds was also a winner and paid +110.
But the big payday for bettors came when Julianna Peña upset Amanda Nunes in the women’s bantamweight championship with a Round 2 submission. Peña paid about +600. Nunes was anywhere from -1000 to -1300. Peña stopped Nunes’s 12-match winning streak and became the first fighter to defeat Nunes since 2014.
Peña has already offered Nunes a rematch after what some are calling one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
“Everybody thinks I am just only versed on the ground or that I’m just a ground person, but in mixed martial arts you have to be versed everywhere: on the feet, in the clinch, and I’m confident on the ground,” Peña told MMA Junkie and other media at the post-fight news conference. “Wherever the fight goes, I’m comfortable.
Overall, favorites were 7-6-1 vs. underdogs, according to Vegas Insider.
— Improving ATS: The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels notched a couple of wins last week to improve their ATS record to 3-8 (they are also 6-5 in the win/loss column). Their victims were the Seattle University Red Hawks, 76-56 and the Hartford Hawks, 95-78. Maybe there should be more opponents with bird mascots?
Coach Kevin Kruger: “It was fun for them. Really proud of them. They were having fun and that’s what we want to see them do.”
UNLV next hosts the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks on Wednesday.
— Wisconsin money in Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin is still -7 vs. Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 30. The total opened at 43 but is now generally around 42. The Badgers are drawing 66 percent of the action, according to Covers.com.
— Laugher of the week: If you had a ticket on Michigan on Tuesday at -7 vs. Nebraska in college basketball, you enjoyed one of the laughers of the week. The Wolverines routed the Cornhuskers, 102-67, and bettors were all smiles with a cover by 28 points.