Canucks host Avs hoping to extend series dominance
Hockey Betting Lines
02/15/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to continue their recent
dominance of Colorado when they welcome the Avalanche for tonight's Northwest
Division clash at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks have taken all three meetings against the Avalanche this season
and have claimed four straight, eight of nine and 12 of the last 14 encounters
in this series. Colorado hasn't fared well in British Columbia either, losing
four in a row and six of its last seven trips to Vancouver.
Vancouver hopes to use its mastery of the Avs to try and increase its already-
comfortable lead atop the Northwest, a division that the Canucks have won in
three straight and four of the last five seasons. The Canucks are leading the
division with 76 points, placing them 14 points ahead of second-place Calgary.
The Canucks enter tonight having earned at least a point in 10 straight games
and they are 7-0-3 over that stretch. After dropping a shootout decision
Saturday in Calgary, Vancouver was able to record a shootout victory of its
own on Monday against Phoenix.
Ryan Kesler scored the game-winning goal against the Coyotes, as he tallied in
the sixth round of the deciding phase to lift Vancouver to a 2-1 triumph. It
marked the eighth time in the past 10 games that the Canucks were pushed past
regulation.
On the winning score, Kesler moved in slowly and fired a quick wrist shot low
to the stick side of Coyotes netminder Jason LaBarbera. Roberto Luongo then
stopped Boyd Gordon on Phoenix's final attempt to seal the victory.
Kesler added an assist and David Booth scored in regulation for the Canucks,
while Luongo finished with 23 saves in the win.
"There wasn't a lot of room out there. We knew it was going to be a battle,"
Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler said.
The win over Phoenix kicked off a three-game homestand for Vancouver, which is
16-6-4 as the host team this season.
Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard has sat out the last three games with a neck
injury and a possible concussion and he will miss another game tonight.
Meanwhile, forward Chris Higgins is expected to return tonight for Vancouver
after sitting out the last six games due to an adverse reaction to
antibiotics.
Colorado enters this evening on a four-game point streak (2-0-2), but unlike
the Canucks, the Avs have won just twice in their last eight trips to the ice.
The Avalanche began a four-game road trip Saturday in St. Louis and were
handed a 3-2 overtime loss. All four regulation goals were scored in the first
period and Carlo Colaiacovo delivered the game-winner for the Blues with 1:42
left in OT.
Semyon Varlamov made a career-high 41 saves for Colorado in his first start
since January 31. Jean-Sebastien Giguere is expected to be back between the
pips tonight for the Avs.
Shane O'Brien and former St. Louis defenseman Erik Johnson posted goals for
the Avs, who are just three points out of a playoff spot in the Western
Conference.
"The points are huge right now," said Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco. "We're
in a situation where we need as many as we can get down the stretch."
The OT loss in St. Louis dropped Colorado to 12-12-3 as the road team this
season. After tonight, the Avs will complete this trek with stops in Edmonton
and Winnipeg.
<< Panthers hope to solve visiting Sens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers are in position to win four in a row
for the first time this season, but to do so they'll need to beat the Ottawa
Senators for the first time in nine meetings.
That's the task for the Panthers tonight
<< Maple Leafs aim to end slide in road test with Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to end their longest
losing streak of the season when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for tonight's
battle at Rexall Place.
The Maple Leafs have lost four in a row -- all in regulation -- an
<< Wolves hope to get healthy against visiting Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been a history-making year thus far for the Charlotte
Bobcats. Unfortunately, it's not the type of records they'd like to be
associated with.
Tonight, Charlotte attempts to snap their franchise-record 15-game losing
<< Pistons and Celtics clash at TD Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before exiting the New England area for five straight
games, the Boston Celtics will take care of some business at home when the
Detroit Pistons pay a visit to TD Garden this evening.
The Celtics opened a brief two-game ho
<< Spurs search for 9th straight win in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging San Antonio Spurs will resume a nine-game Rodeo
Road Trip tonight against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The Spurs have won eight in a row overall and improved to 4-0 on the annual
trip following Tue
Back to basics: Bruins seek a return to form versus Habs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After watching his team get shut out for the second time in
three games, Claude Julien would like the Boston Bruins to get back to basics
tonight when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Boston has lost t
New Yale football coach Reno finalizes staff >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-year Yale head football coach Tony Reno
announced on Wednesday his nine-man assistant coaching staff, which has a
combined 128 years of experience.
Only defensive coordinator Rick Flanders returns from
Wizards seek third straight road win against Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards will try to extend a rare road
winning streak when they face off with an LA Clippers team returning to SoCal
for the first time in nearly two weeks.
The Wizards have opened up a five-game t
Blazers take on Warriors without Aldridge >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will be without All-Star forward
LaMarcus Aldridge tonight when they square off with the surging Golden State
Warriors in Oakland.
Aldridge sprained his left ankle early in Portland's 124-
Hawks continue road trip at Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will resume a five-game road trip tonight in the
desert when it takes on a Phoenix Suns team finishing up a tough three games
in three nights stretch.
The Hawks, who will also visit Portland, Chicago and New
Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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