Canucks keep Wild reeling
Hockey Betting Lines
02/09/2012 -
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Sedin played two days after taking a
puck off his ankle and scored a goal, and the Vancouver Canucks rolled to a
5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist while Maxim Lapierre, Manny Malhotra and
Ryan Kesler also scored for the Canucks, who are unbeaten in regulation in
their last eight games (6-0-2).
Vancouver stopped a streak of five straight overtime games. Henrik Sedin was
cleared to play his 553rd straight game despite concerns over his ankle, which
was injured while he blocked a puck in Tuesday's win over Nashville.
Cory Schneider had 22 saves for the Canucks in Thursday's victory, which
knocked the Wild to 5-14-5 in their last 24 games since mid-December. They are
0-3 against Vancouver during the stretch.
Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi scored for Minnesota and Niklas Backstrom
gave up four goals on 19 shots. Captain Mikko Koivu, who missed eight straight
games with a left shoulder injury, returned and was a plus-1 in nearly 23
minutes of ice time.
Heatley gave the Wild their only lead 13 seconds into the game when he slipped
in front from the right side and beat Schneider. But Daniel Sedin's power play
goal tied it and Lapierre gave Vancouver the lead for good with 42 seconds
left in the first period. Both goals came on rebounds in the slot.
Henrik Sedin's goal came 50 seconds into the middle period on a tic-tac-toe
play started by his brother on the left side. Byron Bitz took that pass and
fed it to Henrik low on the right side for an easy goal.
Malhotra made it 4-1 on a deflection in the third period and Setoguchi rattled
one in off the post on a power play with 4:02 remaining. Kesler's goal was
into an empty net.
Game Notes
The Wild started a four-game homestand that also includes visits from
Columbus, Anaheim and Winnipeg...Vancouver was 1-for-3 on the power play and
the Wild went 1-for-4.
<< Indiana pulls away from Illinois
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Zeller dropped a game-high 22 points
to lead four Hoosiers in double figures as Indiana rolled past Illinois,
84-71, at Assembly Hall on Thursday.
Christian Watford, Victor Oladipo, and Jorda
<< Spezza lifts Ottawa over Nashville
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Spezza netted two goals and added an
assist, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators
at Scotiabank Place.
Chris Phillips -- playing in his 1,000th NHL game -- contribu
<< Richards lifts Rangers over Lightning in OT
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Richards scored 2:37 into overtime,
lifting the New York Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on
Thursday night.
Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle also scored for the R
<< Tennessee State shocks Murray State, topples nation's last unbeaten
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - And then there were none.
Murray State, the last undefeated NCAA Division I team, fell to Tennessee
State, 72-68, on Thursday. The ninth-ranked Racers (23-1, 11-1 OVC) had
already clinched the best s
<< Stars jump on Jackets early, hold on
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn opened and closed the scoring,
including an empty-netter in the final second, as Dallas downed Columbus, 4-2.
Stephane Robidas' goal was the final of three in the first 21-plus minutes,
and
Rockets use strong bench effort to down Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola scored 16 points and the Rockets,
aided by a strong bench effort, downed the Suns, 96-89, on Thursday.
All five Houston bench players who entered the game reached double figures,
led by Patric
Detroit shocks unbeaten Green Bay >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay hadn't lost since a setback last
February to Detroit.
On Thursday night, history repeated itself.
Shareta Brown scored 24 points and Senee Shearer added 23, as the Detroit
Titans ended
Curry leads Golden State past Denver >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Curry poured in 36 points, including six
treys, as Golden State downed slumping Denver, 109-101, at Pepsi Center.
Klay Thompson added 19 points off the bench, Dorell Wright had 15 points and
Monta Elli
Lakers outlast Celtics in OT >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The battle between the Lakers and Celtics was
fittingly decided in overtime, and it was Andrew Bynum's late tip-in that
proved to be the difference in Los Angeles' 88-87 victory.
The Lakers have won si
No. 4 Stanford handles USC >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike netted a game-high 22 points
and pulled down eight rebounds as No. 4 Stanford took care of business with a
69-52 win over USC on Thursday.
Chiney Ogwumike finished with 21 points, 12 reb
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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