Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race

Hockey Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin registered two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to notch his seventh shutout of the season, as the Vancouver Canucks stymied the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, at United Center.

Alex Burrows had a goal and two assists, while Henrik Sedin collected three helpers for Vancouver, which has won seven of its last nine games and moved into a tie with Chicago for fourth place in the Western Conference. The Canucks are also one point behind Calgary for the top spot in the Northwest Division.

"At the end of the day, getting the win is all that matters," Luongo said. "We all saw the standings and knew this was the biggest game of the year. Fortunately, we were up to the challenge."

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19-of-23 shots for the Blackhawks, who had a three- game win streak halted.

Henrik Sedin held the puck behind the net and dished out front to Daniel Sedin, who was on the doorstep and poked it past the right pad of Khabibulin 3:22 into the contest.

The Chicago netminder then made an acrobatic save with a little less than six minutes to go in the first period to keep it a one-goal game. Mats Sundin slid the puck through the crease to Pavol Demitra, but Khabibulin lunged across to deny the veteran forward with the right pad.

Burrows made it 2-0 when he went hard to the net and redirected Daniel Sedin's slap pass inside the right post at 8:43 of the middle stanza.

The crafty Sedin twins worked their magic again in the third period. Henrik whipped the puck blindly to the right side of the cage for Daniel, who fired it past a sprawled Khabibulin and inside the far post at 3:53.

A frustrated Blackhawks squad began to turn up the physicality, which resulted in fisticuffs and a multitude of penalties.

"Little mistakes cost us," said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "There was already some bad blood between our two teams, but we have to learn to control our frustration. The guys on this team will always stick up for one another."

Ryan Kesler gave Vancouver a four-goal edge at 6:59.

Patrick Sharp's strong effort on the penalty kill led to a penalty shot as he was taken down by Demitra with 5:41 remaining. The three-time 20-goal scorer, however, had the puck hop over his stick.

Game Notes

It was the 45th whitewashing of Luongo's career...Daniel Sedin leads the Canucks with 30 goals and 76 points...Chicago finished a five-game homestand with a record of 3-1-1...Sharp is 0-for-3 in his career on penalty shots...Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer left the game in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. He is listed as day-to-day.

Reoma Hockey Betting News

<< Purdue downs Rutgers, moves on
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lakisha Freeman netted 18 points and the sixth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers defeated the seventh-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 67-61, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahoma City Regiona

<< Celtics silence the Thunder
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Davis took an elbow to the head in the third quarter that resulted in 10 stitches on his forehead, but the second- year forward returned to score 15 of his 19 points in the final stanza to ignite

<< Thomas stellar as Bruins top Flyers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas made 45 saves and Mark Recchi picked up the game-winner early in the third period, as Boston clipped Philadelphia, 4-3, at Wachovia Center. Milan Lucic added a pair of goals and De

<< Granger leads Pacers past lowly Wizards
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger scored a team-high 31 points, and the Indiana Pacers defeated the lowly Washington Wizards, 124-115, at Conseco Fieldhouse. Brandon Rush continued his hot play with a career-high t

<< Seth Curry to transfer to Duke
Lynchburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeking a higher level of competition, guard Seth Curry, the younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry, called Liberty basketball coach Ritchie McKay and indicated his intentions to transfer to Duke Un

Hornets gain ground on Southwest Division-leading Spurs >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio

Ryan, Ducks keep Avalanche in freefall >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Ryan scored twice in Anaheim's 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Honda Center. Corey Perry and Drew Miller also tallied for the Ducks, who have won six of their last seven games. Jonas Hiller t

Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place. Andrew Brunett

Hornets gain ground, but Spurs clinch playoff spot after Suns lose >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio

Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in Washing

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.