Canucks host Avs, aim for Northwest lead

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their recent winning ways and also regain sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division when they take the ice at General Motors Place tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canucks held a two-point advantage over second-place Calgary in the competitive Northwest before the Flames came through with a 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Minnesota currently sits just one point behind the co- leaders in third.

Vancouver returns home fresh off a pair of hard-fought road victories over Minnesota and Chicago and has won three in a row overall. After besting the Wild in overtime during a key divisional clash on Wednesday, the Canucks needed a shootout to put away the pesky Blackhawks two nights later.

Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden, Vancouver's first two shooters during the deciding phase, each beat Patrick Lalime to lift the Canucks to a 2-1 triumph on Friday.

The Canucks prevailed thanks to a great outing from All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo, who made 34 saves in regulation and then stopped both skaters he faced in the shootout.

Vancouver's Matt Cooke sent the contest into overtime when he scored with 9:33 remaining in the third period.

Following tonight's matchup, Vancouver will embark on a four-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Anaheim.

The Avalanche rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Flames at the Saddledome on Thursday, but Calgary got its revenge in last night's rematch. Kristian Huselius racked up two goals and an assist to lead the host Flames.

Colorado's Paul Stastny had a goal to extend his scoring streak to seven games. The young forward, who has amassed five goals and four assists over that span, also needs just two points to tie Alex Tanguay's rookie club record of 51 in a single season.

Two other Avalanche players, both of whom were instrumental in the team's win on Thursday, also lengthened individual streaks. Captain Joe Sakic set up Andrew Brunette's second-period goal and now notched a point in seven straight contests (5 goals, 9 assists), while Milan Hejduk assisted on Stastny's score to extend his run to six games (5 goals, 5 assists).

Hejduk had a hat trick in Thursday's triumph while Sakic added a pair of goals, including the 600th of his brilliant career.

Colorado won the first three meetings between the Northwest foes this season before the Canucks claimed a 2-1 win at General Motors Place on December 2. The Avalanche are 7-2-2 in their last 11 games with Vancouver.

The home team has emerged victorious in 10 of the last 12 encounters in this series, including seven of the last eight tilts.

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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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