Blackhawks rally to beat Canucks, even series
Hockey Betting Lines
05/04/2010 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kris Versteeg scored with 1:30 to play, helping
Chicago even its conference semifinal series against Vancouver with a 4-2 win
in Game 2.
Patrick Sharp had tied the game on a short-handed goal early in the third, and
the Hawks took their first lead of the series late in the frame.
On a crisp passing play, Brent Seabrook sent the puck from the right boards to
the high slot for Duncan Keith, who sent it over to the left side, and
Versteeg wristed it home.
Patrick Kane added the empty-net goal moments later to seal the victory.
Seabrook had a goal and two assists, Versteeg had a goal and an assist and
Sharp also lit the lamp for the Blackhawks, who bounced back from a 5-1
thrashing in Game 1 on Saturday. Antti Niemi made 24 saves in the win.
"It was a pretty competitive game," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville.
"We were a little scrambly in the beginning but we settled down and found a
way to come back with a big win and put ourselves back where we want to be."
Mikael Samuelsson and Mason Raymond each had a goal for the Canucks, who will
now have home-ice advantage for the next two games, with Game 3 set for
Wednesday. Roberto Luongo made 30 stops in the loss.
"I thought Roberto played a real strong game, but they came really hard at the
net all night and it worked," said Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault. "We
knew it was going to be a tough game tonight cause they were going to come at
us hard. We just have to bounce back and win at home."
Raymond got Vancouver on the board just 1:22 in with his third goal of the
playoffs, and the Canucks made it a two-goal game at the 5:02 mark on the
power play.
Skating with a 5-on-3 advantage, Henrik Sedin held the puck at the right side
of the net and flung it across the goal to the left side, where Samuelsson had
the easy tap-in.
Chicago scored 7:40 into the first, as Dave Bolland sent a pass from behind
the net that bounced through traffic in front and came out to Seabrook, who
buried it for his first goal of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks nearly tied the game with about 12 minutes to play in the
second, when Versteeg skated in on a breakaway, but Roberto Luongo turned
aside the backhander.
The second period passed without a goal, as Luongo finished with nine saves
and Niemi turned aside seven shots to keep it a one-goal game.
Skating shorthanded, the Blackhawks tied the game on a 2-on-1 break, as Sharp
skated down the right side, cut to the front of the net and slid a backhander
past Luongo at the 6:49 mark of the third.
Sharp nearly gave his team the lead with another shorthanded break, but Luongo
got a piece of the shot with his glove with 5:15 to play in regulation.
Game Notes
This series is a rematch of last year's conference semifinals, which Chicago
won in six games before losing to Detroit in the West finals. It's the fourth
time these teams are meeting in the playoffs, with Chicago taking two of the
previous three...In its first round match against Nashville, Chicago also lost
Game 1 before rebounding to win the series in six games...Chicago went 0-for-2
on the power play, while Vancouver went 1-for-6.
<< Phillies P Blanton makes season debut
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton
made his season debut on Monday after spending all of April on the disabled
list with an oblique strain.
Blanton gave up four runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 inning
<< Yankees' Posada, Rivera nicked up
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and
closer Mariano Rivera are dealing with injuries that leave them temporarily
unavailable for game action.
Posada is day-to-day with a mild right calf strain, a
<< Ramos continues torrid debut in Twins win over Tigers
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A day after totaling four hits in his major
league debut, catcher Wilson Ramos went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI to
lead Minnesota to a 10-4 rout of Detroit, in the opener of a three-game
series.
<< Red Sox go deep in pounding of Angels
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Pedroia belted a three-run homer, and the
Red Sox went deep four times off Angels pitching in a 17-8 rout in the opener
of a four-game series.
Mike Lowell had four hits, including three doubles and en
<< Rondo, big third quarter lift Celtics to Game 2 win
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 19 assists,
and Boston outscored Cleveland by 19 during a big third quarter to earn a
104-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to even their Eastern Conference
semifin
Jags DE Smith to miss season >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Bryan
Smith will miss the 2010 season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The team provided the information on its Twitter page, saying Smith slipped
and wi
Astros put Byrdak on DL >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros put left-handed pitcher Tim
Byrdak on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring.
Byrdak gave up a hit and two runs in Monday's 9-1 loss to Arizona. He is
1-0 with a 5.23
Harden fans nine in strong start, Rangers hold off A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rich Harden tossed seven innings of two-hit
ball to help Texas take down Oakland, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set.
Harden (2-1) struck out nine and didn't walk a batter for the Rangers, who
have
Jimenez goes to 6-0 as Rockies top Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez struck out a career-high 13
batters in seven innings to lead the Colorado Rockies to a 5-2 win over the
San Diego Padres in the first of a three-game set at Petco Park.
Jimenez (6-0) bec
Three Suns combine for 83 points in Game 1 win over Spurs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Amare
Stoudemire combined for 83 points as the Suns beat San Antonio, 111-102, in
the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Nash totaled 33 points a
MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
About MySportsbook.com:
MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
|