Canadiens top Penguins in shootout
Hockey Betting Lines
02/07/2012 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec scored in the eighth round of the shootout to help the Montreal Canadiens take a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Bell Centre.
In the eighth round, Plekanec beat Marc-Andre Fleury to the glove side with a wrister and Carey Price sealed the win as he kept out a low forehand shot from Jason Williams.
Louis Leblanc and Lars Eller both scored in regulation for the Canadiens, who have won their past two. Price made 32 stops in the win.
"I thought we played well the whole game," said Plekanec. "We tried to shut them down. "We we're able to get two points. That's the most important thing."
Pascal Dupuis and James Neal scored for the Penguins, who have dropped three of four. Fleury posted 28 stops in the loss.
"We were able to get the game even on Neal's goal," said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma. "Then we had to kill a penalty to get a point and it was a big point. Would have been better to get both points because you don't feel good when you lose a shootout."
The first 20 minutes passed scoreless as Price stopped 11 shots and Fleury made 10 saves.
Montreal, though, got on the board at the 11:21 mark of the second when Leblanc got the puck inside the Pittsburgh zone and from the inside right circle beat Fleury cleanly with a shot.
Pittsburgh tied the game 63 seconds into the third while shorthanded as Joe Vitale's pass from the right wing to the front of the net went off the right skate of Dupuis and past Price.
Montreal took the lead back as Eller's easy shot from the left point fooled Fleury at the three-minute mark.
However, the Pens tied the game 4 1/2 minutes later as Evgeni Malkin sent a pass from behind the net that deflected off the stick of a Hab and went right to Neal, who used the one-timer from the low left side for his 28th of the year.
Game Notes
Montreal plays in New York against the Islanders on Thursday...Pittsburgh has off until Saturday when it will host Winnipeg...This was the last game between these two this season. Montreal avoided the sweep as the Penguins had won the previous three.
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Little scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, and the Winnipeg Jets hung on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1, on Tuesday. Chris Thorburn also lit the lamp for the Jets, w
<< Edler lifts Canucks over Preds in shootout
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexander Edler scored in the sixth round of
a shootout Tuesday night, lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 win over the
Nashville Predators.
Edler challenged Pekka Rinne from the left side, skating de
<< Elliott tops former team, leading Blues over Sens
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Almost a year after the Ottawa Senators traded
him to the Colorado Avalanche, Brian Elliott made his regular season return to
Scotiabank Place.
Elliott stopped 28 shots and led the St. Louis Blues over Ot
<< Pekovic helps Minnesota down Sacramento
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikola Pekovic had a double-double with 23
points and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota as it defeated Sacramento, 86-84, at
Target Center on Tuesday.
Michael Beasley added his own double-double with 17 point
<< Clifford's goal the difference in Kings' win over Lightning
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner
midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings skated past the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penne
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - William Buford netted a game-high 29 points and added seven rebounds as No. 3 Ohio State fought off a resilient Purdue team, 87-84, on Tuesday. The teams exchanged the lead 16 times, but a jumper by
Aves beat slumping Blackhawks >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Jones scored twice as the Colorado
Avalanche took down the slumping Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2, at Pepsi Center.
Kyle Quincey, Peter Mueller and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal for the
Avalanch
Avs beat slumping Blackhawks >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Jones scored twice as the Colorado
Avalanche took down the slumping Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2, at Pepsi Center.
Kyle Quincey, Peter Mueller and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal for the
Avalanch
Rangers lock up SS Andrus with 3-year deal >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers agreed to a three-year,
$14.5 million contract with shortstop Elvis Andrus on Tuesday night, according
to MLB.com.
The deal, which is pending a physical, would make him a free agent af
Ellis' 48 not enough, Durant lifts Thunder over Warriors >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored 33 points and made the go-
ahead jumper with 14.2 seconds remaining, as the NBA-leading Oklahoma City
Thunder snuck past Monta Ellis and the Golden State Warriors, 119-116.
Durant also
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.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
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.