Blackhawks visit Flyers in afternoon clash

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the top teams in the Western Conference will head to the East Coast today as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Philadelphia Flyers for an afternoon battle at Wachovia Center.

The Blackhawks have 93 points on the year, placing them first in the Central Division and two points behind San Jose for the conference lead. With a 14- point lead over Nashville, Chicago is likely headed to its first division title since the 1992-93 campaign.

Chicago dropped a 5-4 regulation decision last Sunday against Detroit but bounced back with Wednesday's close victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Patrick Sharp opened the scoring early in the contest and lit the lamp 2:08 into overtime to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win in the final test of a four-game homestand at United Center.

An ill-timed turnover by Kings forward Brad Richardson in the neutral zone set up the game-winning tally. Dave Bolland picked up the puck and quickly dished to Sharp, who beat Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick on a breakaway for his 21st goal of the season.

"There are a lot of games left. We just want to build as the playoffs come," Sharp said.

Kris Versteeg had the other goal for Chicago and Patrick Kane added an assist to push his point streak to nine game. Antti Niemi made 28 saves to pick up the win, Chicago's seventh in its last nine games.

The Blackhawks are 18-10-3 as the visiting team this year and, beginning with today's tilt, are playing four of their next five games on the road. Chicago will host Washington Sunday afternoon at United Center.

Cristobal Huet is expected to get the start in goal tonight and Niemi will return to the crease in Sunday's game against the Capitals.

Meanwhile, the Flyers come into today still very much in a fight for a playoff spot. With 74 points, Philadelphia is tied with Montreal for the sixth seed out of eight postseason berths in the East.

Philadelphia was dealt a decisive loss by visiting Boston on Thursday, marking just the second regulation loss for the Flyers in 10 games (7-2-1). Tuukka Rask stopped 31-of-32 shots and Patrice Bergeron added a goal and two assists to lead the Bruins to the 5-1 rout of the Flyers.

Jeff Carter recorded the lone goal for the Flyers, whose two-game win streak came to an end.

"We've been not playing the greatest (lately), and I think we've been getting away with it on the power play and scoring timely goals," said Flyers captain Mike Richards. "But tonight we got what we deserved."

Starter Michael Leighton was tagged for four goals on 25 shots in 31-plus minutes. Brian Boucher finished the game with 11 stops, but Leighton is likely to get the start today. Boucher could earn the start in Sunday's game versus the New York Rangers.

Today's test marks the end of a four-game homestand for the Flyers, who are 20-12-2 as the host this year. Philadelphia's test against the Rangers on Sunday kicks off a four-game road trip.

This afternoon's tilt marks the only regular season meeting between the Blackhawks and Flyers this year. Chicago pounded the visiting Flyers, 5-1, last year, ending Philadelphia's six-game winning streak in the series. The Blackhawks come into today with losses in their last seven games in the City of Brotherly Love.

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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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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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