Canucks go up early and hold off Avs for ninth straight home win

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2009 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wellwood, Alex Burrows and Taylor Pyatt scored first-period goals and Vancouver held on for a 4-2 win over Colorado, snapping an eight-game series slide against the Avalanche.

Alexander Edler added a power play goal with 1:13 remaining in the third period for the Canucks, who are entrenched in the fifth slot in the Western Conference playoff race. Roberto Luongo stopped 18 shots for Vancouver, which has won six of its last eight overall. Ryan Kesler tallied three assists as Vancouver won its ninth straight home game right after setting a team record with nine straight losses at home from December 30-January 31.

"We couldn't buy a win a month and a half ago," said Burrows. "I think we always found a way to lose very game, but we turned it around and we have a lot of confidence in our own building. It's a good sign heading into the playoffs."

Darcy Tucker and Ryan Smyth scored for Colorado, which had won its previous two games. Andrew Raycroft stopped 19 shots in defeat.

Wellwood scored 2:50 into the game during a power play, deflecting Kesler's shot above the right circle past Raycroft.

Burrows made it 2-0 with a shorthanded tally at 7:25. Burrows first went in on a breakaway, but Raycroft made a save. Moments later, the netminder came up with another great sprawling stop of Burrows, but the Vancouver left winger got the rebound and scored into an open net.

Pyatt scored on a shot high above the left circle with 4:42 remaining in the first before Smyth lit the lamp on the power play 4:36 into the second.

Tucker made it a one-goal game 14 seconds into the third thanks to a mistake by Luongo. Tucker shot the puck from behind the net on the left side and directed it toward the net. The disc got caught up in Luongo's skates and trickled into the net.

Colorado pressured the net with 10 third-period shots, forcing Luongo to make some key stops. Also, Colorado's Scott Hannan missed a wide open net that was vacated by Luongo nearly four minutes into the period, just after Edler's delay-of-game penalty expired.

Edler ended any hopes of a comeback with a power play tally, blasting a shot from the high slot past Raycroft.

"We weren't real sharp. The first one that led to a short-handed goal was certainly a big goal for them," said Avalanche coach Tony Granato. "As the game moved on we got our legs going and played a lot better, but obviously it wasn't good enough."

Game Notes

Colorado went 1-for-7 on the power play, while Vancouver was 2-for-4...The Canucks haven't lost at home since January 31 against Minnesota.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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