Home From Umberger Washington

Hockey Betting Lines

Sabres forward Thomas Vanek, who leads Buffalo with 19 goals and is second on the club with 40 points, left Tuesday's tilt with an illness and is questionable for tonight.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have been playing solid hockey as of late for 65 minutes. It's the few minutes after that where the club has been struggling. The Coyotes, losers of two straight shootouts, try to get back on track tonight against the league's last-place club, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

 

Radim Vrbata netted his team-leading 21st goal, Taylor Pyatt also scored and Mike Smith made 40 saves. Phoenix is 11th overall in the West with 47 points, three back of a playoff spot.

 

The Coyotes have lost six of their last seven on the road and close out their swing tonight in Columbus against a Blue Jackets club that has lost 10 of its last 12 games and is last in the NHL with 27 points.

 

"There were some good things and some things we have to work on. Our defensive zone, around the net, we gave up some easy goals there," said Richards. "It's been a tough couple days but we hung in there. We're heading home and after a day of rest and practice tomorrow will do us good for the weekend."

 

Umberger joins forward Jeff Carter (separated right shoulder) and defenseman James Wisniewski (broken left ankle) on the sidelines.

 

The Coyotes and Blue Jackets are meeting for the first time this season after Phoenix took three of four encounters a season ago. The Coyotes have won six of seven and 10 of the last 12 meetings overall, but did have a six-game winning streak at Columbus end in the last meeting there on Feb. 25, 2011.

 

Washington snapped a two-game slide on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh, moving into a tie with the Penguins for the eighth spot in the East with 46 points. Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season and 46th of his career, while Jason Chimera potted the only goal.

 

Washington moved to 13-0-0 when leading after two periods and is now within four points of Florida for the top spot in the division. The Panthers host the Penguins this evening.

Wwwbaymeadows Hockey Betting Blog

<< Toronto In Point Trip

<< Games Gets Kopitar Into Goal

<< Titans Coordinator Smash Salvage Over Pattern-turned-80-yard Touchdown

<< Rest Recalls Points With Play

<< Ancelotti Leaves Half For Hands

Second Period At Shots Right >>

Former No. For No. Opening >>

Games Helps Kendrick At Parra >>

Nascar Leaves Series For Patrick >>

Arkansas Recalls Wyoming With State >>

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.