Canucks aim for big win in Chicago

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to grab the top spot in the Northwest Division tonight, as they travel to Chicago and the United Center to battle the Blackhawks.

Vancouver and its 68 points are currently tied with Calgary for the division lead. The Flames were in action on Thursday, but were defeated by Colorado.

The Canucks, meanwhile, come into tonight's game on a winning note, as they knocked off the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, in overtime on Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. Sami Salo scored the game-winner 4:20 into the extra session.

Daniel Sedin and Markus Naslund also scored for Vancouver, which has won three of its last four games. Roberto Luongo blocked 30-of-32 shots in goal.

The win improved Vancouver's road mark to 14-12-2. The team will return home to host Colorado on Sunday before embarking on a four-game swing.

Center Jan Bulis, who has been out with a slightly separated shoulder, is probable for tonight's game.

Vancouver and Chicago will meet for the fourth and final time this season. The Canucks had won six straight in the series until the Blackhawks posted a 3-0 road win on February 7. The Canucks, though, have still won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall and three straight in Chicago.

The Blackhawks were last in action on Wednesday when they dropped a 5-4 shootout to Pittsburgh at Mellon Arena. Rookie Evgeni Malkin tied the game late in the third period and also netted the deciding shootout marker for the Penguins.

Craig MacDonald, Patrick Sharp, Martin St. Pierre and Tuomo Ruutu each scored and Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 29 shots for Chicago, which wrapped a seven- game road trip at 4-2-1.

Martin Havlat posted an assist in the loss to stretch his scoring streak to seven games. He has posted seven goals and five helpers over that span.

Chicago, which is 11-13-3 at home this year, will keep its bags packed as it will hit the road for another two games after tonight's contest.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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