Canucks try to stay alive in Game 6 vs. Blackhawks

Hockey Betting Lines

05/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to stave off elimination for a second time when they host the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at General Motors Place.

The Canucks picked up a 4-1 road victory in Game 5, marking the third-seeded club's first win since a 5-1 blowout in the series opener. Tonight, Vancouver will try to earn its first home victory of this best-of-seven set and force a decisive Game 7 in Chicago on Thursday.

Vancouver is 2-3 at GM Place in the playoffs after posting the best home record in the Western Conference during the regular season with a 30-8-3 mark.

Chicago, which is trying to reach the conference finals for a second straight spring, is 4-1 on the road in the postseason and had a solid 23-14-4 record as the visiting team prior to the start of the playoffs. The second-seeded Blackhawks last made it to the conference finals in back-to-back years in 1989 and '90.

Kevin Bieksa paced Vancouver's offense with a pair of goals and an assist in Sunday's Game 5 matchup, while Roberto Luongo made 29 saves to help the Canucks record the 4-1 decision at United Center.

Christian Ehrhoff and Alexandre Burrows also lit the lamp for the Canucks.

"We still got a road ahead of us," Bieksa said. "If we play the same way we did tonight will be fine."

The third-seeded Canucks are 0-4 in the second round of the playoffs since last reaching the conference finals in 1994, when they eventually lost to the New York Rangers in a seven-game battle for the Stanley Cup.

However, Vancouver is 3-4 all-time in best-of-seven series when trailing three games to one. The last time the Canucks overcame a 3-1 deficit to win a series was against St. Louis in the opening round of the 2003 playoffs.

The Canucks won Sunday despite losing defenseman Sami Salo at the end of the first period. Salo was hit by a shot near his groin section and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. He is not expected to play tonight.

Jonathan Toews, coming off a hat trick during a 7-4 victory in Game 4, had the lone goal for Chicago on Sunday, while Antti Niemi turned aside 20-of-23 shots in defeat.

"I'll give them credit because they played the way they had to," Toews said. "We weren't good enough tonight."

With Salo likely out for tonight, the Canucks may turn to Nolan Baumgartner or Aaron Rome to fill in on the blue line. Baumgartner has been a healthy scratch this whole series and hasn't played since Game 4 of the club's opening-round matchup with Los Angeles. Rome has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury and hasn't played since Game 3 against the Kings. If Rome is healthy enough to play tonight, he would likely get the call over Baumgartner.

This marks the fourth time the Canucks and Blackhawks have battled in the postseason. Vancouver's only series victory over Chicago was in the 1982 conference finals, when the Canucks ousted the Blackhawks in five games before getting swept by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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