Briere's OT goal boosts Buffalo over Edmonton

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Briere scored the winning goal 1:02 into overtime, as the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres got their fourth consecutive victory by beating the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, at HSBC Arena.

With the score deadlocked a minute into overtime, Edmonton streaked into the Buffalo zone, but had it taken away. The Sabres got a 2-on-1 break, which then became a 3-on-1 attack, as Briere pulled the puck away from a sprawling Toby Petersen, and ripped it over Dwayne Roloson's right shoulder for the winning goal.

Maxim Afinogenov also scored for the Sabres, whose last three triumphs in the current winning streak have come at the beginning of a season-long six-game homestand. Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots for the Sabres, who have won six straight on home ice and are 20-7-2 as the host club this season.

Despite the close win, the injuries continued to pile up for Buffalo. Afinogenov suffered an upper body injury just prior to scoring his goal, and Jiri Novotny suffered a left ankle injury, neither of whom returned.

Last Saturday, defenseman Jaroslav Spacek broke his left hand while blocking a shot against the Flames. Also, forward Paul Gaustad will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an ankle injury earlier in the week.

Shawn Horcoff scored for the Oilers, who are in the midst of a season-high seven-game road trip, which started on a down note with a shutout in Boston on Tuesday. Roloson stopped 29-of-31 shots for Edmonton.

The Oilers drew first blood when Horcoff unleashed a snap shot from the left circle top shelf, glove side with 12:58 remaining in the first, and held that edge at the first intermission.

With 1:56 left in the second period, Thomas Vanek missed from the left circle, and the puck banked off Roloson's chest. Afinogenov gathered the rebound and snapped the puck into the net from just above the crease to tie the score.

Game Notes

Neither team utilized the man advantage, as Buffalo was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Edmonton finished 0-for-1...The Sabres and Oilers last met on January 16 of last season in Edmonton and Buffalo earned a 3-1 victory. However, the Oilers are 6-2-2 in the last 10 matchups and lost for the first time in their last seven trips to Buffalo.

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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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