Maple Leafs host Oilers in matchup of last place clubs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle between the bottom two teams in the NHL is on tap tonight in Toronto, pitting the Maple Leafs against the Edmonton Oilers at Air Canada Centre.

Despite having won two straight and three of their last four, the Maple Leafs are still last in the Eastern Conference with just 56 points on the year. Edmonton -- bottom feeders in the Western Conference -- is the only club lower than Toronto with 49 points.

In addition to winning its last two games, Toronto has recorded at least a point in four of its last five outings, going 3-1-1 over that stretch.

The Maple Leafs have also won their last two games by 4-3 scores in overtime, beating visiting Boston on Tuesday and edging Tampa Bay two days later in another home tilt.

Phil Kessel scored 3:33 into overtime to give Toronto its latest victory against the Lightning on Thursday. Kessel, who leads the Leafs with 23 goals this year, picked up the first OT game-winner of his career.

Viktor Stalberg had a pair of goals, while Tyler Bozak also found the net for the Maple Leafs. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 30 saves for Toronto.

"Young guys are stepping up here at the end of the year," Kessel said. "We're playing for each other, working hard out there."

Tonight marks the end of a three-game homestand for the Maple Leafs, who are 13-14-5 as the host this year. Toronto will play its next two games on the road against the New York Islanders and Ottawa.

Edmonton is 2-1-1 in its last four games and is coming off Thursday's shootout loss in Montreal. That setback kicked off a four-game road trip for the Oilers, who have a dismal 8-21-3 record as the guest.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored in the fifth round of the shootout, lifting the Canadiens to the 5-4 victory at Bell Centre.

Kostitsyn's was the only score of the shootout and came when he beat Devan Dubnyk with a forehand shot low to the left side. Sam Gagner was then wild on a backhand attempt to seal the victory for Montreal.

Gagner, Shawn Horcoff, Robert Nilsson and Andrew Cogliano had the goals for the Oilers. Dubnyk made 22 saves.

"We played a great hockey game, we had a lot of jump," Dubnyk said. "Everyone worked so hard. It's a test for me every time I'm out there. In the shootout, I was really comfortable. I felt good tonight even though they had the one goal which beat us."

The Oilers defeated Toronto, 3-1, in Edmonton on December 30, but the Maple Leafs have still won five of eight overall in the series. Edmonton has dropped eight of its last 10 contests in Toronto.

Www1luckygambler Hockey Betting News

<< Lumberjacks look to cut down Bearkats in Southland title game
Katy, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With an NCAA Tournament bid on the line, the top- seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats will battle the second-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game at the Merrell

<< 49ers aim for record fifth Big West title against top-seeded Gauchos
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long Beach State tries to raise its total of Big West Conference Tournament titles to a record five, as the 49ers clash with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the championship round of the 35th-annual event at Anahe

<< Utah State and New Mexico State battle for WAC supremacy
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Utah State tries to make it back-to- back Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles tonight as the squad clashes with the New Mexico State Aggies in the 27th-annual event at the Lawlor Events Center in

<< Tigers and Golden Lions collide for SWAC crown
Bossier City, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game will take place this evening at the CenturyTel Center, when the second-seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions battle the fifth-seeded Texas S

<< Spiders attempt to snare Musketeers in A-10 semifinals
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded and 24th-ranked Xavier Musketeers do battle with the third-seeded Richmond Spiders in the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament today at Boardwalk Hall. The winner of this game will

Rockets kick off homestand vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Houston Rockets making the playoffs seem to fade by the day. Tonight they'll have to get past the woeful New Jersey Nets at the Toyota Center in the opener of a four-game homestand and hope for some help ar

Berkman sidelined 2-4 weeks after knee surgery >>
Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Saturday morning. The Astros said the procedure involved removing loose cartilage debris from the knee. There w

Bobcats sign Larry Hughes >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats have signed guard Larry Hughes. Hughes appeared in 31 games for the Knicks this season, then was dealt to Sacramento at the trading deadline and subsequently waived without playin

Twins sign OF Span to five-year contract >>
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins announced the signing of outfielder Denard Span to a five-year, $16.5 million contract on Saturday. The deal also includes a $9 million club option for the 2015 season. Span hit .311 i

Bobcats sign G Hughes; Wallace's MRI negative >>
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -The Charlotte Bobcats have signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.Meanwhile, an MRI on forward Gerald Wallace's left ankle on Saturday reve

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.