Canucks host Avs, aim for Northwest lead

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their recent winning ways and also regain sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division when they take the ice at General Motors Place tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canucks held a two-point advantage over second-place Calgary in the competitive Northwest before the Flames came through with a 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday. Minnesota currently sits just one point behind the co- leaders in third.

Vancouver returns home fresh off a pair of hard-fought road victories over Minnesota and Chicago and has won three in a row overall. After besting the Wild in overtime during a key divisional clash on Wednesday, the Canucks needed a shootout to put away the pesky Blackhawks two nights later.

Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden, Vancouver's first two shooters during the deciding phase, each beat Patrick Lalime to lift the Canucks to a 2-1 triumph on Friday.

The Canucks prevailed thanks to a great outing from All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo, who made 34 saves in regulation and then stopped both skaters he faced in the shootout.

Vancouver's Matt Cooke sent the contest into overtime when he scored with 9:33 remaining in the third period.

Following tonight's matchup, Vancouver will embark on a four-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Anaheim.

The Avalanche rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Flames at the Saddledome on Thursday, but Calgary got its revenge in last night's rematch. Kristian Huselius racked up two goals and an assist to lead the host Flames.

Colorado's Paul Stastny had a goal to extend his scoring streak to seven games. The young forward, who has amassed five goals and four assists over that span, also needs just two points to tie Alex Tanguay's rookie club record of 51 in a single season.

Two other Avalanche players, both of whom were instrumental in the team's win on Thursday, also lengthened individual streaks. Captain Joe Sakic set up Andrew Brunette's second-period goal and now notched a point in seven straight contests (5 goals, 9 assists), while Milan Hejduk assisted on Stastny's score to extend his run to six games (5 goals, 5 assists).

Hejduk had a hat trick in Thursday's triumph while Sakic added a pair of goals, including the 600th of his brilliant career.

Colorado won the first three meetings between the Northwest foes this season before the Canucks claimed a 2-1 win at General Motors Place on December 2. The Avalanche are 7-2-2 in their last 11 games with Vancouver.

The home team has emerged victorious in 10 of the last 12 encounters in this series, including seven of the last eight tilts.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.