Wild stop surging Blues
Hockey Betting Lines
03/14/2010 -
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu netted a goal and two assists, and
the Minnesota Wild notched a 4-2 win over the streaking St. Louis Blues at
Xcel Energy Center.
Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen both had a goal and an assist for the
Wild, while Guillaume Latendresse tallied for the 25th time, extending a
career-best.
Josh Harding, playing again in place of the injured Niklas Backstrom (groin),
made 35 stops in Minnesota's second straight win following a four-game skid.
"We have to win the games coming up," Harding said. "We were ready to play,
and we got a big win. (The Blues are) a great hockey club -- you got to give
them all the credit in the world. Fortunately, we came out on top (Sunday)."
Paul Kariya and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who had won seven of
their last eight to move within striking distance of a playoff berth. St.
Louis stands five points behind idle Detroit for the eighth and final spot in
the West.
"We're not gaining ground, everyone around us is winning," said Blues forward
Keith Tkachuk. "This really hurts, no question about it. Some of the teams won
today too, so it's frustrating. We have to go on a serious run to get into the
playoffs."
Chris Mason stopped only 4-of-7 shots in the first period before Ty Conklin
finished the game with 12 saves.
The Wild got started quickly, getting on the board at the 1:54 mark of the
first period. Koivu won a faceoff in the offensive zone, and the puck drifted
back to Cam Barker. Barker fired a one-timer, which Brunette redirected past
Mason for the goal.
St. Louis was unable to solve Harding in the early-going, and Koivu extended
Minnesota's advantage with a power play tally at the 13:12 mark of the opening
frame.
Then, with 1:10 left on the clock, Latendresse completed the dominating period
with his 25th goal of the year for a 3-0 Wild lead after 20 minutes.
Koivu helped turn the game into a rout with a nifty behind-the-back pass to
Miettinen, who was in position to easily flick the puck into the net with 5:12
remaining in the second.
Berglund's unassisted tally on a power play with 2:51 left in the second got
the Blues to within three entering the third, and Kariya made it a two-goal
game with his 15th at the 6:08 mark of the final period.
Harding, though, was able to stop the remaining 12 shots in the final 20
minutes, as the Wild skated off with the victory.
Game Notes
Backstrom has missed three consecutive games...Minnesota is six points behind
Detroit for the eighth spot in the conference...The Wild improved to 22-9-3 at
home, while St. Louis fell to 20-11-4 on the road...The season series is tied
2-2...Martin Havlat had a pair of assists for Minnesota...St. Louis finished
up a six-game road trip at 4-2-0.
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Donte
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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