Canucks go up early and hold off Avs for ninth straight home win

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2009 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wellwood, Alex Burrows and Taylor Pyatt scored first-period goals and Vancouver held on for a 4-2 win over Colorado, snapping an eight-game series slide against the Avalanche.

Alexander Edler added a power play goal with 1:13 remaining in the third period for the Canucks, who are entrenched in the fifth slot in the Western Conference playoff race. Roberto Luongo stopped 18 shots for Vancouver, which has won six of its last eight overall. Ryan Kesler tallied three assists as Vancouver won its ninth straight home game right after setting a team record with nine straight losses at home from December 30-January 31.

"We couldn't buy a win a month and a half ago," said Burrows. "I think we always found a way to lose very game, but we turned it around and we have a lot of confidence in our own building. It's a good sign heading into the playoffs."

Darcy Tucker and Ryan Smyth scored for Colorado, which had won its previous two games. Andrew Raycroft stopped 19 shots in defeat.

Wellwood scored 2:50 into the game during a power play, deflecting Kesler's shot above the right circle past Raycroft.

Burrows made it 2-0 with a shorthanded tally at 7:25. Burrows first went in on a breakaway, but Raycroft made a save. Moments later, the netminder came up with another great sprawling stop of Burrows, but the Vancouver left winger got the rebound and scored into an open net.

Pyatt scored on a shot high above the left circle with 4:42 remaining in the first before Smyth lit the lamp on the power play 4:36 into the second.

Tucker made it a one-goal game 14 seconds into the third thanks to a mistake by Luongo. Tucker shot the puck from behind the net on the left side and directed it toward the net. The disc got caught up in Luongo's skates and trickled into the net.

Colorado pressured the net with 10 third-period shots, forcing Luongo to make some key stops. Also, Colorado's Scott Hannan missed a wide open net that was vacated by Luongo nearly four minutes into the period, just after Edler's delay-of-game penalty expired.

Edler ended any hopes of a comeback with a power play tally, blasting a shot from the high slot past Raycroft.

"We weren't real sharp. The first one that led to a short-handed goal was certainly a big goal for them," said Avalanche coach Tony Granato. "As the game moved on we got our legs going and played a lot better, but obviously it wasn't good enough."

Game Notes

Colorado went 1-for-7 on the power play, while Vancouver was 2-for-4...The Canucks haven't lost at home since January 31 against Minnesota.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

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.