Surging Coyotes host skidding Blackhawks
Hockey Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will try to extend their season-high win streak to five games when they host the sliding Chicago Blackhawks in tonight's clash at Jobing.com Arena.
Phoenix has posted four straight victories for the first time since its last five-game winning streak from March 10-18 of last season. The hot streak has helped lift the Coyotes into the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference, where Phoenix leads Dallas and Colorado by just one point. Minnesota and Calgary are only two points behind the Coyotes in the crowded West.
Meanwhile, Chicago has fallen down to sixth in the West thanks to an 0-6-1 slide that began before the All-Star break. The Blackhawks are five points ahead of Phoenix in the conference standings.
Coyotes captain Shane Doan came through with a dramatic goal in Phoenix's most recent victory, as he scored the game-winner in overtime to lift his club to a 2-1 decision over the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Calgary's Mikael Backlund was whistled for tripping 2:07 into the extra frame and the Coyotes took advantage of the penalty with the game-winner when Radim Vrbata fed a pass from the right of the net to the top of the left circle, where Doan blasted a one-timer past Leland Irving.
Taylor Pyatt scored in regulation for the Coyotes, while Mike Smith stopped 22-of-23 shots in the win.
"You've got to find ways to get points," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "It was just not a pretty game at all so we'll take the points, stick those in the bank and move on."
The victory improved Phoenix to 13-10-4 on home ice this year and the Coyotes are wrapping a brief two-game residency tonight. Following today's tilt, the Coyotes will play four of their next six games away from the desert.
Chicago's last four setbacks have come in regulation and the Blackhawks were dealt a 5-3 loss Friday night in San Jose. Benn Ferriero's goal early in the third period proved to be the winner for the Sharks, who sent Chicago to its seventh straight defeat.
Marcus Kruger scored twice in the loss, while Bryan Bickell also lit the lamp for Chicago, which is in the midst of its worst skid since an 0-6-2 stretch from Dec. 30-Jan. 11 during the 2007-08 season. The Blackhawks also fell to 0-4-1 on a season-long nine-game road trip and Joel Quenneville's club is now just 10-13-3 as the guest this season.
"We know we can win hockey games. We have got a good team, but we just have to get our confidence back," Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa said after Friday's loss. "We have to play a team game. We win as a team and we lose as a team."
Corey Crawford allowed all five goals on 27 shots to take the loss on Friday and Ray Emery could get the start tonight.
Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson sat out Friday's game with flu-like symptoms and is also questionable for tonight. Hjalmarsson has one goal, 11 assists and a plus-five rating in 54 games this season.
This evening's tilt marks the fourth and final scheduled meeting between the Coyotes and Blackhawks this year. Phoenix has taken two straight from Chicago since losing the season series opener at Jobing.com Arena on Oct. 18. The Coyotes have won four of seven overall in this series, but Chicago has taken two straight on the road.
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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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