Ducks, Sharks tangle in San Jose

Hockey Betting Lines

03/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a playoff berth already locked up the San Jose Sharks will try to get more separation at the top of the Pacific Division tonight, as they host the Anaheim Ducks at HP Pavilion.

The Sharks knocked off the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in a shootout on Wednesday to clinch the club's fourth consecutive playoff appearance. San Jose has been ousted in the semifinals in each of the past two seasons.

The Ducks, who have 92 points, could also secure a playoff spot with a win in tonight's contest.

Jeremy Roenick scored once in regulation and added the deciding shootout goal in San Jose's latest triumph. Joe Pavelski and Curtis Brown -- who had missed the last 25 games due to a hand injury -- also scored for the Sharks, while Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves to post his league-leading 42nd win of the season.

The Sharks have won two straight and 13 of their last 14 games, and with 97 points lead Anaheim by five points in the Pacific Division. San Jose also has one game in hand over the second-place Ducks.

San Jose has won four of its last five at home and is 18-13-6 as the host this year.

The Sharks have struggled against the Ducks this season though, going just 1-2-3 against them. That includes losses in all three tests versus Anaheim at HP Pavilion this year.

Despite being a possible Vezina Trophy candidate this year, Nabokov is 1-2-2 in five starts against Anaheim this year despite a 1.92 goals-against average.

The Ducks have also won nine of 12 and 10 of their last 14 versus the Sharks, and six straight in San Jose.

Anaheim is currently fourth overall in the Western Conference.

The Ducks, the defending Stanley Cup champions, have won three in a row and defeated third-place Dallas, 2-1, on Wednesday. Todd Bertuzzi's goal with 27.2 seconds left in regulation lifted the Ducks to the win, while Scott Niedermayer also scored.

Ryan Getzlaf had a pair of assists for the Ducks and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 20-of-21 shots. In six starts against San Jose this season, Giguere is 5-0-1 with a solid 1.44 GAA.

Anaheim's win on Wednesday came in the opener of a three-game road trip that wraps in Phoenix on Saturday. The Ducks have lost three of their last four as the visitor and are 17-17-4 overall on the road this year.

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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.

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