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02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks keep finding ways to win close games, but tonight they may have to find a way to do so without former Hart Trophy winner Henrik Sedin.
The Minnesota Wild are hoping the possible return of their captain can keep them in the postseason hunt.
The Wild may have Mikko Koivu back in the lineup this evening against a Canucks squad that could be minus one half of its high-scoring twin duo after Sedin was forced to miss practice on Wednesday.
Sedin, the league leader with 46 assists to go along with a 57-point total that ranks among the best in the NHL, suffered a right ankle injury blocking a shot in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout win over Nashville. Though Sedin returned to the game and had a pair of assists, his team-record string of 552 consecutive games played is in doubt for tonight.
"We're still waiting on results from a CT scan" said Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault on Wednesday. "They did an x-ray and couldn't tell from the x- ray. He was obviously in a lot of pain."
A potential loss of Sedin could be big for the Northwest Division-leading Canucks. Though they have a comfortable 13-point lead over the second-place Wild in the division, they trail the Red Wings by three points for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Vancouver is 5-0-2 in its past seven games and has just two regulation losses in its past 14 trips to the ice (9-2-3). Still, those spans have come with anxious moments as the Canucks have gone to a shootout in three straight games, including the first two of a four-game road trip, and all told each of their past five games and eight of 10 have gone beyond regulation.
Tuesday was the latest instance as goals by Ryan Kesler, Byron Bitz and Daniel Sedin staked the Canucks to a 3-1 lead after the first period versus the Predators, but Nashville scored twice in the second off Roberto Luongo to even things up. Alexander Edler then won it for Vancouver in the sixth round of the shootout.
"It's a tight league. Not a lot of separation, and we're going to be involved in a lot of tight games," Luongo said after making 37 saves.
The Wild open a four-game homestand following Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Blue Jackets. Minnesota was hoping that Koivu could return for that tilt, but he missed his eighth straight game due to a shoulder injury. However, he had a good practice on Wednesday according to head coach Mike Yeo and said the team would see how he is today before making a decision on his return.
"I had a good skate and felt better again. I guess each and everyday it's getting better, so that's a good sign," Koivu said after practice, adding it's up to Yeo if he plays tonight.
The Wild could certainly use Koivu as they have lost three of four and 18 of their last 23 (5-13-5) since a seven-game win streak from Nov. 28-Dec. 10. Nate Prosser scored his first career goal in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jackets, while Niklas Backstrom allowed three goals on 37 shots.
"It was back-and-forth. We had a couple chances, but I don't think we deserved to win the game," Yeo said.
Minnesota enters play tonight tied for eighth in the West with Phoenix, one more than both Colorado and Calgary.
The Canucks have won six of seven and eight of their past 11 encounters with the Wild, but have lost five of their past six in Minnesota.
<< Flames hope to stay hot in Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Needing a big two points on Wednesday night, the Calgary
Flames turned to pair of Finns to get the job done. The Flames aim to jump
into the playoff picture this evening and stop the Phoenix Coyotes' three-game
winning streak
<< Stars aim to get right against hapless Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing for pride, the
Dallas Stars have stumbled as of late in their chase of a postseason spot.
The Stars hope to break out of their scoring slump and get back on the winning
track thi
<< Devils hope to stay on a roll versus the Blues
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New Jersey Devils will try to extend their
longest winning streak of the season to six games tonight, when they host the
St. Louis Blues at the Prudential Center.
The Devils, who are coming off Tuesday's contro
<< Ferrero will open for Nadal-less Spain
Oviedo, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Spain will begin defense of
its Davis Cup title with a 2012 opening-round tie against Kazakhstan this
week, as the festivities will get underway Friday with a singles rubber
between
Caps hope to stay in first as they battle Jets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Washington Capitals will try to post
consecutive wins for the first time in over three weeks when they host the
Winnipeg Jets tonight at Verizon Center.
The Capitals posted a big win Tuesday against visitin
Kings try to continue mastery of Panthers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three goals seems to be the magic number for the Kings, but
their first meeting with the Panthers this season was one of the exceptions to
the rule.
Los Angeles shoots for its eighth straight win over struggling Florida th
Fish will open for U.S. against Federer-led Swiss >>
Fribourg, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An opening-round Davis Cup tie
between the United States and host Switzerland will commence Friday when
American Mardy Fish takes on Swiss slugger Stanislas Wawrinka.
The best-of-five aff
Illini and Hoosiers duke it out in Big Ten brawl >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini are hoping a
win tonight at No. 23 Indiana will give them a boost as they come down the
home stretch in what has been a fairly odd season thus far.
Illinois is 16-7 on the year,
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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