Bruins defeat Hurricanes in Raleigh

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Recchi was one of three Bruins to record a goal and an assist, and Boston boosted its playoff chances with a key 5-2 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

David Krejci and Michael Ryder also added a goal and a helper, while Patrice Bergeron and Johnny Boychuk both scored for the Bruins, who moved three points ahead of the Rangers for the final playoff spot in the East. New York was defeated by Montreal, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Tuukka Rask made 30 saves in the victory for Boston, which had lost four of five and finished a seven-game road trip with a 3-3-1 mark.

Eric Cole scored both goals for the Hurricanes, who stand 10 points behind the Bruins after dropping three of four. Manny Legace allowed all five goals on 37 shots in the loss.

Boston needed just 23 seconds to take a 1-0 lead on Bergeron's redirection of a Dennis Seidenberg slap shot from the point.

About 8 1/2 minutes into the second period, the Bruins went up by two on Boychuk's tally. Matt Hunwick split a pair of defenders with a perfect pass to Boychuk, giving him a clear path to the net. Boychuk skated toward the crease and slid it in between Legace's pads.

Carolina cut its deficit in half with 6:07 left in the second on a power-play goal. Jamie McBain, who notched his first NHL point in his first game with an assist on the sequence, fired a slap shot from the centerpoint and the puck bounced out to Cole, who chipped it into the wide open net.

Boston restored its two-goal cushion on Recchi's tally 45 seconds into the third, but Cole answered with his second of the game 1:08 later to keep the Hurricanes within 3-2.

The Bruins then struck for two goals in less than a three-minute span to seal the victory. Ryder gave the visitors a 4-2 advantage on a quick wrister from the slot that cleanly beat Legace with 10:12 to play, and Krejci's goal with 7:33 remaining extended the lead to three.

Game Notes

Boston leads the season series, 2-1, and has won seven of the last eight regular season meetings with the Hurricanes...Carolina fell to 18-14-3 at home, while the Bruins improved to 17-13-6 on the road...Krejci recorded a plus-four rating for the game...This was Paul Maurice's 800th game coaching the Hurricanes franchise...Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen played in his 400th game.

Wwwsuretrade Hockey Betting News

<< Arkansas-Pine Bluff wins NCAA play-in game with rout of Winthrop
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Smith scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a convincing 61-44 win over Winthrop in the opening-round contest of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The win ea

<< Granger and Pacers snap Charlotte's streak
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger put in a game-high 26 points and secured eight rebounds, as Indiana logged a 99-94 win over Charlotte to halt the Bobcats' win streak at six games. Troy Murphy recorded 16 points and 13

<< Wizards F Howard out at least six months following surgery
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Wizards forward Josh Howard underwent successful surgery to repair a torn left ACL, the club announced on Tuesday. Howard, who sustained the injury in a game against the Bulls on February

<< Flyers goaltender Leighton injured against Nashville
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton left Tuesday's game against the Nashville Predators with a high ankle sprain. The 28-year-old Leighton is considered day-to-day. During the first peri

<< Argonauts sign QB Brannagan
Mississauga, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Argonauts signed quarterback Danny Brannagan to a three-year contract on Tuesday. Brannagan, a native of Burlington, Ontario, played at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where last

Hawks rout Nets in New Jersey >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford led all scorers with 25 points, as the Atlanta Hawks handed the New Jersey Nets yet another loss, this time a 108-84 defeat at the IZOD Center. Both Al Horford and Marvin Williams adde

Caps cruise without Ovechkin, beat Panthers >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Laich had two goals and an assist as Washington took a 7-3 win over Florida as Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin served the first of a two-game suspension. The NHL's best offense didn't seem to

Maple Leafs rout sliding Senators >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Gustavsson made 30 saves to help the Toronto Maple Leafs take down the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, in a battle between two Northeast Division foes at Scotiabank Place. Phil Kessel, John Mitchell, Mikh

Bryzgalov, Coyotes stifle Lightning >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27-of-28 shots to continue his recent stellar play, and the Phoenix Coyotes won their sixth straight game with a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay. With the win, the Coyotes set a new franchise

Habs stay hot in win over Blueshirts >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Kostitsyn's goal in the third period gave Montreal the lead for good, as the Canadiens edged the New York Rangers, 3-1, at the Garden. Glen Metropolit also scored for the streaking Canadiens, who

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.