Ducks to open crucial homestand with visit from Habs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks haven't helped their cause for inclusion in the playoffs with their performance following the Olympic break. They'll have a chance to improve those chances with a critical seven-game homestand that starts up with tonight's clash with the Montreal Canadiens.

Anaheim has lost its first two tests since returning from the NHL's stoppage for the Vancouver Games, following up a 4-3 home setback to Colorado on Tuesday with last night's shutout defeat at fellow Pacific Division member Phoenix. The Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov stopped all 32 shots that came his way in the 4-0 decision, the Russian goaltender's seventh whitewash of the season.

Jonas Hiller saved just 26-of-30 chances for Anaheim, which now finds itself tied for 12th place in the Western Conference standings and five points back of Detroit for the eighth and last postseason seed.

"I think that everybody on this team needs to do more," said Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle after Saturday's loss. "This is a team game and we win and lose as a team."

The Ducks sorely need to take advantage of this upcoming stretch of games at the Honda Center, where the club had been playing extremely well prior to the Olympic hiatus. Anaheim had ripped off a franchise-record 11 consecutive victories on home ice before Tuesday's loss to the Avalanche and are a strong 19-9-2 as the host this season.

They've also had good success when facing the Canadiens in recent years. The Ducks have won their last three matchups against tonight's opponent, with Montreal's latest triumph in the series coming at the Honda Center on March 8, 2004. The Habs have fallen in three of their last four visits to Anaheim.

Montreal has fared pretty well on its current road trip, though, improving to 2-1-0 on the four-game trek after Saturday's 4-2 verdict over Los Angeles. The win gave the Canadiens sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and they trail rival Boston by only one point for the No. 7 spot.

Brian Gionta gave Montreal a quick lead when he scored just 22 seconds into the game, and the diminutive winger added an assist on Benoit Pouliot's tally that put the Canadiens up 3-1 early in the third period.

"Anytime you can jump on a team like that early on, those things kind of set the tone for the game," Gionta said. "We were able to do it again in the third [period]. I think we were much more confident [Saturday]. I think we just need to be a little more aggressive, stick with our game plan and not sit back."

Dominic Moore added a shorthanded goal and Scott Gomez notched a pair of assists for Montreal, which will play its next three games at home following tonight's tilt.

The Canadiens will be without Maxim Lapierre for a second straight night. The center began serving a four-game suspension on Saturday for injuring San Jose's Scott Nichol with a late hit in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.

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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets

With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship.  Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92.  After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points.  Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1.  Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years.  With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed.  UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern.  Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier.  OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak.  Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.  It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta.  But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.

Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props.  Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000.  Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.

MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:

EAST National Championship Region
Arkansas 300-1 50-1
Belmont 1000-1
Boston College 100-1 40-1
Eastern KY 1000-1
George Washington 75-1
Georgetown 10-1 3-2
Marquette 100-1 40-1
Michigan State 100-1 25-1
New Mexico St. 500-1 200-1
UNC 6-1 6-5
Oral Roberts  500-1
Texas 15-1 5-1
Texas Tech 200-1 5-1
USC 75-1 20-1
Vanderbilt 100-1 30-1
Washington State 40-1 15-1
WEST
Duke 50-1 10-1
Florida A&M 1000-1
Gonzaga 200-1  40-1
Holy Cross 300-1
Illinois 300-1 60-1
Indiana 75-1 40-1
Kansas 5-1 13-10
Kentucky 100-1 40-1
Niagara 1000-1
Pittsburgh 40-1 8-1
Southern Ill. 50-1 12-1
UCLA 10-1 3-2
VCU 500-1 100-1
Villanova 100-1 40-1
VA Tech 50-1 15-1
Weber St 1000-1
Wright St 1000-1 300-1
MIDWEST
Arizona 50-1 30-1
Butler 40-1 30-1
Davidson 300-1
Florida 4-1 4-5
Georgia Tech 75-1 25-1
Jackson State 1000-1
Maryland 30-1 6-1
Miami-OH 300-1
Notre Dame 100-1 20-1
ODU 500-1 100-1
Oregon 40-1 6-1
Purdue 300-1 60-1
Texas A&M CC 1000-1
UNLV 100-1 30-1
Winthrop 500-1 100-1
Wisconsin 15-1 7-2
SOUTH
Albany 200-1
BYU 200-1 40-1
Central CT St. 1000-1
Creighton 100-1 35-1
Long Beach St. 500-1 200-1
Louisville 40-1 10-1
Memphis 30-1 4-1
Nevada 75-1 35-1
North Texas 500-1
Ohio State 7-1 6-5
Penn 500-1
Stanford 200-1 50-1
Tennessee 100-1 20-1
Texas A&M 12-1 11-5
Virginia 75-1 18-1
Xavier 100-1 40-1

Field                                              100-1

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