Naslund lifts Canucks over Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

03/02/2007 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Markus Naslund scored the game winner with a little over four minutes to play to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at General Motors Place.

Daniel Sedin had two goals, while Jeff Cowan scored the other goal for the Canucks, who had lost their previous two games.

Roberto Luongo made 21 saves for Vancouver, which sits in first place in the Northwest Division with 79 points, one ahead of Minnesota.

Bill Thomas scored two goals and Shane Doan added a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who have dropped two of their last three games. Curtis Joseph made 25 saves in the loss.

The Canucks were down a goal, 3-2, early in the third period, but tied the contest when Henrik Sedin fired a hard pass from the top of the right circle to the slot where Daniel Sedin redirected it into the net for a power-play tally 5:46 in.

Vancouver then took a 4-3 lead with 4:14 left in the game after Naslund slid the disc between the pads of Joseph for his 21st goal of the season.

Phoenix pulled Joseph with under a minute to play, but was unable to net the equalizer.

Vancouver drew first blood in the contest with a power-play goal when Daniel Sedin skated around the net and from the slot wristed a shot into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead 5:04 into the contest.

Phoenix, though, answered with a power-play goal of its own at the 10:52 mark of the first when Thomas blasted a shot from the right circle that beat Luongo.

The Canucks took a 2-1 lead in the second, as Cowan picked up a turnover at the blueline, skated down the ice, and snapped a wrister over the glove of Joseph for a shorthanded goal 7:54 into the second.

The Coyotes, however, scored the next two goals to make it a 3-2 contest.

On the man advantage, Yanick Lehoux fired a backhand pass from behind the right side of the net to the low slot where Thomas banged it in at the nine- minute mark of the second.

Less than three minutes into the final period, Steven Reinprecht fired a blind pass from the right boards to the slot where Doan blasted a one-timer by Luongo.

Game Notes

Phoenix hosts Columbus on Saturday...Vancouver has off until Sunday when it will host Minnesota...Phoenix went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Vancouver finished 2-for-5...Vancouver has won both games against Phoenix this season and eight of nine overall in the series.

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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.

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