Coyotes Points Visit Name Of Buffalo

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Sabres forward Thomas Vanek, who leads Buffalo with 19 goals and is second on the club with 40 points, left Tuesday's tilt with an illness and is questionable for tonight.

 

Phoenix has lost eight of its last 10 games, but has points in four straight. Following an overtime loss at Los Angeles and a victory over the Islanders, the Coyotes have dropped shootouts to the Rangers and Red Wings. The 3-2 loss to Detroit came last night in the middle portion of a three-game road trip.

 

"We need two points in the standings every game we have from now on," said Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, who became the 39th coach in league history to be on the bench for 700 games. "I thought we had a good effort out there tonight and it's a shame we didn't get the two points."

 

The Blue Jackets fired head coach Scott Arniel on Monday and dropped a 5-2 decision to the Blackhawks on Tuesday under interim head coach Todd Richards. R.J. Umberger and Antoine Vermette scored the goals and Curtis Sanford gave up four goals on 24 shots.

 

"There were some good things and some things we have to work on. Our defensive zone, around the net, we gave up some easy goals there," said Richards. "It's been a tough couple days but we hung in there. We're heading home and after a day of rest and practice tomorrow will do us good for the weekend."

 

Umberger extended his club record of 288 consecutive games played on Tuesday, but that run will come to an end tonight after he left practice on Thursday with concussion-like symptoms. Umberger took an elbow to the head at Anaheim on Sunday, but played the entire game on Tuesday.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five wins in seven games has the Washington Capitals back in the playoff picture. A season high-tying losing streak, and according to head coach Guy Boucher Tampa Bay's worst loss of the year, has the Lightning fading in the Eastern Conference.

 

The Caps look to deal the Bolts a sixth straight setback this evening and close the gap even further in the Southeast Division.

 

Washington moved to 13-0-0 when leading after two periods and is now within four points of Florida for the top spot in the division. The Panthers host the Penguins this evening.

 

In winning the opener of a four-game homestand, the Capitals have taken their last four games as the host and have killed off 26 straight penalties over their last 10 home games.

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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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