Blackhawks aim to rebound in Game 2 vs. Canucks

Hockey Betting Lines

05/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded Chicago Blackhawks will try to bounce back from a blowout loss in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals, when they host the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 tonight at United Center.

The Blackhawks also hosted Game 1 on Saturday, but were slammed, 5-1, by the third-seeded Canucks. In its first round series against Nashville, Chicago lost the opener at home by a 4-1 count before rebounding to win the series in six games.

This series is a rematch of last year's conference semifinals, which Chicago won in six games before losing to Detroit in the West finals. The Canucks also won the opener in last year's matchup when they had home-ice advantage.

Roberto Luongo made 36 saves and Vancouver scored the first five goals of the game en route to Saturday's easy victory in the Windy City.

Christian Ehrhoff and Mason Raymond each had a goal and an assist while Henrik Sedin, Michael Grabner and Kyle Wellwood each added a goal for the Canucks, who eliminated Los Angeles in six games to reach this stage.

Both the Blackhawks and Vancouver had a considerable layoff between the first and second round of the playoffs. Chicago was playing its first game since April 26, while the Canucks had been off since April 25.

"I was able to make a few saves early and it got me going," said Luongo. "That was nice to get in the action right away since we hadn't played since Sunday. Now we've got to keep it going."

Patrick Kane scored the lone goal while Antti Niemi made 20 saves in the loss for the Blackhawks. Niemi was pulled after the second period and replaced by Cristobal Huet, who stopped all three shots he faced.

"Sometimes when you have a long layoff it hurts," said Kane. "But they had the same thing, though, so there's no excuse for it. Maybe we came in thinking it was going to be an easy series which obviously it's not."

Niemi, who will get the start again tonight, has surrendered a total of 12 goals on 74 shots over his last three games. Luongo has stopped 90-of-95 shots over the same span.

The Blackhawks were 29-8-4 as the host during the regular season and is 2-2 at United Center in the postseason. Vancouver, which will host Game 3 on Wednesday, was 19-20-2 on the road this year and is 3-1 as the guest in the playoffs.

This marks the fourth time the clubs have battled in the postseason. Vancouver's only series victory over Chicago was in the 1982 conference finals, when the Canucks ousted the Blackhawks in five games before getting swept by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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