Blackhawks put streak on line against rested Islanders

Hockey Betting Lines

03/02/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although the Chicago Blackhawks haven't played a game in more than two weeks, a few of the team's members had plenty of opportunities to stay sharp for the season's stretch run during the NHL break.

Fresh off a successful Winter Olympic experience for a number of their key contributors, the Central Division-leading Blackhawks return to the ice this evening to take on the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum.

Chicago had a trio of players -- center Jonathan Toews and defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook -- on the Canadian team that took home the gold medal at the Vancouver games with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the United States this past Sunday. Right wing Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks' leader with 25 goals and 67 points this season, had two assists for the losing U.S. side in the classic championship match.

Toews scored the first goal of Sunday's Gold Medal Game and was named to the tournament's All-Star team after recording eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) and a plus-nine rating over Canada's seven contests.

"He was, from start to finish, one of our best forwards and there is no way else to describe it," Keith said of Toews on the Blackhawks' official site. "He was good offensively and good defensively and used in all of the situations. He works so hard that he deserves everything he gets."

Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa also had a strong tournament, finishing second among all Olympians with nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) for the Slovakian squad that placed fourth in the competition. Right wing Tomas Kopecky also competed for Slovakia, which fell to Finland in Saturday's Bronze Medal Game.

Those six players have all had a large role in Chicago's success this season as well. The Blackhawks enter tonight's play with a commanding lead atop the Central Division and trail San Jose by only two points for the most in the Western Conference.

Chicago closed out the pre-Olympic schedule with four straight wins, with the last three coming via a shootout. In their last time out, the Blackhawks came away with a 5-4 triumph at Columbus on February 14 after Troy Brouwer scored in the fourth round of the deciding phase.

The Islanders didn't have nearly the same presence at the Olympics, with defenseman Mark Streit (Switzerland) the only member of the roster to participate. Using that logic, New York figures to be well-rested for its first action since a 4-3 home defeat to Ottawa on February 14.

The Isles owned a 3-1 lead after two periods, but the red-hot Senators scored three unanswered goals in the third en route to their 14th win in their last 16 outings.

"We had a 3-1 lead and a 5-on-3 (power play) early in the third period, and that was a chance to put them down 4-1 and maybe take over the game," said Blake Comeau, who scored two of the three New York goals. "They got momentum from (stopping) that, we had a few letdowns in the defensive zone, and before you know it it's 4-3."

The loss was the ninth in the past 11 games for the Isles, who are tied for 12th in the Eastern Conference and currently six points out of a playoff spot.

New York will be vying to bounce back against a Chicago squad it has defeated five straight times, including a 4-2 verdict in the Windy City last season. The Blackhawks' last win in the series occurred at Nassau Coliseum back on December 10, 2002.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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