Habs aim to stay hot vs. Hurricanes

Hockey Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly-hot Montreal Canadiens will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes for tonight's battle at the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens have scored 15 times during a four-game win streak that's come directly on the heels of an 0-3 slide. Montreal also won four in a row from Oct. 26-Nov. 4, but the Habs haven't recorded five straight victories since Feb. 26-March 8 of last season.

The recent tear has helped Montreal move within seven points of Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

The Canadiens turned in an impressive win over their biggest rival Saturday night in Toronto, as the Habs spoiled Mats Sundin night at Air Canada Centre by slamming the Maple Leafs, 5-0. Carey Price made 32 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season and 16th of his career and five different players scored for Montreal, which tallied four times in the second period en route to the blowout.

Prior to the game, former Leafs captain Mats Sundin's No. 13 was lifted to the rafters, but the Canadiens made sure that was the high point of the night for Toronto and its fans.

Mathieu Darche had a goal and an assist, while Erik Cole, Max Pacioretty, Rene Bourque and Lars Eller all scored. David Desharnais and Tomas Plekanec added two assists apiece for the Canadiens, while Price was also credited with an assist. Montreal also went 1-for-2 on the power play and stopped Toronto from scoring on its five chances with the man advantage.

"We did a lot of the things that we hoped we would do," Canadiens head coach Randy Cunneyworth said. "We kept the turnovers to a minimum and I think we played a responsible game overall."

Montreal is playing the first of two straight on home ice tonight and will also welcome Boston this Wednesday. The Canadiens are 11-11-7 at the Bell Centre this season.

On the injury front for the Habs, defenseman Yannick Weber is questionable for tonight after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Forward Travis Moen also sat out Saturday's tilt with an upper-body issue and is questionable this evening.

Carolina is coming off a consecutive overtime losses after beginning February with two straight victories. The Hurricanes are last in the Eastern Conference, but are just four points behind Montreal in the standings.

The Hurricanes have a dreadful 6-13-8 record as the road team this year and are completing a three-game swing tonight. Carolina dropped a 3-2 overtime test Wednesday in Anaheim and was then dealt a 4-3 setback Friday night in Colorado when Ryan O'Reilly scored the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left in the extra session.

With time winding down, O'Reilly picked the pocket of Justin Faulk in the neutral zone and skated the other way. From the left wing, O'Reilly cranked a shot that beat Cam Ward to the left side for the win.

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist, while Ward made 29 stops for the Hurricanes, who went 0-for-3 on the power play in the loss.

"We have to get better when we have our opportunities," said Staal. "We have to get in front of the net more. I liked our game tonight, especially in the first two periods. But our power play has to do a better job, especially with chances in the last five minutes."

After today's game, the Hurricanes will play seven of their next eight tilts on home ice. Carolina's next test is Friday night against visiting San Jose.

Montreal is 2-0 against the 'Canes this season and has claimed five of six overall in this series. Carolina has dropped three straight and four of its last five games at the Bell Centre.

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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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