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Blackhawks host Canucks in Game 1 of playoff rematchHockey Betting Lines05/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch from last year's playoffs gets underway tonight, as the second-seeded Chicago Blackhawks host the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at United Center. These clubs met in this same round last spring and Chicago ousted the Canucks in six games. The Blackhawks have home-ice advantage this time around after competing against Vancouver as the lower seed in 2009. The playoff meeting between the Blackhawks and Canucks a year ago marked the third time the clubs had battled in the postseason and the first time since the 1995 conference semifinals. 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. Chicago, which lost to Detroit in the conference finals a year ago, enters this series off a six-game series win against the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks were dealt a pair of surprising 4-1 losses by the Predators in the conference quarters, but the Hawks also notched a pair of shutouts en route to winning the series in six. Those shutouts went a long way towards proving Antti Niemi is a legitimate playoff goaltender, something not everybody was sure of heading into this postseason. The Finnish netminder's first playoff series was largely a success, as Niemi posted strong numbers with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. The Blackhawks know that goaltending is not what makes them a Cup favorite and the club played to their strengths against the Predators. Chicago is able to cull its scoring from all sorts of different places, including the blueline, and it makes the Hawks a difficult team to match up with. All told, 10 different Chicago skaters scored goals in Round 1 and four players tallied more than once. Patrick Kane led the club with four goals and also added three assists, while captain Jonathan Toews paced the team with eight points on two goals and six helpers. Marian Hossa, who played on the losing team in the Stanley Cup Finals in each of the last two years (Pittsburgh, 2008; Detroit, 2009), failed to register a point in the first two games of the Nashville series but notched one goal and six assists in the final four contests. His lone goal was a big one, as it won Game 5 in overtime for the Blackhawks. Considering the Blackhawks made it to the conference finals last year at Vancouver's expense, it shouldn't be too hard for the Canucks to get motivated for this series. The Canucks faced a dangerous opponent in the opening round this year in the young and talented Los Angeles Kings. Despite trailing 2-1 in the series, Vancouver stormed back to win the next three games and advance. The next step, though, will be much more difficult. Vancouver has lost in its last four trips to the conference semifinals and hasn't made it past the second round since 1994, when the Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the New York Rangers. Roberto Luongo is the key for Vancouver finally getting back to the conference finals. The goaltender is considered by many to be the most-talented in the world, but has faltered at times for the Canucks in the playoffs. Hopefully, a 5-0 record in leading Canada to gold at the Vancouver Games will give Luongo the confidence he needs to carry the Canucks far into the postseason. Luongo had poor overall numbers in the opening round against the Kings, posting a 2.92 GAA and a .893 save percentage. He was even pulled midway through Game 3 after giving up four goals on 16 shots. The good news for Vancouver is that Luongo played his best hockey in the final two games of the series, allowing a total of four goals on 58 shots in Games 5 and 6. Mikael Samuelsson was the offensive star for Vancouver in the opening round, notching seven goals to tie a club record for most markers in a single series. The Swedish winger also added four assists to lead the Canucks with 11 points in his first postseason series with the team. Samuelsson, who won a Stanley Cup title with Detroit in 2008, signed a three-year deal with Vancouver last summer. Samuelsson was placed on a line with his countryman, twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin, midway through the series with Los Angeles. Daniel Sedin had four goals and 10 points in the series, while Henrik recorded eight points on one goal and seven assists. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer during the regular season with 112 points. Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault made the switch to Samuelsson on the top line due to the struggles of Alexandre Burrows, who led the team with 35 goals during the regular season, but managed only an empty-net tally against the Kings. The Canucks and Blackhawks played an entertaining season series in 2009-10, with each team winning twice over four games. The last time the clubs met was in Chicago on March 5 in what was a nightmare game for Luongo, who was yanked after giving up five goals on 14 shots in the first period. Chicago went on to win that game by a 6-3 count. Overall, the 31-year-old Luongo is 11-8 with a tie in 21 career regular season starts against the Blackhawks. Niemi suffered a similar fate in the previous meeting on Jan. 23 in Vancouver. Chicago's netminder was also pulled in the first period of that game after surrendering three goals on 12 shots in what turned out to be a 5-1 victory for the Canucks. However, Niemi also had a shutout this year in Vancouver, stopping 30 shots in a 1-0 victory over the Canucks on Nov. 22. Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Monday night in Chicago. The Blackhawks were 29-8-4 as the host during the regular season, while Vancouver was 19-20-2 on the road.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half. Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout. Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper". 22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards. Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times. "Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders." Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com . Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs. |
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