Demitra returns to help Canucks down Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

11/15/2008 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Luongo halted 28-of-30 Toronto shots as the Vancouver Canucks downed the Maple Leafs, 4-2, at General Motors Place.

Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Kesler, Willie Mitchell and Daniel Sedin each notched goals for Vancouver, which had a three-game winning streak snapped with a shootout loss to Colorado Wednesday. Pavol Demitra, who had missed the previous 10 games with a rib contusion, had three assists.

The loss also marked the end of an incredible stretch for Luongo, who entered against the Avalanche with three straight shutouts and eclipsed his own franchise-record scoreless streak by blanking Colorado over the first 41:28 to reach 242 minutes and 36 seconds of scoreless hockey.

The Canucks polished off of a season-high, six-game homestand at 4-1-1 and are now 6-2-1 as the host this season.

Ian White and Matt Stajan had the Leafs' scores as Toronto completed a three- game tour of western Canada at 1-2 and has claimed victory only twice in its last seven games overall.

Vesa Toskala surrendered four goals on nine shots and was lifted in the second period in favor of Curtis Joseph, who stopped all six of Vancouver's shots thereafter.

The Maple Leafs next head back to Toronto for a three-game homestand, starting Monday against Boston.

Wellwood got things started for Vancouver with a tip-in goal in front at the 7:13 mark of the first. The Canucks won an offensive zone faceoff back to Shane O'Brien at the right point. O'Brien dumped in along the right boards to Demitra, who rifled a pass in front for the tip.

Kesler's power-play marker with 1:58 remaining made it a 2-0 game after one period.

Vancouver used a pair of second period goals to up the advantage to 4-0. Mitchell's deflection off an Alex Burrows shot found the back of the net 3:35 in and Sedin netted his sixth goal of the year just under five minutes later, spelling the end of Toskala's night shortly thereafter.

Luongo was finally beaten by White with just over five minutes remaining and Stajan's power-play marker lit the lamp 2:37 later.

Game Notes

Vancouver has won three straight against the Leafs after going winless in the previous five meetings. Toronto is 4-3 with a tie in the last eight matchups at GM Place...Toronto is 4-5-1 as the visiting team this season...The Canucks will visit the New York Islanders on Monday in the opener of a four-game road trip...Wellwood's goal was his seventh of the season...Toronto was 1-for-8 on the power play while Vancouver went 1-for-5.

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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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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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