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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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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