Blackhawks shoot for club record in Minnesota

Hockey Betting Lines

12/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to record the longest winning streak in franchise history when they visit the Minnesota Wild tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

The Blackhawks tied the club mark on Friday with their eighth straight win -- a blowout victory over visiting Philadelphia. Chicago, an Original Six franchise which was founded in 1926, last won eight straight from January 4-21, 1981 and originally set the record from December 9-26, 1971.

In addition to winning eight in a row the Blackhawks have also recorded at least a point in every game this month, going 9-0-1 in December.

The Blackhawks posted a 5-1 decision over the Flyers on Friday at the United Center. Brian Campbell and Dave Bolland both registered a goal and an assist to lead the way for the scorching Blackhawks, who have 45 points and are just six points behind Detroit for the Central Division lead.

Andrew Ladd, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg also scored for the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane and Martin Havlat collected two assists apiece, while Nikolai Khabibulin made 17 saves to improve his record to an incredible 11-1-4 this season.

Ladd extended his point streak to six games, while Kane reached the scoresheet for the fifth straight outing.

The lopsided victory was nothing new for Chicago, which has outscored its opponents, 36-11, during the eight-game winning streak.

The Blackhawks will play their final two games of the 2008 calendar year on the road, as they'll also visit the rival Red Wings on Tuesday. Chicago is 8-5-3 as the visiting team this year and has won its last four games as the guest.

The Wild had lost six straight games recently, but have since posted wins in two of their last three outings. Minnesota hasn't played since Tuesday, when it notched a close victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

Stephane Veilleux's short-handed tally late in the second period proved to be the game-winner and capped a comeback as the Wild skated to the 3-2 triumph over the Hurricanes.

Carolina grabbed a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but the Wild closed that same stanza with three unanswered goals and held on for the win in the final 20 minutes.

Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist while Mikko Koivu set up the first two Minnesota tallies to help pave the comeback trail for the Wild, who desperately needed a win after starting the month with a 2-7-1 mark.

Cal Clutterbuck also scored and Niklas Backstrom stopped 35-of-37 shots to notch the victory.

Minnesota is now 10-6-2 as the host this year after winning each of its last two tests at the XEC.

The Wild posted a home win over the Blackhawks on October 27 in the only meeting between the clubs so far this season. Minnesota has dominated the series in recent years, winning 10 of 12 and 13 of the last 16 encounters with Chicago.

The Blackhawks have also lost in 10 of their last 11 tests in the Gopher State.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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