Bruins hope to bolster playoff chances vs. Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to bolster their playoff hopes when they visit the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's clash between Original Six clubs at Air Canada Centre.

The Bruins are currently holding onto the eighth and final postseason berth in the East with 69 points -- giving them just a two-point edge over the ninth- seeded New York Rangers.

Despite being fourth in the Northeast Division, the Bruins are just 10 points behind first-place Buffalo. Toronto is last in the division, as well as the conference, with 52 points.

The Bruins have won three of four meetings against Toronto this year and have taken 10 of 12 overall. Boston has also notched seven victories in its last nine trips to Air Canada Centre.

Boston had a two-game win streak halted Sunday in Pittsburgh, losing 2-1 to the Penguins in a game that saw Bruins forward Marc Savard suffer an injury on a dangerous hit.

Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion late in regulation on a blind-side hit to the head by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Cooke caught an unsuspecting Savard with a shoulder moments after he released a shot from the high slot. Savard lay motionless for several minutes while being attended to by the medical staff. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher and is out indefinitely.

No penalty was called on the play, but the league is still investigating the hit and a suspension could be levied against Cooke as early as today.

"A guy like that has to be suspended," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said of Cooke. "And that's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from the blind side. That's exactly the example they show of what we've got to get out of this game."

Savard has missed 23 of Boston's 64 games this year, mostly due to foot and knee injuries. Despite missing time, he is tied for third on the Bruins with 33 points.

Blake Wheeler had the lone goal for Boston on Sunday and Tim Thomas was saddled with the loss despite making 31 saves.

The Bruins are playing the third test of a seven-game road trip tonight. Boston is just 15-11-5 as the visiting club this season and had won five straight as the guest before Sunday's loss.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs were defeated for the fifth time in six games on Sunday, losing a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia.

Nikolai Kulemin scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three of four since the NHL returned from its Olympic break. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 stops in the loss.

Tonight marks the first of three straight on home ice for Toronto, which is just 11-14-5 as the host this year.

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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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