Head Coach From Games Bruins

Hockey Betting Lines

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers are now literally on the road to the Winter Classic. The Flyers look to recover from a blowout loss on Saturday with their first victory at Colorado in seven years as they take on the Avalanche, who try to win a sixth straight home game this evening.

 

Ilya Bryzgalov allowed five goals on 20 shots before getting lifted in favor of Sergei Bobrovsky, who ended with 16 saves.

 

"It was a tough day for us, and it was not typical of the way we have been playing or executing," said Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette.

 

Though Philadelphia took the lone meeting with the Avalanche last year 4-2 at home, it has lost its last four at Colorado since a win there on Dec. 27, 2004. The Avs have won six of the last eight encounters overall.

 

Colorado started up a four-game homestand with its fifth straight victory at the Pepsi Center on Saturday, a 2-1 triumph over Washington. Erik Johnson scored his first goal of the season and also assisted on Cody McLeod's first score of 2011-12.

 

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves as the Avalanche won for only the second time in six games.

 

Stevens took over for the fired Terry Murray last week, but tonight's tilt figures to be his last game as LA's head coach. The Kings have reached an agreement for Darryl Sutter to become the team's new head coach, and he will likely be introduced on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to the team.

 

"I hope it doesn't take a game like this to open some eyes," Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi said. "We got to wake up eventually. There is only so much time left in the season."

 

Davis Drewiske and Jarret Stoll had goals for the Kings, who have scored two goals or less in 11 straight games. LA had not allowed more than four goals in any game this season before Saturday's blowout.

 

LA defenseman Willie Mitchell could return tonight after missing the last three games with a groin injury. Forward Mike Richards (head) has joined the team on its trip, but he is still out indefinitely.

 

Tyler Bozak had a goal and two assists, while Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel also scored for Toronto, which got 31 saves from Jonas Gustavsson.

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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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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