Capitals turn eye to East's top seed in meeting with Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals didn't have to break a sweat in clinching their third straight Southeast Division title on Wednesday.

Tonight, they'll try to move closer to locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Verizon Center.

The Capitals were off Wednesday, but clinched the division title as a result of Atlanta's regulation loss against Columbus. Washington -- which leads the Southeast by a whopping 33 points over the Thrashers and Tampa -- not only became the first NHL club this season to win its division, but also is the first to secure a playoff spot.

With 99 points, Washington also comes into tonight with a 14-point lead over Pittsburgh for the East's top seed with 17 games remaining for both teams. The Caps could also claim their first Presidents' Trophy as they lead the NHL by four points over San Jose.

Washington is coming off a close victory Wednesday against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40 remaining in overtime to lift the Caps to the 4-3 decision at Verizon Center.

In the extra session, Fleischmann hammered an Eric Belanger feed past Carolina goaltender Manny Legace.

"I jumped from the bench and (Belanger) made the pass. I didn't get all of it. But it went in so I was happy," Fleischmann said.

Mike Green scored twice on the power play for Washington, while Jose Theodore turned aside 28 shots to earn the win -- the Caps' 21st victory in their last 26 games.

NHL leading scorer Alex Ovechkin added two assists, giving him two or more points in 30 of his 59 games this season. The Russian superstar leads the NHL with 94 points this year.

Washington, which is capping a five-game homestand tonight, is 26-3-4 as the host this season.

Tampa Bay enters tonight trailing Boston by six points for the East's final playoff spot and the Lightning have lost two straight and seven of their last eight games.

The Bolts were dealt a 4-3 overtime loss Thursday in Toronto, losing on Phil Kessel's tally 3:33 into OT.

Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, stretching his amazing points streak to a franchise-record 18 games and his goal string to seven contests. The sophomore star has 42 goals this year, placing him behind only Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for the league lead.

Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie also lit the lamp for Tampa Bay, while Mike Smith stopped 34 shots in defeat.

"There's a lot of young guys that are fighting for jobs in the next upcoming season," Stamkos said. "They worked hard and wanted it a little more."

The Lightning have a dismal 9-19-6 record as the guest this year and are closing out a three-game road trip tonight. Tampa will begin a four-game homestand with Sunday's test against the Penguins.

The Capitals have taken three of four from Tampa this year and 14 of the last 15 matchups overall. The Bolts have dropped seven straight and nine of 10 in D.C. The teams will wrap the season series March 20 in Tampa.

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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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