Luongo blanks Kings as Canucks take over Northwest Division

Hockey Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Luongo made 20 saves in setting a franchise mark for shutouts in a season with his eighth, as Vancouver took over the top spot in the Northwest Division with a 1-0 blanking of the Los Angeles Kings at GM Place.

Ryan Kesler's power-play goal in the second period was all the Canucks needed behind Luongo, who posted the 46th shutout of his career and backed the club to its second win in a row at the most important time of the season.

Luongo was dazzling with 46 saves a 4-1 win over Calgary on Tuesday to move into a tie for first place in the division with the Flames. With 98 points, Vancouver has the edge over Calgary (96 points). However, the Canucks have one game left while Calgary has two.

It appears as if the loser of this divisional battle will open the first round of the postseason on the road. Both the Flames and Canucks, who have already clinched postseason berths, trail the fourth-seeded Blackhawks. Chicago, idle Thursday, has 100 points and two to play and can secure the fourth spot with a point in its next game.

Vancouver will play in Colorado on Saturday. Calgary begins a home-and-home set with Edmonton on Friday.

Jonathan Quick did his part for the Kings, halting 27-of-28 shots, but the club fell for a fifth time in the last seven tries.

Game Notes

Vancouver took three of four versus LA this year and posted a 4-2 win in the lone home meeting on March 13... Los Angeles wrapped a three-game road trip with the loss and is 16-22-32 as the guest this year. The club ends its season at home versus San Jose on Saturday...Part of the reason Vancouver was able to catch Calgary in the standings has been its play at home, where it is 24-12-5 this season.

Wskybook Hockey Betting News

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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