Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race

Hockey Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin registered two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to notch his seventh shutout of the season, as the Vancouver Canucks stymied the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, at United Center.

Alex Burrows had a goal and two assists, while Henrik Sedin collected three helpers for Vancouver, which has won seven of its last nine games and moved into a tie with Chicago for fourth place in the Western Conference. The Canucks are also one point behind Calgary for the top spot in the Northwest Division.

"At the end of the day, getting the win is all that matters," Luongo said. "We all saw the standings and knew this was the biggest game of the year. Fortunately, we were up to the challenge."

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19-of-23 shots for the Blackhawks, who had a three- game win streak halted.

Henrik Sedin held the puck behind the net and dished out front to Daniel Sedin, who was on the doorstep and poked it past the right pad of Khabibulin 3:22 into the contest.

The Chicago netminder then made an acrobatic save with a little less than six minutes to go in the first period to keep it a one-goal game. Mats Sundin slid the puck through the crease to Pavol Demitra, but Khabibulin lunged across to deny the veteran forward with the right pad.

Burrows made it 2-0 when he went hard to the net and redirected Daniel Sedin's slap pass inside the right post at 8:43 of the middle stanza.

The crafty Sedin twins worked their magic again in the third period. Henrik whipped the puck blindly to the right side of the cage for Daniel, who fired it past a sprawled Khabibulin and inside the far post at 3:53.

A frustrated Blackhawks squad began to turn up the physicality, which resulted in fisticuffs and a multitude of penalties.

"Little mistakes cost us," said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "There was already some bad blood between our two teams, but we have to learn to control our frustration. The guys on this team will always stick up for one another."

Ryan Kesler gave Vancouver a four-goal edge at 6:59.

Patrick Sharp's strong effort on the penalty kill led to a penalty shot as he was taken down by Demitra with 5:41 remaining. The three-time 20-goal scorer, however, had the puck hop over his stick.

Game Notes

It was the 45th whitewashing of Luongo's career...Daniel Sedin leads the Canucks with 30 goals and 76 points...Chicago finished a five-game homestand with a record of 3-1-1...Sharp is 0-for-3 in his career on penalty shots...Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer left the game in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. He is listed as day-to-day.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

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