NHL Parlay – Cream of the Western Conference Crop
by Dave Bond
Four of the Top six Western Conference teams do battle against each other as part of a very busy night in the NHL. Although standings do not figure to change that much, bragging rights and Conference swagger are on the line.
San Jose Sharks (43-16-10) @ Vancouver Canucks (43-24-3)
10:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 18, 2010
General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia
On: XM Satellite Radio Channel 204 and TSN (Canada)
The current number one and number three seed in the West meet in Vancouver on Thursday night with something to prove. Both teams are coming off bad losses and both can feel the heat of teams behind them in the standings.
San Jose Sharks: +120
The San Jose Sharks continue to lead the Western Conference by two points, yet they have not been playing that well lately. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and have gone 0-2-1 in their last three games.
Coach Todd McLellan ordered an extra skate for the boys before departing for Vancouver in order to send a message that their recent play will not cut it.
San Jose is coming off its worst loss this season in Dallas. Evgeni Nabokov was awful on Tuesday and so was the rest of the team. They suffered an 8-2 drubbing and shouldn’t need a whole lot of motivation going into their Thursday game.
The Sharks are 8-1 in their last 9 meetings against the Canucks. San Jose would love to get their first win of their current six game road trip in Vancouver and maintain their two point lead over the Hawks in the Western Conference.
Vancouver Canucks: -140
The Vancouver Canucks suffered a hiccup in Tuesday night as well. At home against the weak New York Islanders, the Canucks laid an egg and lost 5-2.
The game was not the only thing that they lost. Mikael Sameulsson, the Canucks 30 goal scorer and recently named NHL First Star sustained a knee injury and will be out 2-3 weeks.
The Canucks have a lot of talent to pick up the slack. Daniel Sedin has an 11 game point streak and Alex Burrows has six goals in his last nine games. Vancouver is a good all around team as demonstrated by their 41-13 record in their last 54 games overall.
The Canucks have a lot to prove to the Sharks and they should also be motivated on Thursday to avenge a most embarrassing home loss on Tuesday.
Winning Pick: Vancouver Canucks -140
Chicago Blackhawks (44-19-6) @ Los Angeles Kings (40-23-5)
10:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 18, 2010
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
On: XM Satellite Radio Channel 205
The numbers two and six Western Conference seeds do battle in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Both are looking to get back in the win column and to solidify their place in the ultra-competitive West.
Chicago Blackhawks: Even
The Chicago Blackhawks visit LA one night after a disappointing 4-2 loss at Anaheim. They are currently riding an uncharacteristic three game winless streak and have gone a disappointing 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
The Hawks have missed an opportunity to make up ground on the Sharks (who are slumping themselves) for first place in the Western Conference.
Chicago is 36-18 in their last 54 games and currently leads the NHL in shots on goal. On the flip side, they allow the least amount of shots in the league and have one of the best goals against average in the game.
Their offense is fine but their defense has faced some adversity lately. Brian Campbell is gone for the season and neither Antti Niemi nor Cristobal Huet have proven worthy of the # one goalie status.
The Hawks are a top tier team and will break out of their mini slump soon guaranteed.
Los Angeles Kings: -120
The Los Angeles Kings have had three days to prepare for their matchup with the Blackhawks and they needed it. The Kings are only 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and have slipped to sixth place in the Western Conference.
A shoe in for a playoff position only a week or so ago, the Kings suddenly find themselves only six points up on ninth place Calgary.
The Kings have been getting good performances from their offensive leaders. Anze Kopitar has five points in his last five games and Alexander Frolov has twelve points in his last eight.
Both players’ numbers should be bolstered by the return of Justin Williams from an injury that has kept him out all season.
The Los Angeles Kings have settled where they should be in the standings and based on that, they should not be much of a match for the talented and hungry Hawks.
