Sharks aim to get on track versus Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling clubs will try to get back in the win column tonight, as the San Jose Sharks visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for a clash at Air Canada Centre.

The Sharks have been floundering on the road, posting a 1-4-1 record at the start of a lengthy nine-game swing. San Jose has lost its last four tests, including three straight in regulation, and is in the midst of its worst skid since dropping six straight from Jan. 3-13 of last season.

Meanwhile, Toronto has found few positives in February after starting the month on a three-game winning streak. The Maple Leafs have gone 1-5-1 since the hot stretch from Feb. 1-6.

San Jose's recent slide has allowed Phoenix to tie the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division and Los Angeles is just three points behind. The Maple Leafs are currently locked in a tie with Winnipeg for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference, with Washington two points back.

The Sharks last played on Tuesday and were handed a 6-3 loss by the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. Jeff Carter notched his fourth career hat trick to lift the Blue Jackets, who led 4-0 in the first period and never allowed San Jose to come closer than two goals of the lead after that.

"They were obviously much better prepared to compete than us," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "The disappointing thing for me is the lack of urgency that we entered the game with."

Logan Couture scored a pair of goals and Joe Thornton added a goal for the Sharks, who fell to 13-11-5 as the visiting team this season.

Antti Niemi was rocked for three goals on just 11 shots before getting pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss, who yielded three tallies on 24 shots in the loss. Niemi has yielded 12 goals on 64 shots over his last three games and Greiss could get the start tonight over San Jose's No. 1 netminder.

Sharks forward Dominic Moore left Tuesday's game with an unspecified injury after blocking a shot in the first period. Moore, who was playing in just his third game with San Jose since coming over in a trade with Tampa Bay, did not return to the game and is questionable for tonight.

San Jose defenseman Douglas Murray has missed three straight games since suffering a fractured Adam's Apple last Thursday in Tampa. Murray is questionable for tonight's tilt.

The Maple Leafs were able to earn a point in their last game, as they dropped Tuesday's contest against visiting New Jersey in overtime. Mark Fayne scored 1:18 into the extra session to lift the Devils to a 4-3 decision. Toronto's Phil Kessel forced overtime by scoring his 31st goal of the year for the Leafs with just 44 seconds left in regulation.

Toronto goaltender Jonas Gustavsson took the blame for New Jersey's winning goal, as he failed to stop Fayne's one-timer that bounced before reaching the net.

"It just skipped there a little bit and I kind of lost it," said Gustavsson. "That's no excuse because I should have stopped it. It's too bad and I feel bad for the guys because they worked really hard out there."

In addition to Kessel's goal, the Leafs also received markers from Tim Connolly and Clarke MacArthur. Gustavsson allowed four goals on 32 shots.

Tuesday's game marked the start of a three-game homestand for Toronto, which is 16-9-5 at the ACC this season.

Tonight's test marks the only meeting between the Maple Leafs and Sharks this season. Toronto posted a 4-2 win in San Jose on Jan. 11 of last season, ending San Jose's four-game series winning streak. The Sharks have won their last two games in Toronto.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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