Caps and Devils complete home-and-home set

Hockey Betting Lines

02/25/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will try for consecutive victories for the first time since early January, as they host the New Jersey Devils in the finale of a home-and-home series at Verizon Center.

The Capitals ended a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Meadowlands, notching a 4-2 win over the Devils. Brent Johnson made 29 saves and four different Washington players netted goals in the victory at Continental Airlines Arena.

Milan Jurcina, Alexander Semin, Matt Pettinger and Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Capitals, who haven't posted back-to-back victories since a three-game winning streak from January 4-9.

Washington has 58 points on the year and is second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference standings.

Tonight's game marks the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Caps, who are 14-12-5 as the host club on the year.

The Devils, meanwhile, had a three-game winning streak snapped in Saturday's game. Cam Janssen and Jay Pandolfo scored for Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey, which was coming off a home-and-home sweep of the New York Rangers earlier this week.

Martin Brodeur made 26 saves for the Devils, who had won six straight in the series before Washington's triumph on Saturday.

The Devils were again without Brian Gionta, who sat out his third straight game with a groin injury. Gionta, who has 24 goals and 42 points on the year, is expected to sit out today's game as well, but could be ready to return for Tuesday's test in Pittsburgh.

The Devils' 82 points on the season has the team seven points ahead of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic and in second place in the East.

Jersey, which is 16-11-2 away from the Meadowlands, begins a brief two-game road trip today. The Devils will also visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

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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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