Shots Backs Columbus For Mason

Hockey Betting Lines

R.J. Umberger and Rick Nash scored, while Vinny Prospal added a pair of assists for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four of their last five contests. Steve Mason stopped 25-of-28 shots in defeat.

 

Columbus pulled Mason in favor of the extra attacker with a minute to go in regulation, but was unable to generate any significant offensive pressure.

 

Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 7:27 of the opening stanza when Teddy Purcell chased down a loose puck behind the net and found Jones, who chipped it home from in close.

 

The Blue Jackets answered at 5:43 of the second period on the power play when Umberger accepted a nice saucer pass from Prospal in front of the net, took it around behind and stuffed it into an open cage.

 

Prior to the game, Prospal was honored for reaching 1,000 games played in his career...Saturday marked the first meeting of the season between the teams...Lightning defenseman Matt Gilroy was scratched with a lower-body injury...Carter had his four-game goal scoring streak snapped...Tampa Bay failed on three power play opportunities, while the Blue Jackets went 1-for-5 with the man advantage...Columbus will face the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, while the Lightning will head west to tangle with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

 

Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Legwand scored the winner in the shootout as the Nashville Predators took a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Patrik Berglund, the Blues' third shooter in the shootout, beat Pekka Rinne with a wrister, but the puck ricocheted sharply off the left post.

 

T.J. Oshie netted a goal for the Blues, who got 19 saves from Halak.

 

The Predators got the first tally with 7:28 left in regulation. Mike Fisher fed Shea Weber from the left point. And then from the right circle, Weber quickly flipped a pass to Erat, who tipped it home from the crease.

 

But the Blues tied it on the power play with 3:52 left. David Backes controlled the disc in the left circle, and slipped a backhanded pass to Oshie, who finished with a backhand from the slot.

 

St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frans Nielsen scored in the second round of the shootout, lifting the New York Islanders over the Minnesota Wild, 2-1. Andrew MacDonald scored in regulation for the Islanders, who snapped a four- game skid. Al Montoya made 20 saves.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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