Blackhawks limp into Honda Center to battle Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has had a hard enough time picking up victories in Anaheim without having injuries to worry about. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks could be without as many as four key skaters tonight when they visit the Honda Center to take on the Ducks, who could also have an injury-affected lineup.

Chicago's quest for the top seed in the Western Conference took a major hit on Sunday. Not only did the Blackhawks blow a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime setback to the Capitals over the weekend, but Chicago also lost the services of defenseman Brian Campbell in the first period.

Campbell was pushed violently into the boards by Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who received a major for boarding, a 10-game misconduct and ultimately a two- game suspension for a hit in the NHL called "reckless" in its release announcing Ovechkin's punishment.

The 30-year-old Campbell, meanwhile, suffered a clavicle fracture and rib fracture. The Blackhawks said on Tuesday that the blueliner likely won't need surgery but will miss seven-to-eight weeks of action. Defenseman Nick Boynton, acquired from the Ducks on March 2, was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Chicago was also without star forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Kim Johnsson due to upper-body injuries on Sunday and both players are questionable for tonight.

Without Hossa, Jonathan Toews stepped up with two goals and John Madden also scored. Antti Niemi made 18 saves through the first two period, but allowed three goals on 11 shots in the third frame before getting beat by Washington's Nicklas Backstrom at 3:10 of overtime. Niemi made 26 saves in all as the 'Hawks lost their second straight game late. They yielded two goals in the final 2:04 of Saturday's setback to Philadelphia, including the game-winning tally with just 2.4 seconds left in regulation.

"We let [the Capitals] back in the game. We took penalties and did other little things that gave them a chance," said Toews, whose club has also lost three of its last four and is 18-11-3 on the road this season.

Niemi will get the start again tonight with Cristobal Huet battling the flu.

Chicago does own an 11-point edge over second-place Nashville in the Central Division and, with 94 points, is two points behind San Jose for the lead in the West. Washington leads the NHL with 103 points.

The Blackhawks wrap their season series with the Ducks having lost two of three to them this season. Chicago has also lost five of its last six at Honda Center -- including a 3-0 shutout on Nov. 27 -- and has only two wins and a pair of ties in its last 16 at Anaheim.

The Ducks, meanwhile, snapped a five-game overall slide and four-game home losing streak on Sunday with a 4-2 victory over the Sharks, Anaheim's first in six meetings with San Jose this year.

Teemu Selanne scored the 599th goal of his career and had an assist before leaving the game with a shoulder sprain. However, he practiced on Tuesday and could play tonight.

Selanne is just one goal shy of becoming the 18th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals, and the forward is also two tallies short of tying Hall-of- Famer Jari Kurri for the most goals scored by a Finnish skater.

Ryan Getzlaf also left Sunday's game after aggravating a left ankle injury. He underwent an MRI on Monday along with Selanne that showed no further damage to the existing injury and he also hopes to be on the ice tonight.

"It's definitely a strong possibility that I will be playing, especially with the situation we're in," Getzlaf told his team's Web site on Tuesday. "We're fighting for our lives right now. I'm going to do everything I can to be in the lineup [Wednesday]."

Corey Perry, Lubomir Visnovsky and Bobby Ryan also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who picked up their first win since the Olympic break and improved to 1-2-1 on a seven-game homestand. Anaheim is also 10 points back of a playoff spot with 14 games to play.

Jonas Hiller made 31 saves and made a then-season-high 42 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks when the clubs last met on Jan. 10.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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