Devils down Flames; Brodeur inches closer to all-time victories mark

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Langenbrunner scored a short-handed goal and added an assist while Marty Brodeur moved closer to history with 35 saves, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-2, at Prudential Center.

Brian Rolston and Zach Parise also scored for New Jersey, which has won five of its last six games overall and maintained its seven-point lead over Philadelphia atop the Atlantic Division. The Devils will host Phoenix on Thursday. Brodeur is two wins away from tying Patrick Roy for the all-time victory mark by a goaltender in league history.

Newcomer Olli Jokinen scored for the third time in four games since his trade to Calgary, but the Flames fell to 2-3-0 on their season-high seven game road trip that will continue in Detroit on Thursday.

Miikka Kiprusoff started for the Flames and allowed three goals on 28 shots but was removed in favor of Curtis McElhinney, who stopped all three shots he faced in relief.

The Flames opened the scoring midway through the first period. After a shot from the left point, the puck got caught up in traffic and a scramble for control ensued before David Moss gained control inside the lower left circle. Moss then spun around and sent a pass through the low slot to the right post, where Jokinen was in position for a successful one-timer at the 10:22 mark.

A short-handed tally by Langenbrunner 5:10 into the second period created a 1-1 tie. With Brendan Shanahan in the penalty box for slashing, the Flames had several good shots from the point during the 5-on-4 advantage, but a deflected puck created a 3-on-2 rush for the Devils.

Colin White streaked down the left-wing side and passed into the slot for Langenbrunner, whose wrist shot from near the inner rim of the left circle hit Kiprusoff before the puck trickled over the goal line behind him.

Midway through the second stanza, Parise hit the right post on a backhander amid a flurry of New Jersey scoring chances and several minutes later Langenbrunner's slap shot from the left circle slid inches wide of the far post.

Late in the period, though, the Devils solved Kiprusoff. Shanahan released a shot from the top of the left circle and the puck deflected off of Dainius Zubrus and landed directly on the stick of Rolston, who was all alone at the right post and easily tapped the puck into the back of the cage at 18:01.

Early in the final period, Parise's 39th goal made it 3-1. A scramble in front ensued due to a loose puck, and after Langenbrunner kept the play alive with a backhand attempt near the right post, the disc was finally poked over the goal line by Parise from the goal mouth 1:15 into the frame.

Curtis Glencross scored with less than one second remaining in regulation after the game was essentially decided.

Game Notes

Calgary forward Daymond Langkow returned to action after he had missed nine games with a bruised hand...Langenbrunner extended his point streak to six games and has four goals and four assists during that span....New Jersey improved to 23-10-1 at home this season and has won eight straight home tilts, which tied a franchise record for consecutive victories on home ice...Kiprusoff is winless in four career starts against the Devils...It was Brodeur's 549th win...Calgary's Jarome Iginla saw his eight-game point streak halted...The Flames were 1-for-7 on the power play and New Jersey ended 1- for-4 with the extra skater...Attendance was 14,598.

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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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