Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race

Hockey Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin registered two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to notch his seventh shutout of the season, as the Vancouver Canucks stymied the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, at United Center.

Alex Burrows had a goal and two assists, while Henrik Sedin collected three helpers for Vancouver, which has won seven of its last nine games and moved into a tie with Chicago for fourth place in the Western Conference. The Canucks are also one point behind Calgary for the top spot in the Northwest Division.

"At the end of the day, getting the win is all that matters," Luongo said. "We all saw the standings and knew this was the biggest game of the year. Fortunately, we were up to the challenge."

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19-of-23 shots for the Blackhawks, who had a three- game win streak halted.

Henrik Sedin held the puck behind the net and dished out front to Daniel Sedin, who was on the doorstep and poked it past the right pad of Khabibulin 3:22 into the contest.

The Chicago netminder then made an acrobatic save with a little less than six minutes to go in the first period to keep it a one-goal game. Mats Sundin slid the puck through the crease to Pavol Demitra, but Khabibulin lunged across to deny the veteran forward with the right pad.

Burrows made it 2-0 when he went hard to the net and redirected Daniel Sedin's slap pass inside the right post at 8:43 of the middle stanza.

The crafty Sedin twins worked their magic again in the third period. Henrik whipped the puck blindly to the right side of the cage for Daniel, who fired it past a sprawled Khabibulin and inside the far post at 3:53.

A frustrated Blackhawks squad began to turn up the physicality, which resulted in fisticuffs and a multitude of penalties.

"Little mistakes cost us," said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. "There was already some bad blood between our two teams, but we have to learn to control our frustration. The guys on this team will always stick up for one another."

Ryan Kesler gave Vancouver a four-goal edge at 6:59.

Patrick Sharp's strong effort on the penalty kill led to a penalty shot as he was taken down by Demitra with 5:41 remaining. The three-time 20-goal scorer, however, had the puck hop over his stick.

Game Notes

It was the 45th whitewashing of Luongo's career...Daniel Sedin leads the Canucks with 30 goals and 76 points...Chicago finished a five-game homestand with a record of 3-1-1...Sharp is 0-for-3 in his career on penalty shots...Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer left the game in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. He is listed as day-to-day.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.