Stars aim for rare win in Buffalo

Hockey Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars have yet to win the back end when playing games on consecutive nights. That won't make ending their lengthy losing streak in Buffalo any easier.

The Stars try to pick up their first road win against the Sabres in over 14 years, but in addition to having some tired legs they'll also likely be going up against the returning Thomas Vanek.

Dallas is coming off last night's 4-2 victory at Columbus in which the club used a fast start to roll to its fourth victory in six games. Jamie Benn scored just 1:35 into the game, Alex Goligoski lit the lamp less than three minutes later and Stephane Robidas scored early in the second.

Benn added his second goal of the night on an empty-net tally and Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves while allowing a pair of power-play goals for the Stars, who still sit two points back of a playoff spot despite the win. Dallas is tied with Minnesota and Calgary for the ninth spot in the Western Conference.

"It was a big start, getting those two goals was huge. Getting some momentum on the road for our team was big. You definitely want that in the first period," said Benn, who has four goals and two assists over his past five games.

It was a good sign for Dallas as it came two nights after a lackluster 4-1 setback to Phoenix.

"I think our work ethic was a lot better tonight," surmised Goligoski.

Dallas is playing on back-to-back nights for the 10th time this year and improved to 5-4-1 in the first half of those contests. However, the Stars are 0-8-1 in the second half of that scenario.

The Stars will look to break that trend tonight and earn their first regular- season victory in Buffalo since Oct. 7, 1997. They are 0-5 with a tie in six trips since, though they did snap a five-game series losing streak to the Sabres with last season's 4-0 home win.

The Sabres await the Stars coming off perhaps their best game of the season. Buffalo hosted the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins on Wednesday and sent the Northeast Division leaders out of town with a 6-0 loss. Ryan Miller made 36 saves to record his second shutout in three games, third of the season and 25th of his career.

Jason Pominville scored twice and Tyler Ennis had a goal and an assist in the win. Christian Ehrhoff, Patrick Kaleta and Drew Stafford all scored for the Sabres, who improved to 4-0-1 since losing eight of nine. Miller has a 0.95 goals-against average and .969 save percentage over that point streak, which is the longest for Buffalo since it ended last season on a 5-0-1 run.

"I thought our guys really raised their compete level the last four or five games," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've really played hard and had some things start to go well."

Ruff watched Wednesday's game from the press box after breaking three ribs in a collision with Jordan Leopold at practice on Monday.

Buffalo is hoping to win three in a row for the first time since a four-game burst from Nov. 4-11 and could have Vanek back after he sat out the past three games with an upper-body injury. He practiced with the team again on Thursday and said he hoped to return to action on Friday.

"We put him through a battery of extra tests there after practice. We'll see how he's feeling in the morning," said Ruff. "He's the only one who really knows whether he can go or not. If he said he's ready to go, and doesn't have any ill effects from what happened today, then he'll be back in."

Vanek is tied with Pominville for the team lead with 19 goals and is second in assists (22) and points (41).

The Sabres won the opener of a four-game homestand and are playing eight of their next nine as the host. They are 5-0-4 in their past nine at home.

Miller is 3-0-0 with a 2.59 GAA lifetime versus the Stars.

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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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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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