Armstrong, Thrashers double up Sens

Hockey Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colby Armstrong had two goals and an assist to help the Atlanta Thrashers down the struggling Ottawa Senators, 6-3, at Philips Arena.

Nik Antropov had two goals, while Jim Slater added a goal and an assist for the Thrashers, who have won two straight on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

"Our lines have been playing pretty good the last couple of games," said Armstrong. "We made some good plays in their end and executed some nice goals. It was a good game for all of us."

Johan Hedberg stopped 36 shots in the win for Atlanta, which is now three points back of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Chris Phillips, Chris Kelly and Jarkko Ruutu each had a goal for the Senators, who have dropped four straight and seven of their last eight.

"It's tough when you get behind early," said Ottawa head coach Cory Clouston. "We're in the same situation we were when we lost five in a row in January. We have to get back on a roll here but it's tough to win games when you spot teams two or three goals right off the bat."

Brian Elliott was tagged for all six goals on 27 shots for Ottawa, which trails Buffalo by five points for the top spot in the Northeast Division.

Atlanta had held a two-goal lead, but a pair of goals late in the second period by Ottawa tied the game at three.

The Thrashers countered with a trio of markers in the third period.

The first goal came 3:56 into the final frame as Antropov, parked in front of the net, tipped in a Tobias Enstrom shot from the right point.

Less than two minutes later, Phillips attempted a blind clear that Armstrong picked off and quickly slapped it over the glove of Elliott.

With 9:40 to play in the game, Armstrong banged home the rebound of a Slater shot for a 6-3 advantage.

Atlanta got the only goal of the first period at the 2:35 mark when Evgeny Artyukhin skated in on a breakaway and slid the puck between the pads of Elliott.

The Thrashers made it a 2-0 game 2:50 into the second as Todd White sent a lead pass on the fly from the top of the left circle to the slot where Slater, who was behind the defense, touched it into the net.

Ottawa got the goal back 1:43 later as a simple wrister from Kelly at the top of the right circle went over the glove of Hedberg.

Atlanta made it a 3-1 game on the power play with 8:56 to play in the second thanks to Antropov's 20th tally of the season.

Ottawa, though, scored twice in a 43 second span later in the frame to tie the game.

The first goal came at the 17:04 mark as Ruutu jammed home the rebound from the left side after knocking Hedberg down with an elbow to the face that was not called.

Moments later, a visibly irate Hedberg gave up a soft goal as Phillips' wrister at the left point got home.

Game Notes

Atlanta hosts Philadelphia on Saturday for the start of a home-and-home series...Ottawa plays in Dallas on Saturday...Atlanta took three of four against Ottawa this season...Ottawa forward Milan Michalek left the game halfway through the second period with an apparent knee injury after crashing into the Atlanta net.

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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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