Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race

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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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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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