Blue Jackets aim to set single-season win record versus Blackhawks

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to set a franchise record for the most wins in a single season tonight, as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks in a battle of playoff contenders at the United Center.

The Blue Jackets halted Pittsburgh's seven-game winning streak with a 4-3 shootout win on Thursday night. Kristian Huselius, who scored in regulation, beat Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrister, while Evgeni Malkin fired wide left on his subsequent chance to give Columbus the win.

The triumph matched the franchise-record 35 victories Columbus posted in 2005-06 and the club is now just four points shy of the single-season record 80 it notched last season. The Blue Jackets, sixth in the Western Conference and one point back of fifth-seeded Vancouver, have never made the playoffs since entering the league prior to 2000-01.

Jason Williams and Antoine Vermette tallied a goal and an assist apiece for the Blue Jackets, who have won three consecutive contests. Steve Mason made 38 saves to pick up his 28th win on the year, breaking the franchise's single- season record set by Marc Denis in 2002-03.

Columbus, 13-17-4 on the road this year, returns home to host Detroit on Sunday before getting a visit from Chicago on Wednesday.

The Blackhawks, who sit fourth overall in the West with 83 points, won for just the third time in eight games on Wednesday with a 3-2 shootout win over Carolina. Kris Versteeg had the deciding shootout tally, converting a wrister just below the crossbar in the fourth round.

Sergei Samsonov represented the last hope for Carolina, but Cristobal Huet made the save to secure the win for Chicago, its first over the Hurricanes since 1999.

Troy Brouwer and Versteeg scored in regulation for Chicago, while Huet made 29 saves for his 19th win of the season.

Chicago activated goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin off injured reserve on Wednesday. He has been out since February 11 due to a groin injury and could return to the ice tonight.

However, Martin Havlat is questionable with a lower-body injury that forced him to miss Wednesday's game. Havlat is tied with Jonathan Toews for second on the club with 57 points off 21 goals and 36 assists.

Chicago has split the first two games of a four-game homestand and is 18-6-6 at the United Center this year. The Blackhawks end the residency on Sunday versus the New York Islanders.

The 'Hawks have won both of their meetings with the Blue Jackets this year, claiming one victory by way of the shootout. Chicago has won three straight and five of the last six meetings in the series, as well as three of the last four as the host.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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