Garon solid in net as Blue Jackets down Ducks

Hockey Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Garon was strong with 36 saves to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.

Fedor Tyutin, Jakub Voracek and Antoine Vermette all recorded a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets, who halted a five-game winless skid. Derek Dorsett and Derick Brassard each added a goal in the victory.

Lubomir Visnovsky and Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, who remained without a win (0-3-1) since the Olympic break and will continue their seven-game homestand on Friday against Nashville.

Jonas Hiller allowed three goals on 20 shots but was pulled in the second period. Curtis McElhinney, who was acquired last week from Calgary for Vesa Toskala, turned aside seven shots in relief. Ducks forward Bobby Ryan assisted on both goals.

Trailing 3-0 in the third period, the Ducks came to life with a pair of goals to make it interesting.

After Visnovsky's blazing slap shot from the slot brought Anaheim within two at the 9:11 mark, the Ducks made it 3-2 with 5:04 remaining in regulation when Getzlaf tallied. Getzlaf fought for control along the rear boards, drifted with the puck into the left circle and beat Garon with a wrister through traffic.

However, any chance for an Anaheim equalizer was essentially erased when Ducks veteran Saku Koivu was whistled for hooking with 2:31 to play. On the ensuring power play, Vermette's 21st goal -- a backhander between the pads from the top of the crease -- sealed the victory with 1:58 on the clock.

Brassard capped the scoring in the waning seconds.

The visitors grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 8:55 mark of the opening period. A shot from the right point was saved by Hiller, but the puck was loose in front. After several rebound attempts, Dorsett was finally able to poke the puck over the goal line from the top of the crease amid a scramble.

In the second period, a power-play goal pushed the Columbus edge to two. Skating 5-on-4, Voracek, from a sharp angle at the base of the left circle, found room over the short-side shoulder of Hiller with a laser wrist shot at 8:14.

Less than five minutes later, the Blue Jackets moved ahead by three goals. Tyutin's shot from the top of the left circle hit bodies in front of the net and the disc caromed directly back to Tyutin, whose momentum at that point had carried him into the lower portion of the circle. Tyutin's second attempt made it past a screened Hiller at 13:07.

Game Notes

The Ducks have dropped three straight and six of their last nine home games against Columbus, which is now 4-3-2 with interim head coach Claude Noel...The Blue Jackets played without All-Star forward Rick Nash, who left Monday's game against Los Angeles with a lower-body injury. Fellow forward Kristian Huselius also missed the game with a hand injury...Anaheim ended scoreless on seven power-play chances, while the visitors were 3-for-6 with the extra skater.

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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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