Hejduk nets hat trick as Avs burn Flames

Hockey Betting Lines

02/16/2007 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milan Hejduk's hat trick propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over the Calgary Flames, in the opener of back-to-back contests between the teams at Pengrowth Saddledome.

Joe Sakic scored twice, including his 600th career goal, and also added three assists for the Avalanche, winners in two straight and three of five.

Andrew Brunette notched a goal and two assists, Brett Clark added a goal and one assist, and both Brad Richardson and Karlis Skrastins had a pair of helpers.

Jose Theodore picked up the win, stopping eight-of-nine shots in relief of starter Peter Budaj. Budaj was pulled after giving up four goals on 20 shots in just over 35 minutes of action.

Jarome Iginla posted two goals and for the Flames, who have dropped five of their last six. Alex Tanguay picked up three assists, Craig Conroy had a goal and two helpers, and Matt Lombardi tallied twice.

Roman Hamrlik chipped in a pair of assists and Miikka Kiprusoff took the loss, stopping 29-of-35 shots.

Both teams face-off again on Saturday in Calgary, then once more next Tuesday in Denver.

After a see-saw contest resulted in a 5-5 deadlock, Hejduk put the Avs up 6-5 with 9:44 to go, completing his third-career three-goal game with a pretty deflection of Ken Klee's right-point drive for his 21st goal of the season.

Sakic then made history as the 17th player to reach the 600-goal plateau with an empty-net clincher 10 seconds before the final buzzer, giving the Avs a hard-fought victory.

It was a must-win contest for Colorado, which sits in last place in the Northwest Division, and which started the game 10 points behind Calgary.

Iginla notched his 26th of the season at 9:48 of the opening period with a blistering one-timer from the left faceoff dot off a perfect pass by former Avs forward Tanguay.

Conroy followed a little more than two minutes later by putting home the rebound of Tanguay's shot from just outside the crease for a 2-0 Flames advantage.

Sakic brought the Avs within 2-1 with 21 seconds left in the first, one- timing a centering pass by Brunette and slamming it through Kiprusoff.

Brunette and Sakic teamed up to tie the game at 2-2 with 5:47 played in the second period. Sakic held the puck behind the Flames' net unchallenged for almost 10 seconds before moving in front and centering to Brunette, who tapped the puck home from the opposite side of the crease.

Under two minutes later, Calgary was back on top 3-2 as Lombardi outraced two Avalanche players down the left side, crossed through the slot to pull Budaj way out of the net, and slid a backhander into a wide-open net.

Iginla then unleashed another one-timer off a Tanguay feed for a 4-2 Calgary lead with 4:51 left in the period, and Budaj gave way to Theodore.

Colorado was jolted to life following the switch, and rallied once again to tie the game, 4-4 by the end of the period.

With 2:27 to go, and Dion Phaneuf in the penalty box, Hejduk roofed a shot from the top of the left circle to bring the Avs back within a goal -- with help from Sakic and Brunette once again. The Czech sniper struck again with 42.7 seconds remaining, banking a rolling puck from behind the goal line off Kiprusoff's leg and into the cage.

After completing a two-goal rally to knot the game after 40 minutes of play, Clark registered Colorado's fifth goal of the night on a disputed call 6:54 into the third.

The defenseman let an off-balance shot go from the slot which trickled past Kiprusoff and wobbled towards the net. The puck appeared to make it all the way over the goal line before Flames defenseman Rhett Warrener swept it out with his stick, but play continued as the nearest official waved it off.

Upon review, the goal was allowed and the Avalanche took their first lead of the night.

Calgary came right back for a 5-5 tie as a failed clearing attempt caromed off the right-side boards and also hit forward Wayne Primeau before Lombardi corralled the disc in the slot, where he blew a 30-footer past Theodore at 8:51.

Game Notes

The Avalanche broke a five-game losing streak against the Flames, winning for the first time this season, and Colorado also improved to 29-23-8 overall against Calgary since 1995-96...Colorado placed veteran forward Pierre Turgeon on injured reserve before the contest...Sakic's goals were his 34th and 35th career tallies against the Flames, the most he has scored against any one team...Hejduk's last trifecta came on March 8, 2004 in a 9-2 win over Vancouver...Avs forward Brad May also picked up two assists.

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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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