Blackhawks go for sweep of Sharks at United Center

Hockey Betting Lines

05/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to complete a sweep of the Western Conference finals this afternoon, when they host the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in Game 4 from United Center.

The second-seeded Blackhawks have taken all three games in this best-of-seven series and can clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1992 with another victory today. Chicago, which was swept by Pittsburgh in the '92 Cup Finals, hasn't won it all since beating Detroit in 1961.

Despite being down 3-0 in the series, San Jose hasn't been thoroughly outplayed by the Blackhawks in this best-of-seven set. Two of the Sharks' three losses have been by just one goal, including Game 3 on Friday, which the host Blackhawks won 3-2 in overtime.

Dustin Byfuglien notched the game-winning goal with 7:36 left in OT on Friday and gave his team a commanding lead in the series as well. Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell corralled a loose puck along the blue line at the right point and dumped the disc around the boards. Dave Bolland collected it behind the San Jose net and fed the puck in front, where Byfuglien one-timed it home.

"It was just a good forecheck. The puck came out high then was sent back down with good coverage. Bolland made a great play to lay it out in the slot and all I had to do was finish," Byfuglien said of the sequence that led to the deciding goal.

Bolland added a third-period score, and Patrick Sharp also tallied for the Blackhawks. Antti Niemi was strong for the win, turning aside 44-of-46 shots.

"We can't dwell on this one too long. We have to be ready to end it on Sunday. We have to make sure that Sunday is going to be our best game," Bolland admitted.

The victory upped Chicago's home record in this postseason to 4-3. The Blackhawks, who would visit San Jose for Game 5 on Tuesday if they can't close the series today, were 29-8-4 as the host during the regular season.

Patrick Marleau registered both goals on Friday for San Jose and has scored the Sharks' last four goals in this series. The Sharks only tally in this set not scored by Marleau was Jason Demers' marker in the first period of Game 1.

Dan Boyle assisted on both for the Sharks, who have a ton of work ahead of them if they are to copy the Philadelphia Flyers' feat of recovering from an 0-3 series deficit in the previous round against Boston.

"The reality is we're down 3-0. (It) happened a week ago with two good teams playing and Philadelphia found a way to come back, so there's something to draw in there," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. "Plus the fact that we've been in this series I think for every minute. That's got to leave us feeling good."

The problem for the Sharks is, prior to the Flyers' historic comeback last week, the previous team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a series was the 1975 New York Islanders.

Evgeni Nabokov improved upon his Game 2 performance, surrendering three goals on 38 shots on Friday after allowing four goals on 22 shots in his past outing.

The Sharks, who have never made it to the Cup Finals, are 3-3 as the road team this postseason after going 24-14-3 away from San Jose prior to the playoffs.

This marks the first-ever playoff series between the Sharks and Blackhawks, but Chicago had the upper hand in the 2009-10 season series, taking three out of four from San Jose.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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