Kessel helps Leafs edge Edmonton

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Kessel scored two goals and dished out an assist, as the Toronto Maple Leafs outlasted the Edmonton Oilers, 6-4, in a matchup between two teams in the basement in the NHL standings.

Tyler Bozak had a goal and two assists for the Leafs, who have won three in a row but still sit last in the Eastern Conference with 58 points. Nikolai Kulemin finished with a goal and an assist. Mikhail Grabovski and Jamie Lundmark also lit the lamp for the victors.

Jonas Gustavsson turned aside 25-of-29 shots.

Dustin Penner ended with a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who have dropped three straight and sit in the cellar of the West with 49 points. Andrew Cogliano had a goal and an assist, while Gilbert Brule and Aaron Johnson also scored in defeat.

Jeff Deslauriers stopped 23-of-28 shots before being pulled after the second period. Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves in relief.

The Leafs drew first blood at the 13:34 mark of the first period on Kulemin's wrister. Toronto's margin was two when Bozak's backhander beat Deslauriers with 1:55 remaining.

Cogliano scored just 57 seconds into the second to make it a 2-1 game. Cogliano charged up the right wing and went top-shelf with a wrister to beat Gustavsson.

Lundmark's fifth goal of the season at the 4:24 mark put the Leafs back in front by two.

Toronto then scored back-to-back goals on the power play to build a comfortable lead. A Zack Stortini roughing call at 5:25 was followed 28 seconds later by a Johnson tripping penalty. Kessel capitalized at the 6:15 mark to make it 4-1. Grabovski lit the lamp 35 seconds later on the power play to give Toronto a four-goal cushion.

Brule found the back of the net with a slapper with 6:49 remaining to cut the deficit to 5-2.

A power-play goal from Penner at the 6:26 mark of the third made it a 5-3 contest. Ryan Whitney's slap shot from the point was deflected in by Penner.

Kessel lit the lamp during a 5-on-3 power play to give the Leafs a 6-3 cushion. Kessel gathered the disc and made his way to the bottom of the right circle before firing a wrister past Dubnyk.

Johnson scored on the power play with less than a minute left to account for the final margin. Mike Comrie, who was positioned at the side of the net, slid a pass in front to Johnson, whose snap shot found the upper left corner of the net.

Game Notes

Edmonton and Toronto split a pair of matchups this season...The Oilers have dropped nine of their last 11 contests in Toronto...Edmonton is a dismal 8-22-3 as the guest this year...The Leafs went 3-for-8 on the power play, while the Oilers went 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

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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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