Canucks host Hawks in pivotal Game 4

Hockey Betting Lines

05/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to grab a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals when they visit the Vancouver Canucks for tonight's pivotal Game 4 battle at General Motors Place.

The second-seeded Blackhawks lost the first game of this best-of-seven series on home ice by a 5-1 score, but rallied for a 4-2 victory in Game 2 and then notched a 5-2 decision in the third meeting this past Wednesday at GM Place.

If the Blackhawks can win their third straight game tonight, they will have a chance at ending this series when the teams meet for Game 5 Sunday night in Chicago.

This series is a rematch of last year's conference semifinals, which Chicago won in six games before losing to Detroit in the West finals. The Blackhawks haven't appeared in consecutive conference finals since 1989 and '90.

Meanwhile, Vancouver will try to rebound tonight and tie the series at two games apiece. The Canucks are 0-4 in the second round of the playoffs since last reaching the conference finals in 1994, when they eventually lost to the New York Rangers in a seven-game battle for the Stanley Cup.

Dustin Byfuglien was the hero for Chicago in Game 3, scoring his first three goals of these playoffs for his first career playoff hat trick. Antti Niemi also made 31 saves to help the Blackhawks skate to the 5-2 victory.

Byfuglien, who matched his career playoff scoring output with the three-goal game, was responsible for both of Chicago's power-play goals and became the first Blackhawk to record a playoff hat trick on the road since Bobby Hull netted three against Pittsburgh in the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Marian Hossa and Kris Versteeg, who scored the game-winner Monday in Chicago, also tallied for Chicago.

"He played unbelievable. He was everywhere...in the middle of everything," said Hossa of Byfuglien. "He was using his speed and I think got some confidence. He was flying tonight."

Team captain Jonathan Toews recorded three assists for the Blackhawks.

Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen had the goals for the Canucks and Alex Edler and Sami Salo each picked up two assists in the setback. Roberto Luongo was charged with all five goals on 35 shots and looked shaky in doing so with each of Chicago's scores coming via the rebound.

"That's the way they play. The only way we can answer that is to do the same thing on the other side," Luongo said of the havoc created by the 'Hawks in front of his crease."

The third-seeded Canucks are 2-2 on home ice in the playoffs after posting the best home record in the Western Conference during the regular season with a 30-8-3 mark at GM Place.

Chicago is 3-1 on the road in the postseason and has a solid 23-14-4 record as the visiting team in the regular season.

This marks the fourth time the Canucks and Blackhawks have battled in the postseason. Vancouver's only series victory over Chicago was in the 1982 conference finals, when the Canucks ousted the Blackhawks in five games before getting swept by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.