Again without Ovechkin, Capitals visit Hurricanes

Hockey Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals hardly seemed to miss Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday night and the Southeast Division champs will shoot for another win this evening without the Russian superstar.

Ovechkin will complete a two-game suspension tonight while his Capitals visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.

Despite Ovechkin's absence from Tuesday's contest at Florida, the Capitals slammed the host Panthers by a 7-3 score. Brooks Laich led the way for Washington with two goals and an assist.

Ovechkin is serving a two-game suspension for shoving Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards from behind in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win.

Campbell is out for 7-to-8 weeks with a fracture to his clavicle and ribs as Ovechkin, who was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit, was suspended for the second time this season.

"We tried harder because the game's No. 1 player wasn't there," Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said of his team's response to Ovechkin's absence. "When he's not there, we don't rely on big brother."

Brendan Morrison had a goal and two assists while Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin each added a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have won two of their last three.

Jose Theodore stopped 34 shots in the win for Washington, which sealed up its third straight division title last week and holds a commanding 16-point lead over New Jersey and Pittsburgh for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight marks the third stop on a four-game road trip for the Caps, who are 21-10-5 as the guest this year. Washington will complete the swing Saturday with Ovechkin in tow against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Hurricanes made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals last spring, but it appears they will miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons this year. Carolina is 14th in the East and 10 points behind Boston for the eighth and final postseason berth.

Carolina has lost two straight and three of its last four games and was slammed Tuesday by visiting Boston. Mark Recchi was one of three Bruins to record a goal and an assist, leading Boston to the 5-2 win at RBC Center.

Eric Cole scored both goals for the Hurricanes, while Manny Legace allowed all five goals on 37 shots in the loss.

"I was awful. I have to make some saves," Legace said. "It's as simple as that. There's no one else to blame but me."

The Hurricanes are 18-14-3 as the host this year and are completing a four-game homestand tonight.

Washington has won three of four meetings with the Hurricanes this year and the Caps have a superb 16-3-0 record against the Southeast Division as a whole this year.

The Capitals have taken eight of 12 overall in the series, but have dropped seven out of 10 in Raleigh.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.