First-place Canucks wrap up road swing in St. Louis

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks hope to complete a four-game road trip on a positive note tonight, when they visit the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center.

So far the Canucks have earned a point in each stop on the trek (2-0-1) and are 17-12-3 as the visiting club this season.

Vancouver was handed an overtime setback Sunday in Dallas, as the Stars rallied for a comeback victory. Jere Lehtinen scored with 43 seconds remaining in overtime after teammate Philippe Boucher tied the game in the final minute of regulation, as Dallas picked up the 2-1 win at American Airlines Center.

Taylor Pyatt scored the lone goal for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo was brilliant in goal, making 34 saves in defeat for Vancouver, which had its six- game winning streak halted.

The Canucks still lead the Northwest Division with 77 points, but are just two points ahead of Minnesota and Calgary.

Vancouver made a pair of trades on Monday, acquiring center Bryan Smolinski from the Chicago Blackhawks and defenseman Brent Sopel from the Los Angeles Kings. The Blackhawks obtained a 2007 second-round pick for Smolinski, while the Kings got a second-round pick in 2007 or 2008 and a 2008 fourth-rounder for Sopel.

Smolinski has 14 goals and 23 assists this year. Sopel, who spent six previous seasons with the Canucks from 1998-2004, has four goals and 19 helpers.

Meanwhile, the Blues will try to rebound from Sunday's lopsided loss to the Blackhawks. Duncan Keith, Adrian Aucoin and Smolinski each scored first-period goals as Chicago smoked visiting St. Louis, 5-1.

Lee Stempniak scored the lone-goal for the Blues, who came out flat after trading forward Keith Tkachuk to the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday morning. St. Louis received forward Glen Metropolit, first and third-round draft choices in 2007 and a second-round pick in 2008.

St. Louis netminder Curtis Sanford gave up four goals on just 11 shots before being replaced by Jason Bacashihua in the third period.

The Blues are 14 points behind Calgary and Minnesota for the final postseason berths in the Western Conference.

The Canucks are 2-0 in the series with the Blues this year, but St. Louis has taken four of the last six meetings overall. Vancouver has also lost in four of six and seven of its last 10 trips to the Gateway City.

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.