Recent results suggest the Canucks might be into a playoff drive. Rick Tocchet looks to perhaps have Vancouver on track with wins in its last two over the Flames and Blackhawks as the offense has started to stir, with ten goals across those two games. The Canucks made the most of their 15 shots on goal yesterday vs. Chicago, scoring six, while Arturs Silovs stopped 17 of 19 shots on goal. Kevin Lankinen is back in the nets tonight. Meanwhile, Utah's playoff push is sputtering, with wins only in one of four and two of six as the offense has become choppy, only once scoring more than three in those last six. Play Canucks on Money Line

This looks a good deadline move, as Florida brought in goalie Vitek Vanecek from San Jose as a backup to Sergei Bobrovsky, after moving Spencer Knight to Chicago in the Seth Jones trade. Vanecek's debut with the Panthers went smoothly last Saturday vs. the Sabres, stopping all 21 shots in a 4-0 Florida win, and he gets his next shot tonight at UBS Arena. The champs who recently won six straight, have now lost two of three on this road trip after stumbling last night in Montreal, but have bounced back with wins after their last six defeats. Meanwhile, the playoff push for the Isles seems to have stalled, with three straight losses, scoring only one goal in each. Play Panthers on Puck Line

Not an easy ride on this road trip for the Oilers, losers in two of three at the Sabres, Devils, and Islanders, with the offense laboring in the process (only five goals scored in regulation time). Indeed, it's been bumpy for Edmonton since just before the 4 Nations break, winning only four of the last twelve, and just two of the last eight on the road. Erratic Stuart Skinner in goal also has only an .876 saves mark this month and has lost five straight starts on the road. Meanwhile, the Rangers might be ready to make an overdue move after winning their last two, and go back to vet GK Jonathan Quick, who blanked the Preds two starts ago. Play Rangers on Money Line

Top scorer Cam Thomas (hamstring) is out again but that shouldn't be regarded as the worst news for the Nets. That's because Brooklyn was winless in the six games since Thomas made his recent return to active duty, so word that a hamstring strain likely keeps him out the rest of the season has a different consequence, as Jordi Fernandez had his team playing at a slower pace and sharing the ball more effectively minus a heavy ball-usage force like Thomas. Remember, in February, the Nets had a 7-2 SU stretch minus Thomas. Without Thomas, Brooklyn also pushed the Celtics to the wall on Saturday, while the Hawks' recent uptick was derailed on Friday in a heavy home loss to the Clippers. Play Nets

Michigan has burned us in Indy, winning twice after dropping 13 of its last 15 vs. the line, winning and covering twice to make it to Sunday...though it was a bit hairy vs. Maryland on Saturday. No matter, we'll buck the Wolverines again, overlooking a result from over three months ago when Michigan nipped Wiscy by 3 at Madison on a night the Badgers missed 21 of their 27 triples. Not something we normally saw from the Badgers, who hit at a solid 36% from deep on the season. Wiscy has been hot in Indy, blowing out UCLA and taking out top seed Michigan State on Saturday, with G John Tonje scoring 32 against the Spartans. Play Wisconsin (Big Ten at Indianapolis)

The road trip from hell just completed for the Lakers, who lost all four games, LeBron James and Luka Doncic (missed Friday). Luka is expected back on Sunday but LeBron is still a ways from making a return, and the Lakers have not been able to control pace or slow opponents sans LeBron. Here is where no Anthony Davis will hurt LA, because even without LeBron, the Lakers had some real defense when AD was on the floor. Now it's small-ball with defensive liabilities galore. The Suns might be starting a playoff push in a decent week that included Friday's 122-106 romp past the Kings when hitting 56% from deep, with backup G Tyus Jones converting all six of his triples! Play Suns

Rare indeed for Greg Sankey, among others, to be cheering for Memphis today, but at-large candidates around the country are doing the same as the bubble shrinks by one if UAB can take out the Tigers in the American finale at Fort Worth. Memphis stayed in character on Saturday, barely edging out Tulane 78-7, now 3 spread Ls the last 18 as chalk for the Tigers, who also cut it very close on Friday vs. Wichita State. Though Memphis did take out UAB in both prior meetings, scoring 94 ppg in the process. UAB looks dangerous, however, seeing off gnarly UNT on Saturday, and PF Yaxel Lendeborg (17.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg) remains a prime double-double threat. Play UAB (American at Fort Worth)

Whether VCU will have a legit at-large case should it lose today, one thing is certain; a lot of teams on the bubble will be rooting for the Rams. Not easy, however; Tony Skinn's Patriots rank 12th nationally in scoring D (63.1 pg) and have rolled past dangerous GW and St Joe's thus far in D.C., and bullish ETSU transfer PF Jalen Haynes is making a case as the MVP of this event, scoring 23 pg thus far in D.C. The Rams did take out GMU 70-54 at Richmond on Feb. 22, using a 17-2 spurt at the start of the second half, but nerves, Skinn's sticky defense, and GMU momentum suggest it will be much closer today. Play GMU (A-10 at Washington)

We wonder if Saturday's win over Auburn will make the high-water mark in Nashville for UT. The Vols held on late to knock off the top seed on Saturday, but dynamics are different for the SEC finale as Florida might be primed to atone for its worst effort of the season, and maybe most shocking SEC result, when falling 64-44 to a shorthanded UT at Knoxville back on February 1. The Gators only hit 24.5% from the floor and 14.8% beyond the arc (sheesh!). Needless to say, Florida has looked a different team lately, especially Saturday when chilling Alabama with a 57-point second half eruption. Florida is also scoring better than 95 pg in its current 5-game win streak. Play Florida (SEC at Knoxville)

Yale goes for the hat-trick vs. Cornell but as we've seen in Champ Week, that's not always easy. To prevent the Eli from accomplishing as much today in Providence, Cornell has to do a bit more on defense than the earlier meetings, losing both and allowing 97.5 ppg in the process. But the Big Red haven't lost since the second Yale loss on Feb. 21, winning five straight impressively, including Saturday's semifinal romp past Dartmouth when jr F AK Okereke had another big effort, scoring 25. Cornell has the offense (85 ppg, ranks 5th nationally) to trade points, especially as Yale is having trouble carrying some of these recent numbers, narrowly escaping Princeton's upset bid on Saturday. Play Cornell (Ivy at Providence)

With all of the attention on Luka Doncic moving from the Mavs to the Lakers, it looks like the Warriors, in the short-term at least, might have been the real winners of the deadline. Jimmy Butler's addition has proven a boon for Golden State, as without distractions, Jimmy B can still be a force. While not necessarily reflected in stats, Butler's presence has been able to complement Steph Curry effectively and added a different dimension to Steve Kerr's offense, now with a real commando raider into the paint. The Dubs have lost just once with Butler in the lineup since the trade. The Warriors just beat the Knicks 114-102 on march 4 at MSG, and Jalen Brunson remains out for NY. Play Warriors

In Atlantic City, The Mount has been riding some lightning, edging past Marist and Merrimack to make it to the Metro-Atlantic finale. The hat-trick on the shore, however, might be difficult, as Tobin Anderson is waving his magic March wand once again, this time at Iona, just as he did two years ago with Fairleigh-Dickinson. The Gaels have picked the right time to go on a five-game win streak, and have impressed in taking out Manhattan and a dangerous Quinnipiac at Convention hall, with Northern Colorado transfer G Dejour Reaves on his way to MVP honors of this event by scoring 51 points across the past two nights. Play Iona (Metro-Atlantic at Atlantic City)

True, the Nets still haven't won a game since top scorer Cam Thomas returned to active duty (0-7) not long ago, this week, at least, they've maintained the slower pace that gives Jordi Fernandez his best chance to succeed. Minus Thomas, Brooklyn beat the Lakers on Monday, but even when Thomas returned to action vs. the Cavs and Bulls, the Nets landed under in a couple of very competitive efforts. Brooklyn's under mark now reads 17-6 across its last 23 games; for the Celtics, it's under 7-4 the last eleven. Boston enters tonight off of a slower-paced 103-91 win (and another under at Miami last night). Play Celtics-Nets Under

We test the recuperative powers for the Caps Bounce-back game here for the Caps after getting blanked 3-0 by the kings in their last outing. Washington had won five straight beforehand and scored 24 goals in the process, with Alex Ovechkin closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record, which made the flat effort at Los Angeles all the more puzzling. The Caps scored 7 in their previous game at Anaheim, with Aliaksei Protas notching his first NHL hat-trick in the process. The Sharks have shown slight improvement but remain vulnerable, as three losses preceded the win at Chicago before returning to the Tank from their recent road trip. Play Caps on Puck Line

Fault an indifferent Purdue for helping Michigan end its 3-game skid last night. Remember, however, the Wolverines entered the Big Ten Tourney having dropped 13 of their last 15 vs. the spread. Still, the two-man, screen-and-roll game featuring seven-footers Dustin Woolf and Vladislav Goldin stopped being a mystery to Big Ten foes by midseason, though Dusty may will be encouraged by just the third double-digit scoring effort in eight games from third leading scorer G Tre Donaldson on Friday. The Terps won recently (March 9) at Ann Arbor 71-65 despite hitting only 38% from the floor, and destroyed the Illini last night behind 26 points from G Rodney Rice as Maryland won its 8th in 9 games. Play Maryland (Big Ten at Indianapolis)