Rangers square off with Penguins in Atlantic Division clash

Hockey Betting Lines

03/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers started their current winning streak with a rare recent victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blueshirts will try to duplicate that feat when the two Atlantic Division rivals face off tonight at Madison Square Garden.

New York ended a string of seven straight losses to the Penguins with a 3-2 overtime triumph in Pittsburgh on February 12, then followed up by downing Tampa Bay by a 5-2 count two days later in their final game before the Winter Olympic break.

The Rangers kept up their strong play upon returning from the long respite, using a four-goal second period and a solid performance from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to post a 4-1 victory at Northeast Division leader Ottawa on Tuesday.

Ryan Callahan, fresh off earning a silver medal as a member of the United States squad in the Olympics, scored two of New York's goals to help support 24 saves from Lundqvist. Brandon Dubinsky and Sean Avery also lit the lamp for the Rangers, who enter tonight's play tied with Boston for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

"We felt good after the break," said Callahan. "We tried not to have that mental letdown.

New York prevailed despite leading scorer Marian Gaborik missing the contest with a lower-body injury he sustained while competing for Slovakia in the Vancouver games. The standout sniper is considered questionable to suit up for this evening's tilt.

Pittsburgh followed last month's loss to the Rangers with a shootout setback to Nashville on February 14, but got its post-break schedule off to a good start with Tuesday's 3-2 decision over Buffalo in the Steel City. Goaltender Brent Johnson stopped 26-of-28 shots in the win, with Ruslan Fedotenko pacing the Penguins' offense with a goal and an assist.

Sergei Gonchar and Pascal Dupuis also scored for Pittsburgh, while Evgeni Malkin had an assist to extend his point streak to 14 straight games. The Russian star has racked up eight goals and 15 assists during the tear and has notched a helper in each of his last eight outings.

The win kept the Penguins one point behind New Jersey in the race for first place in the Atlantic standings. Pittsburgh made a couple of moves towards bolstering its chances for a division title in the past few days, acquiring both defenseman Jordan Leopold and forward Alexei Ponikarovsky prior to the trade deadline.

The Penguins gave up defenseman Martin Skoula and prospect Luca Caputi for Ponikarovsky, who had 19 goals and 22 assists in 61 games for Toronto this season. The steady 29-year-old won't be able to make his Pittsburgh debut this evening, however, due to problems in obtaining a work visa in the United States.

Leopold did play in Tuesday's game after coming over in a deal with Florida one day earlier. The Minnesota native had seven goals and 11 assists in 61 games for the Panthers.

The Penguins have emerged victorious in each of their two previous trips to Madison Square Garden this season, but had lost eight in a row as the visitor in this series prior to those wins.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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