Rangers, Devils open home-and-home series in New Jersey

Hockey Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils begin an important home-and-home series this evening, with the first of the consecutive meetings to take place at Continental Airlines Arena.

These two games carry importance for both teams but are especially crucial for the Rangers, who come into tonight's showdown three points out of a playoff spot. Montreal, the New York Islanders and Toronto are currently tied for the Eastern Conference's final seed with 66 points, with New York having amassed 63 thus far.

Although New Jersey remains in first place in the Atlantic Division, the Devils' lead has been trimmed to five points by Pittsburgh, a team which has posted victories in 12 of its last 14 games.

New York enters the matchup having won four of its five most recent contests, including Sunday's 2-1 decision over Chicago at Madison Square Garden. Martin Straka and Marcel Hossa each scored first-period goals and Henrik Lundqvist made the early lead stand up by stopping 21-of-22 shots.

The Rangers rebounded from Saturday's disappointing 5-3 home defeat to Philadelphia, in which All-Star Brendan Shanahan was briefly hospitalized after colliding with the Flyers' Mike Knuble in the third period. Shanahan suffered a concussion and is sidelined indefinitely.

Defenseman Marek Malik also sat out Sunday's win because of a nagging shoulder injury and is questionable to return tonight.

Jaromir Jagr assisted on Straka's goal to extend his individual scoring streak to six games. The superstar right wing has amassed nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) during the run and has notched an assist in five straight outings.

Straka has now recorded a point in five consecutive games (3 goals, 4 assists).

New Jersey improved to 6-2-0 in February with Saturday's 2-0 triumph over the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Martin Brodeur stopped all 26 chances he faced to post his league-leading 11th shutout, while John Madden and Sergei Brylin each lit the lamp in the win.

Brodeur responded from a subpar performance his previous time out, when the future Hall of Famer surrendered five goals on 24 shots in a 5-4 home loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.

Jamie Langenbrunner earned an assist on Brylin's marker and lengthened his point streak to nine straight games, which is tied with Minnesota' Pavol Demitra for the longest current tear in the NHL. The 31-year-old has three goals and 11 assists over the course of the streak.

Brian Gionta, who leads the Devils with 24 goals, missed his second straight game with a groin pull and remains day-to-day.

The area rivals have split six meetings so far this season, although the Devils have won the last two matchups. The Rangers have also struggled in their recent visits across the river, having dropped four of their last five and six of their eight most recent regular-season games at the Meadowlands.

This series will conclude Thursday at New York's Madison Square Garden.

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

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

NFL Wagering

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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