Surging clubs meet as Rangers host Sens at MSG

Hockey Betting Lines

03/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of hot teams will meet tonight in the Big Apple, as the New York Rangers welcome the Ottawa Senators for an Eastern Conference battle at Madison Square Garden.

The Senators have won four straight and eight of their last nine contests to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Ottawa, which has qualified for the postseason in each of the last 11 seasons, is currently 12th in the East and nine points behind Montreal for the conference's eighth and final playoff berth.

New York, meanwhile, has won its last three outings and is 7-3-1 since firing head coach Tom Renney and replacing him with John Tortorella. The Rangers are seventh in the East with 84 points on the year.

Ottawa earned its latest victory Saturday night against the visiting New York Islanders. Dany Heatley's team-leading 34th goal of the season capped a four- goal second period, as the Senators rolled past the Islanders, 5-2, at Scotiabank Place.

Mike Fisher, Chris Neil, Nick Foligno and Filip Kuba also tallied for the red- hot Senators.

Daniel Alfredsson recorded three assists, while Brian Elliott made 20 saves to extend his winning streak to eight games, the longest by a rookie goaltender in franchise history.

Jason Spezza added an assist to push his point streak to nine games. The centerman has five goals and nine assists during the tear.

The Sens recorded their three most recent wins on home ice, but will kick off a six-game road trip tonight. Ottawa is just 11-18-4 as the guest this year.

The Rangers are coming off Saturday's win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves to help the Blueshirts record the 5-3 decision at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan Callahan tallied two goals while Nikolai Zherdev, Chris Drury and Markus Naslund each had a goal for the Rangers. Callahan has recorded a point in five straight games, notching four goals and three helpers over that span.

New York is 22-10-4 as the host this year and is playing the middle segment of a three-game homestand tonight. The Rangers, who will also host Minnesota on Tuesday, have won their last four on Broadway.

The Rangers have won two of three against Ottawa this year and can win the season series in the final regular-season matchup between the clubs tonight. The Sens have still taken seven of 10 overall in the series and have also come out on top in six of their last eight trips to the Big Apple.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.