Rangers try to rebound against Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to rebound from a controversial loss when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's battle at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers dropped a 1-0 regulation decision Tuesday against the visiting New Jersey Devils, ending a streak of five straight games (4-0-1) with a point.

Although Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record with the 117th shutout of his career, Rangers forward Marian Gaborik thinks the Devils goaltender should still be stuck on 116. New York appeared to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left, but Gaborik crashed into Brodeur and was called for goalie interference, negating Artem Anisimov's potential equalizer.

"I don't understand the call. If I was running I wouldn't say a word but I tried to stop, put my stick for Cally's (Ryan Callahan) pass and he pushes me into Brodeur," said Gaborik. "It's frustrating. We should be in overtime right now."

In the end, Brodeur made David Clarkson's first-period goal stand up for the win, while New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist was the hard-luck loser. Lundqvist stopped 21-of-22 shots, but still saw a personal four-game winning streak come to an end.

"The difference was Brodeur," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella, who refused to comment on the controversial ending. "He made some terrific saves in the third period."

Despite the setback, New York is still leading the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 71 points.

The Blueshirts haven't lost consecutive games since dropping tilts to Dallas and St. Louis on Dec. 13 and 15, respectively. Tuesday's setback dropped New York's record at MSG to 16-6-2 this season.

The Lightning ended January on a season-high five-game win streak, but have lost two of three to begin February. Tampa was in action Tuesday against the visiting Los Angeles Kings and dropped a 3-1 decision at Tampa Times Forum. Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner for the Kings on a breakaway midway through the second period.

Steven Stamkos notched his league-leading 35th goal for the Lightning and Dwayne Roloson stopped 17-of-20 shots in a losing effort.

"They're a very opportunistic team," Roloson said. "They tighten down in the defensive zone and don't have any openings at all in their zone."

The Lightning are opening a three-game road trip tonight and have a poor 8-16-3 record as the guest this season. Tampa needs to improve its road game if it wants to make the playoffs, as the Bolts are currently 10 points out of a playoff spot in the East.

On the injury front for Tampa, forward Ryan Malone has been out since suffering an upper-body injury against Phoenix on Jan. 21, but he did skate with the team on Tuesday for the first time since the injury. He could make a return during the Lightning's road trip.

Tampa and the Rangers have split two meetings this year, with each team winning a tilt on the road. The Bolts have taken five of six overall in the series and have won three straight in the Big Apple.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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