Wounded Rangers look to regroup against Blackhawks

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after suffering a devastating home loss, the New York Rangers will try to rebound when the Chicago Blackhawks enter Madison Square Garden for a Sunday matinee.

New York's fading playoff hopes took a serious hit when the club fell victim to the NHL's basement-dwellers, the Philadelphia Flyers, on Saturday. Simon Gagne and Geoff Sanderson each had a goal and an assist to lead the Flyers to a 5-3 victory.

The Rangers not only lost the game, but will be without Brendan Shanahan for an indefinite period after the All-Star forward suffered a concussion during a frightening collision with Philadelphia's Mike Knuble in the third period.

Shanahan, who leads the Rangers with 28 goals, was temporarily knocked unconscious when his head struck the ice and had to be taken off in a stretcher. The 38-year-old was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital and underwent x-rays and a CT scan, which turned up negative, and was kept overnight for observation.

New York also endured injuries to two other key players on Saturday. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist did not play the third period after being hit in the left shoulder with the puck earlier in the contest, while top defenseman Marek Malik aggravated a shoulder injury that forced him to miss three previous games this month.

Lundqvist is expected to be available for today's matchup, but Malik will likely sit out the game.

Marcel Hossa, Petr Prucha and Matt Cullen accounted for the New York goals while Daniel Girardi had two assists for the Rangers, who entered the day on a three-game win streak.

Michael Nylander assisted on Prucha's tally and has now registered a helper in seven consecutive games.

The Rangers now trail Toronto, which defeated Edmonton Saturday night, by five points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago is well out of the Western Conference playoff race at the moment and has lost its last two games, both in shootouts. After coming up short against the surging Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, the Blackhawks were handed a 2-1 loss to Vancouver Friday at the United Center.

Brendan Morrison recorded the clinching goal during the shootout phase and Roberto Luongo made 34 saves to lead the Canucks.

Chicago's Patrick Lalime stopped 28-of-29 chances, but the oft-injured netminder was beaten on both shootout tries. Patrick Sharp had the only goal for the Blackhawks, who have still earned a point in their last three outings.

This will be Chicago's first appearance in Madison Square Garden since coming through with a 4-3 victory there on December 11, 2003. The Blackhawks are 6-1-1 (1 tie) in their last eight trips to Manhattan and unbeaten (3 wins, 1 tie) in their last four overall encounters with the Blueshirts.

Wwwdickbutkus Hockey Betting News

<< Stars host Sharks in important Pacific clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Pacific Division powers will collide this afternoon at the American Airlines Center, where the Dallas Stars host a San Jose Sharks club looking to stop a two-game losing streak. San Jose currently resides in sec

<< Trojans seek clean sweep in the desert
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winless in Pac-10 Conference play so far this season, the Arizona State Sun Devils try to cure their ills tonight as they face the 22nd-ranked USC at Wells-Fargo Arena in Tempe. Not

<< Buckeyes on the road to take on Golden Gophers
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The nation's second-ranked team has traveled to Minneapolis, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten Conference action. Ohio State owns its highest

<< NBA's brightest to shine in Las Vegas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's best take center stage on Sunday, as the Western Conference and Eastern Conference clash in the 56th annual All-Star Game at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. In the 2006 annual event, Dwyane Wade

<< Ilonen takes the title in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite a bogey on the final hole, Finland's Mikko Ilonen shot a one-under 70 on Sunday to earn his first European Tour victory at the Indonesia Open. He finished at nine-under-par 275 and won by a single s

Young stars face off as red-hot Penguins entertain Caps >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NHL's two brightest young stars will go head-to-head as Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals attempt to cool down Sidney Crosby's scorching Pittsburgh Penguins in an intriguing matinee from Mellon Arena.

Blues face key home showdown with Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have a chance to move closer towards playoff contention when the improving club hosts the Minnesota Wild tonight at the Scottrade Center. The Blues still remain far out of the postseason race, but c

Canadiens head to Columbus seeking end to downward spiral >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens take to the road in hopes of ending their recent tailspin, as the free-falling club visits Columbus' Nationwide Arena tonight for a rare matchup with the Blue Jackets. Montreal is currently mir

Ducks try to crown Kings once again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks go for a home-and-home sweep of the Los Angeles Kings when the area foes conclude their weekend series tonight at the Honda Center. The teams needed an extended shootout to decide a winner on Saturd

Canucks host Avs, aim for Northwest lead >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their recent winning ways and also regain sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division when they take the ice at General Motors Place tonight against the Colorado Avalanc

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.