Habs aim for sixth straight win versus playoff-hopeful Rangers

Hockey Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Montreal Canadiens will shoot for a sixth straight victory tonight when they visit the New York Rangers in a battle between Original Six clubs at Madison Square Garden.

The Canadiens and Rangers are both fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Montreal is currently tied with Philadelphia for the sixth spot in the East, while the ninth-seeded Rangers are just one point behind Boston for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.

Montreal has certainly helped its playoff chances in recent weeks and comes into tonight with its longest winning streak of the year.

The Habs last won five in a row from Oct. 11-20 of last season and they haven't strung together six straight wins since an eight-game stretch from March 23-April 6, 2006.

The Canadiens last played on Saturday when they edged the rival Boston Bruins in Quebec. Sergei Kostitsyn scored a pair of goals and Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots, leading Montreal to the 3-2 win at Bell Centre.

Halak posted his 22nd victory of the season and has won each of his last four starts.

"First of all, our guys did a great job in front of me," Halak said. "For two periods, they had virtually no shots at all. It wasn't easy in the last four minutes, but the guys didn't give up many shots."

Andrei Markov netted the other goal for the Canadiens and the veteran defenseman comes into tonight riding a six-game point streak. The Russian has two goals and seven assists during the tear.

The Canadiens' last three victories came on home ice, but Montreal is playing its next two games away from The City of Saints. The Habs, who will visit Toronto on Saturday, are 17-16-2 as the guest this year.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand tonight. The Blueshirts began the residency Sunday, edging Philadelphia for their second straight win.

Sean Avery scored a pair of goals to lead New York to the 3-1 decision over its Atlantic Division rivals.

Michal Rozsival notched the other goal, while Erik Christensen and Chris Drury picked up two assists each for the Rangers, who had lost four straight prior to notching back-to-back wins.

Henrik Lundqvist needed to make just 17 stops to win his 28th game of the season.

"It was probably one of our better team games. In the discipline part of it, in the neutral zone, away from the puck as far as taking away from their speed, we played hard," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "Everybody pitched in and we found a way to play a pretty hockey game."

New York is just 15-15-6 at Madison Square Garden this year.

Tonight marks the final regular season matchup between the Habs and Rangers. Montreal has taken two of three from the Blueshirts and slammed New York, 6-0, when the clubs last met in Quebec on January 23. The Canadiens have taken five of eight overall in the series, but have dropped two straight and six of their last seven in the Big Apple.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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