Rangers brace for test from high-powered Caps

Hockey Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling to keep the opposition off the scoreboard their most recent time out, the New York Rangers now have to face the NHL's most potent offense in tonight's showdown with the powerful Washington Capitals from the Verizon Center.

The Rangers were peppered with 55 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden, yet still managed to earn an important point due to a career-best 50 saves from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist turned aside 18-of-19 chances during a third period in which the Rangers mustered only a single shot on goal, but the Swedish standout was unable to come up with Evgeni Malkin's blast on a 4-on-3 power play with 1:18 remaining in the extra session."

"Hank was outstanding and gave us an opportunity," New York head coach John Tortorella. "At the end of the night, we grabbed a point out of here. Although it is an ugly one, it is a point."

The Rangers had won three in a row prior to Thursday's setback and are engaged in a heated battle for the final few postseason berths in the Eastern Conference. New York presently sits in a tie with both Atlanta and Montreal for eighth place in the standings and is just one point back of Boston for the No. 7 spot.

Lundqvist figures to face another stern challenge tonight, as the Capitals' 251 goals this season is 46 more than second-place Chicago among NHL clubs and the team has scored five times or more in six of its last eight contests, including a 6-5 triumph over the Rangers on February 4 in which Lundqvist stopped just 26-of-32 shots.

Washington kept up its offensive prowess in Thursday's 5-4 decision over Tampa Bay at the Verizon Center, with both Mike Knuble and recently-acquired Scott Walker each lighting the lamp twice to lead the Caps to their second straight win following the Olympic break.

Walker, who came over from Carolina during Wednesday's trade deadline, had scored only three times in 33 games with the Hurricanes this season. It was the 36-year-old grinder's first multi-goal effort since March 2, 2007.

"I'm just excited to be here and get the two points for the team," he said afterward.

Walker was one of four players brought in by Washington to bolster the Eastern Conference front-runners for the upcoming postseason. Center Eric Belanger and defenseman Joe Corvo also participated in Thursday's win after being acquired from Minnesota and Carolina, respectively. The Caps also landed defenseman Milan Jurcina from Columbus on Wednesday, but the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Slovak will miss at least a month due to a sports hernia.

Mike Green notched two assists for Washington on Thursday to extend his personal point streak to seven games. The All-Star defenseman has recorded three goals and eight helpers over that time.

The Rangers hope the anticipated return of star sniper Marian Gaborik will help enable them to keep pace with the high-scoring Capitals. The dangerous right wing, who ranks fifth in the NHL with 35 goals this season, sat out New York's first two tilts following the Olympic break after sustaining a groin injury while competing for Slovakia at the Vancouver Games.

Gaborik has four goals and two assists over the three previous meetings between the teams this season, two of which have been won by Washington. The Capitals are 7-1-1 over their last nine regular-season matchups with the Rangers, and New York has been dealt losses in four of its five most recent non-playoff visits to the Verizon Center.

The Rangers did post a 4-3 victory in their latest trip to Washington, though, with Gaborik tallying twice in that October 8 win.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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