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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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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