Surging clubs meet as Rangers host Sens at MSG

Hockey Betting Lines

03/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of hot teams will meet tonight in the Big Apple, as the New York Rangers welcome the Ottawa Senators for an Eastern Conference battle at Madison Square Garden.

The Senators have won four straight and eight of their last nine contests to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Ottawa, which has qualified for the postseason in each of the last 11 seasons, is currently 12th in the East and nine points behind Montreal for the conference's eighth and final playoff berth.

New York, meanwhile, has won its last three outings and is 7-3-1 since firing head coach Tom Renney and replacing him with John Tortorella. The Rangers are seventh in the East with 84 points on the year.

Ottawa earned its latest victory Saturday night against the visiting New York Islanders. Dany Heatley's team-leading 34th goal of the season capped a four- goal second period, as the Senators rolled past the Islanders, 5-2, at Scotiabank Place.

Mike Fisher, Chris Neil, Nick Foligno and Filip Kuba also tallied for the red- hot Senators.

Daniel Alfredsson recorded three assists, while Brian Elliott made 20 saves to extend his winning streak to eight games, the longest by a rookie goaltender in franchise history.

Jason Spezza added an assist to push his point streak to nine games. The centerman has five goals and nine assists during the tear.

The Sens recorded their three most recent wins on home ice, but will kick off a six-game road trip tonight. Ottawa is just 11-18-4 as the guest this year.

The Rangers are coming off Saturday's win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves to help the Blueshirts record the 5-3 decision at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan Callahan tallied two goals while Nikolai Zherdev, Chris Drury and Markus Naslund each had a goal for the Rangers. Callahan has recorded a point in five straight games, notching four goals and three helpers over that span.

New York is 22-10-4 as the host this year and is playing the middle segment of a three-game homestand tonight. The Rangers, who will also host Minnesota on Tuesday, have won their last four on Broadway.

The Rangers have won two of three against Ottawa this year and can win the season series in the final regular-season matchup between the clubs tonight. The Sens have still taken seven of 10 overall in the series and have also come out on top in six of their last eight trips to the Big Apple.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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