Streaking Canadiens begin road swing against Rangers

Hockey Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having re-discovered their winning ways, the Montreal Canadiens begin an important road trip tonight at Madison Square Garden against a New York Rangers team in desperate need of a victory.

The Canadiens have rebounded strongly from a six-game losing streak they endured earlier this month. Montreal has won four of five since that spell, including last night's 5-4 triumph over rival Toronto at the Bell Centre.

Saku Koivu and Michael Ryder each had a goal and an assist to lead the Habs, while Mike Johnson, Sheldon Souray and Tomas Plekanec also scored in the victory. David Aebischer made a strong contribution between the pipes, as the veteran stopped 32 shots for Montreal.

Monday's win moved the Canadiens past Carolina and into seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Montreal has 72 points on the season, one more than the defending Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes.

Souray has now notched a point in six consecutive games, having compiled three goals and three assists during that span.

Montreal, which owns a 14-14-3 record away from home, will start up a five- game road swing this evening.

The Rangers have been headed in the opposite direction as the Canadiens. New York has lost its last three contests and is tied for 11th place in the East, seven points in back of Carolina in the race for the conference's final playoff spot.

The last two defeats have come in front of the home fans, the most recent being a disappointing 3-2 setback to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

New York built an early 2-0 lead on goals by Blair Betts and Jaromir Jagr, but Columbus drew even with a pair of shorthanded tallies before Rick Nash netted the game-winner late in the second period.

Petr Prucha assisted on Jagr's score and now has three goals and a pair of helpers during a current five-game point streak.

Rangers forward Martin Straka was forced to leave Sunday's game with an upper body injury. The veteran Czech, who is tied for second on the team with 65 points, is questionable to return this evening.

The Rangers will be playing the third test of a season-high six-game homestand tonight. The club has struggled at the Garden throughout the year, however, bringing just a 12-14-4 home mark into tonight's tilt.

New York did win the only previous meeting between these teams in 2006-07, a 4-3 triumph at the Bell Centre on January 6. Montreal won three of its four matchups with the Rangers last season, including both encounters in Manhattan.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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