NHL
Monday, February 7
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Rangers at Red Wings: What bettors need to know
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New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings (-196, 5.5)
THE STORY: Surrendering back-to-back shutouts to Central Division rivals has not made Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock a happy camper. The Red Wings will look to get back on track when they host the struggling New York Rangers on Monday night. New York has dropped four in a row and seven of its last 10.
TV: 7:30 ET, VERSUS, TSN2
ODDS: Books opened with the Red Wings set as -193 home favorites. The total is set at 5.5.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (31-15-6): Jimmy Howard (25-9-3, 2.85 goals-against average) grew up as a Rangers fan. That's not much of a surprise considering he is a New York native. Howard will get his second career start against the Rangers on Monday. He made good on his previous one - turning aside 28 shots in a 3-1 win on Dec. 6, 2009. Injured stars Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom are inching closer to the ice, and may be able to compete against New York.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (29-22-4): New York has fared well away from Broadway this season, posting a 17-10-1 mark. Henrik Lundqvist (21-17-4, 2.35 goals-against average) was pulled in his last start, has dropped three straight and now faces a Detroit club which has beaten him in all three career decisions. Should Martin Biron get the start, the veteran netminder is 7-4-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average in his last 14 contests.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Detroit center Justin Abdelkader has not scored a goal since Nov. 17 - a span of 36 games. Marian Gaborik has scored just one goal in his last seven contests. For a team struggling to score goals, Gaborik needs to step it up if New York is going to snap its losing skid.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Detroit has converted 21.1 percent of its power plays, while killing off 81.4 percent of its opponents' chances. For its part, New York has scored on 15.7 percent of its opportunities with the man-advantage, while killing off 84.1 percent of its shorthanded situations.
SEASON SERIES: Monday's contest marks the first between the two this season. Detroit has won the last four meetings and 11 of the last 12.
KEY INJURIES: NEW YORK: C Chris Drury (knee); LW Ruslan Fedotenko (appendix); LW Derek Boogaard (shoulder); DETROIT: C Pavel Datsyuk (hand); LW Tomas Holmstrom (hand); C Mike Modano (wrist); G Chris Osgood (groin); D Brad Stuart (jaw).
LAST WORD: Currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings, the Rangers are just four points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers.
TRENDS:
* Rangers are 1-11 in the last 12 meetings.
* Rangers are 0-5 in the last five meetings in Detroit.
* Red Wings are 4-9 in their last 13 vs. Atlantic.
* Rangers are 3-7 in their last 10 vs. Central.
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Monday, February 7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rangers at Red Wings: What bettors need to know
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings (-196, 5.5)
THE STORY: Surrendering back-to-back shutouts to Central Division rivals has not made Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock a happy camper. The Red Wings will look to get back on track when they host the struggling New York Rangers on Monday night. New York has dropped four in a row and seven of its last 10.
TV: 7:30 ET, VERSUS, TSN2
ODDS: Books opened with the Red Wings set as -193 home favorites. The total is set at 5.5.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (31-15-6): Jimmy Howard (25-9-3, 2.85 goals-against average) grew up as a Rangers fan. That's not much of a surprise considering he is a New York native. Howard will get his second career start against the Rangers on Monday. He made good on his previous one - turning aside 28 shots in a 3-1 win on Dec. 6, 2009. Injured stars Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom are inching closer to the ice, and may be able to compete against New York.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (29-22-4): New York has fared well away from Broadway this season, posting a 17-10-1 mark. Henrik Lundqvist (21-17-4, 2.35 goals-against average) was pulled in his last start, has dropped three straight and now faces a Detroit club which has beaten him in all three career decisions. Should Martin Biron get the start, the veteran netminder is 7-4-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average in his last 14 contests.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Detroit center Justin Abdelkader has not scored a goal since Nov. 17 - a span of 36 games. Marian Gaborik has scored just one goal in his last seven contests. For a team struggling to score goals, Gaborik needs to step it up if New York is going to snap its losing skid.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Detroit has converted 21.1 percent of its power plays, while killing off 81.4 percent of its opponents' chances. For its part, New York has scored on 15.7 percent of its opportunities with the man-advantage, while killing off 84.1 percent of its shorthanded situations.
SEASON SERIES: Monday's contest marks the first between the two this season. Detroit has won the last four meetings and 11 of the last 12.
KEY INJURIES: NEW YORK: C Chris Drury (knee); LW Ruslan Fedotenko (appendix); LW Derek Boogaard (shoulder); DETROIT: C Pavel Datsyuk (hand); LW Tomas Holmstrom (hand); C Mike Modano (wrist); G Chris Osgood (groin); D Brad Stuart (jaw).
LAST WORD: Currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings, the Rangers are just four points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers.
TRENDS:
* Rangers are 1-11 in the last 12 meetings.
* Rangers are 0-5 in the last five meetings in Detroit.
* Red Wings are 4-9 in their last 13 vs. Atlantic.
* Rangers are 3-7 in their last 10 vs. Central.
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