Devils visit Islanders with first place in sight

Hockey Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to move into a first-place tie in the Atlantic Division this evening when they take on the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

The Devils picked up their second victory in a row last night with a 3-1 home triumph over the Penguins while also moving within two points of the Penguins for first place in the division. They can pull even with the idle club with a victory tonight.

Ilya Kovalchuk came into last night's game with three goals and five assists in 10 games with the Devils since coming over in a trade with Atlanta, but he assisted on his team's first two goals before lighting the lamp himself for the 35th time this season.

Patrik Elias and Andy Greene also scored for the Devils, who will try to win three in a row tonight for the first time since Jan. 2-9. Martin Brodeur turned aside 34 shots in the victory, New Jersey's fifth straight versus Pittsburgh this year.

"There's no explanation for that except that you need a little luck and I think we've had some luck at different times," said Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire of his club allowing a mere three goals in five games against the Pens. "When you do, you build up some confidence and guys play their best game."

New Jersey, which has lost eight of nine and 11 of its last 13 on the road, improved to 40-23-3 on the season and matched Montreal's NHL record of 13 consecutive 40-win seasons accomplished from 1971-1983.

While the Devils continue to challenge for the Atlantic Division lead, the Islanders have fallen 11 points back of the Bruins for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After opening its post-Olympic schedule with a big win over Chicago, New York has gone 0-3-1 in its last four games.

The Islanders dropped three straight in regulation before earning a point in Thursday's 2-1 shootout setback to the Blues. Martin Biron made 35 saves, but allowed both skaters he faced in the deciding frame to score. Frans Nielsen and Matt Moulson both had their attempts turned aside by St. Louis' Chris Mason.

"We're getting our chances late in the game and in overtime, with the power play," said Moulson, who scored his team-leading 24th goal of the season in regulation. "It's just a matter of bearing down and correcting those little things."

Moulson has three goals and six points over his last seven games and has scored twice in four meetings with the Devils this year. However, New Jersey has outscored New York 12-8 in winning three of the four matchups.

The Islanders, who have lost six of their last nine overall as the host, had won three straight at home versus the Devils, including a 4-0 victory on Jan. 18, before dropping a 4-2 test at Nassau Coliseum when the teams last met on Jan. 23.

Rick DiPietro made 20 saves in the shutout victory but is back on injured reserve due to swelling in his surgically repaired left knee. Biron is 0-2-0 with a 4.04 goals-against average in two starts versus New Jersey this year, while Dwayne Roloson has yet to face them in 2009-10. However, he is likely to start tonight and is 0-6-0 with a pair of ties and 2.97 GAA versus them lifetime.

Brodeur is 2-1-0 with a 2.63 GAA in three games this year versus the Islanders, and his 43 career wins versus the club is the most for the future Hall of Famer against any one club. However, the Devils might opt to rest the 37-year-old and instead give backup Yann Danis his first start since Feb. 2.

Danis went 10-17-3 with a 2.86 GAA in 31 games with the Islanders last year and is 1-0-0 with a 0.75 GAA in two games (1 start) against them this season.

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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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