Devils take on Habs in Jersey

Hockey Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils opened up their second half by picking up a big two points over one of the top teams in the conference. The Canadiens, meanwhile, failed to build off their win against the top team in the NHL right before the All-Star break.

New Jersey looks to wrap a lengthy homestand this evening and deny Montreal a fifth straight victory in the Garden State.

The Devils began a six-game residency with a win over Winnipeg back on Jan. 17, but dropped the next tests of the stay, including a shootout loss to Buffalo on Jan. 24. After the extended break, New Jersey hosted the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers on Tuesday and battled back all night for a 4-3 shootout win.

The Devils erased three one-goal deficits in the game and then picked up the extra point when Ilya Kovalchuk scored the lone goal of the shootout in the first round. Martin Brodeur, who made 23 saves through overtime, came up with stops on Derek Stepan, Brad Richards and All-Star Game MVP Marian Gaborik.

"It was an emotional win. We've had our share of issues against the Rangers so to come back the way we (did was great)," said Brodeur after New Jersey moved to 9-2 in shootouts this year.

David Clarkson tied the game on a goal with 48 ticks left in regulation, while Kovalchuk and Zach Parise also scored in the game.

New Jersey sits eighth overall in the Eastern Conference, 12 points behind the Rangers.

"It's a big one for sure," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said of the win over New York. "We're at a time when obviously they're all big, but we really needed a win against obviously a really good team, the best in our conference right now. During a critical homestand here, it's a big two points."

DeBoer would love to see his team end the homestand with two straight wins, but he must find a way to solve the Canadiens. Though the Devils have won 10 of the past 14 encounters overall, the Habs have come out on top in each of their last four visits to New Jersey by a 13-4 margin. That includes a 2-1 win on Dec. 10 in which Montreal netminder Carey Price denied Parise on a penalty shot in the game's final minute.

Price was in solid form again on Tuesday, but didn't get enough offensive support in a 3-1 loss against the visiting Sabres. Price ended with 37 saves on 39 shots faced as Montreal failed to secure a third straight win and instead lost for the 13th time in 19 contests.

"That's a shame because he played great," said defenseman Hal Gill of Price. "He tried to steal one for us and we didn't let it happen."

Max Pacioretty scored at the 4:09 mark of the first period, but the next three goals came off the sticks of Buffalo players.

"I think at the end of the first, we lost a little momentum. They came hard and we didn't do the things that we need to do," said Gill. "We turned it over in the neutral zone, we gave them too many chances outside, we didn't attack them enough."

Montreal had knocked off NHL-leading Detroit by a 7-2 margin in its last game before the break and will seek to avoid its eight loss in its last 10 road games.

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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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