Rangers corral win at Carolina

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02/16/2007 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Nylander and Karel Rachunek each had a goal and an assist, and the New York Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak in Carolina, posting a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes.

The Rangers had not won on the Hurricanes' home ice since Dec. 31, 2002, with an 0-5-0 mark during the stretch.

Pascal Dupuis and Brendan Shanahan also scored for the Rangers, who were coming off four days' rest and have now won three straight to move within three points of Toronto, Montreal and the New York Islanders, who are tied the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for New York, which scored on all three of its power play opportunities. . Andrew Ladd had the lone tally for Carolina, which had won three of its last four coming in. The Hurricanes also lost more than the contest, as right winger Justin Williams and defenseman Bret Hedican both left with injuries and did not return. Hedican suffered a concussion, while Williams has an upper body ailment, putting in jeopardy his streak of 147 consecutive games played.

Cam Ward surrendered all four goals on 27 shots faced for Carolina.

A power-play tally sparked the Rangers to a 1-0 lead in the first period. In 3-on-1 coverage, Jaromir Jagr came streaking through the left circle and managed to slide a cross-ice feed to Nylander, who was just off the netminder's left side and wristed the puck past Ward with 1:14 remaining in the period.

Carolina was quick to net the equalizer, as Scott Walker tore through the neutral zone and dished to Eric Staal. The crafty center then pushed through a couple of defensemen, sliding the disc to Ladd, who was ahead of the play and beat a sliding Lundqvist on the stick-side with 30 seconds left in the stanza.

Another man-advantage resulted in another tally, putting the Blueshirts back on top, 2-1, in the second. Rachunek picked up his fourth goal of the season, rifling a long slapshot from the point that tore through traffic in front of the crease and over the left shoulder of Ward at 5:40.

New York doubled its lead later on, as Dupuis notched his first goal as a Ranger, and 11th of the season, with 3:41 remaining in the period. Matt Cullen took the initial shot from along the left boards, and Dupuis managed to deflect the puck past Ward at 16:19.

The Rangers broke the game open in the third period, claiming a 4-1 lead on another power play score. From a sharp angle off Ward's right side, Shanahan was able to corral the puck off a slapshot by Rachunek and snap it past the netminder at 4:01.

Carolina managed just six shots on goal in the final period.

Game Notes

Carolina forward Erik Cole is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that has caused him to miss three straight games...In 63 career games against Carolina, Jagr has 30 goals and 37 assists...Williams was playing in his 400th career NHL game...Carolina's Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour both had five-game point streaks end...With 25 games remaining, the Rangers have more wins at this point in the season than they have had in any non-playoff seasons since 1997...Nylander extended his point streak to six games (3G, 5A)...Shanahan has four goals and four assists in his last eight games.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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