Madison Square Garden With Win Ottawa

Hockey Betting Lines

Tim Connolly had two assists and James Reimer made 30 saves as Toronto won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game win streak from Nov. 22-27.

 

Defenseman John-Michael Liles missed the win with a sore neck and is questionable for tonight.

 

Versteeg and company came up empty in a big way on Friday, getting blasted by the Bruins 8-0. Jose Theodore gave up four goals on 14 shots before being lifted after one period. Scott Clemmensen made 17 saves in relief as the Panthers lost a season high-tying third straight game for the second time this month and third time this year.

 

Injuries may have played a factor as Florida was without second-leading point generator in Stephen Weiss. He became the seventh Panther forward to suffer an injury and four of those skaters, including Weiss, have all been hurt within the last four games.

 

The Panthers have gone 9-3-1 versus the Maple leafs over the past 13 meetings and have taken three straight and five of the last six at home in this set.

 

Kessel had the lone goal for the Maple Leafs in the most recent loss.

 

Friday's game at Madison Square Garden offered a glimpse of this year's Winter Classic between the Flyers and Rangers. The league's annual outdoor game is set for Monday at Citizens Bank Park, which is home to the MLB's Philadelphia Phillies.

 

"We played a pretty good first period, but they jumped on us in the second and they made it tough to mount a comeback," said Meszaros.

 

On the injury front for Philly, forward Danny Briere expects to return tonight after sitting out Friday with a bruised hand. Centermen Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn are day-to-day after missing time with head injuries. Schenn has sat out the last nine games with a concussion, while Couturier has missed three tests since getting hit in the back of the head with a puck shot by teammate Kimmo Timonen on Dec. 17.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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