Thrashers' playoff push resumes in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will shoot for a third straight victory when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Thrashers have won two straight since the NHL came back from the Olympic break. Atlanta hasn't won three in a row since it tied a season with a four- game winning streak from November 25-30.

Atlanta comes into Saturday tied with the New York Rangers and Montreal for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning are three points behind in 11th place.

The Thrashers are coming off Thursday's decisive victory over the visiting New York Islanders, in which Nik Antropov scored twice and a pair of newcomers paid immediate dividends in Atlanta's 6-3 win.

Forwards Clarke MacArthur and Evgeny Artyukhin both lit the lamp in their Thrashers debuts. Atlanta acquired the towering Artyukhin from Anaheim on Monday and picked up MacArthur in a deal with Buffalo prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.

Niclas Bergfors and Maxim Afinogenov each registered a goal and an assist for Atlanta, which is 6-2-1 in its last nine games at Philips Arena. The Thrashers are just 13-14-6 on the road this season.

"It's important to get all the new guys going," Bergfors said. "It's always easier to settle in as a new guy when the team is winning."

Johan Hedberg stopped 34 shots in the win and is expected to start again for Atlanta tonight.

The Lightning, meanwhile, have lost five straight contests, including two in a row since the Olympic break.

After getting slammed by Philadelphia in a 7-2 loss on Tuesday, the Bolts dropped a 5-4 regulation decision Thursday night in Washington. Scott Walker scored a pair of third-period goals to lead the Capitals to the close win.

Vincent Lecavalier netted two scores for the Lightning, while Mike Smith was beaten five times on 34 shots to suffer the loss.

Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie got the other Tampa goals to extend impressive point streaks. Stamkos is carrying a franchise-record 15-game scoring streak, while Downie kept a nine-game streak intact.

Tampa Bay is 17-8-6 as the host this year and will try to avoid a third straight home loss tonight.

This evening's test marks the final regular season meeting between Tampa and Atlanta. The Lightning have won four out of five in the season series, but the clubs have split the last 10 overall encounters overall. The Thrashers have lost two straight and eight of their last 12 in Tampa.

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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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