Predators try to end recent woes against struggling Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to regain possession of first place in the Central Division as they continue a homestand this evening with a matchup against the slumping Phoenix Coyotes.

Nashville lost its grasp on the top spot in both the Central and the Western Conference following Saturday's loss to Minnesota at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The Wild spoiled Peter Forsberg's debut as a Predator by scoring three times in the third period en route to a 4-1 victory.

Detroit passed Nashville in the standings with a 4-1 triumph over Phoenix on Saturday night. The Red Wings have 82 points on the season, one better than the Preds.

Forsberg, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday in the year's biggest in-season deal thus far, was not a factor in his first game with his new club. The five-time All-Star and 2003 Hart Trophy winner was held without a point and managed just one shot on goal.

J.P. Dumont scored the lone goal for Nashville, which lost for the third time in four games, while goaltender Tomas Vokoun stopped only 18-of-21 shots that came his way.

The Predators played without standout defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who was scratched from the lineup with an upper-body injury. The All-Star blueliner is expected to be available for tonight's tilt, however.

Nashville has now lost two in a row at the Gaylord Entertainment Center after putting together a franchise-record eight-game home win streak from January 6- February 8. The Predators are still an outstanding 21-5-3 on home ice this season.

Phoenix is currently mired in a season-worst five-game losing streak, the club's longest since a six-game slide from March 22-31, 2003. The Coyotes surrendered three power-play goals to the Red Wings in Saturday's defeat.

Mike Zigomanis had the only Phoenix goal and Mikael Tellqvist turned away 23- of-26 shots in the loss.

Tonight's game marks the final meeting between these teams this season. The Coyotes have won two of the three previous encounters, but dropped a 4-1 decision to the Preds in the Music City back in October.

Phoenix has lost in each of its last four visits to Nashville and will be attempting to stop a six-game winless streak (5 losses, 1 tie) at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The Coyotes' last road win in this series came on October 22, 2002.

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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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