Avery scores twice as Rangers use power play to down Flyers

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03/15/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Avery scored a pair of power-play goals to lift the New York Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

Nik Antropov also scored on the power play and Fredrik Sjostrom tacked on a third-period goal for the Rangers, who gained a split of the home-and-home set after dropping a 4-2 decision on Saturday in Philadelphia. New York, which started the day tied with Florida for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, has won five of its last seven.

Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves in the victory, the third straight on home ice for the Rangers.

Simon Gagne scored the lone goal for Philadelphia, which had won three of its previous four entering the contest. Antero Niittymaki, making the start in place of Martin Biron, turned aside 35 shots in defeat. Biron stopped 39 shots on Saturday and had started the Flyers' last four games.

The power play was the difference in this one. The Rangers had been 1-for-15 with the extra skater in three previous games against the Flyers this season, but converted 3-of-9 chances on Sunday. Philadelphia was just 1-for-6.

New York had three power-play chances in the first period and failed to convert on the first two before finally cashing in on the third with two minutes remaining the stanza.

Derek Morris controlled the puck at the right point, skated in a few strides and fired a hard pass toward the front of the net for Avery, who deflected a shot over Niittymaki's shoulder for his sixth goal of the season and third since being reacquired by the Rangers.

The Flyers were unable to score on their only power play of the first period. They also blew a 2-on-1 and saw a shot ring off the post, then tied it on a power play early in the second.

In much the same fashion as the Ranger goal, Mike Richards took a shot from the right point and Gagne was able to deflect it home from the slot for his 27th goal at the 4:32 mark.

A high-sticking call against Philadelphia's Danny Briere just over two minutes later led to another Ranger power-play goal. Chris Drury won an offensive-zone faceoff back to Michal Rozsival, who got the puck to Antropov along the right boards. The former Toronto Maple Leaf skated into the circle and snapped a shot past a screened Niittymaki for his 24th goal and third since being acquired by New York at the trade deadline.

The Rangers nearly opened a two-goal margin in the final minute of the second, but Rozsival directed a shot wide on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Callahan.

Braydon Coburn, though, took a major penalty just a few seconds before the end of the stanza, giving the Rangers an extended power play to start the third.

Avery made the Flyers pay again just 2:45 into the period. Markus Naslund came around the net and tried to center the puck to Scott Gomez, but it deflected off the skate of a Flyer in front of the crease and Avery was there to knock it into the net for a 3-1 lead.

Philadelphia did not muster a shot in the third period until just over 11 1/2 minutes remained, but Lundqvist turned aside Jeff Carter's point-blank chance from the slot.

The Rangers then extended their lead to three with 9:49 remaining. Sjostrom, after taking a Flyer down behind the Philadelphia net without a call, was able to corral the puck and score on a wraparound.

Lundqvist made the lead stand up as the Rangers killed off a pair of penalties late in the third, including 31 seconds of a two-man Philadelphia advantage.

Game Notes

The Rangers last tallied three power-play goals in a game on November 6 against Tampa Bay...Avery and Antropov also scored for the Rangers in Saturday's game. Avery has a three-game goal streak...Richards extended his point streak to seven games, as did Gagne...The Flyers opened a four-game road trip that will also take them to Detroit, Buffalo and Pittsburgh...The Rangers will visit Montreal for their next game on Tuesday.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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