Announcement

**Udog** · 02-15-2015, 09:16 AM

NBA All-Star Game betting preview: West slight fave vs. East

Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference (+2.5, 295)

The NBA's biggest stars - or at least, most of them - have converged on Madison Square Garden for the latest edition of the All-Star Game. Players on both sides will miss the game due to injury; the East will be without guard Dwyane Wade, while the West will be missing three players, including dominant center Anthony Davis and legendary guard Kobe Bryant. But the game will still feature a host of studs, including LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.

The annual star-laden showcase has always been a high-scoring affair, but last year's game took it to another level - the teams combined for a stunning 318 points, as the East pulled out a 163-155 victory. It was the first victory for the East since 2010, and oddsmakers aren't counting on a repeat as they've made the East a slight underdog. But with Davis, Bryant and Blake Griffin on the shelf, the West has had to dig a little deeper into the All-Star reserve pool.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The West is a 2 1/2-point fave after opening -2. The over/under has dropped a half-point to 295.

WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "It’s no secret that the Western Conference is vastly superior to the Eastern Conference this season. The same was true last season, but the East went out and won the All-Star game 163-155, snapping the West’s 3-game winning streak. The East played with a purpose in last year’s game as they were tired of hearing how they were the weaker conference. It will be interesting to see if they play inspired again on Sunday for the same reason, or if they go thru the motions and concede the game to the West." - Covers Expert Steve Merril

WHAT BOOKS SAY: "No sharp action on the game, we rarely see wiseguys play these all star games, only if there is big injury news. There will be a big decision on the game, as 83 percent of cash and 81percent of bets are taking the West, who opened as 2 point favorite & now are -3." - Mike Jerome from TopBet.eu

ABOUT THE EASTERN CONFERENCE: Few could have predicted the East roster would look like this when the season began. The biggest surprise is the presence of four Atlanta Hawks starters, a testament to the team's unbelievable start to the season; Bulls power forward Pau Gasol and swingman Jimmy Butler have also been moderate surprises, and a major reason for Chicago's solid start. James is still the leader of the pack, however, and is joined by talented guards John Wall and Kyle Lowry, fellow Cav Kyrie Irving and former teammate Chris Bosh.

ABOUT THE WESTERN CONFERENCE: It says a lot about the strength of the West that the team is still favored despite being without two of the league's top frontcourt players and a volume scorer in Bryant. MVP candidates Stephen Curry and James Harden lead the charge, while Paul, Damien Lillard, Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook round out a truly frightening backcourt. The frontcourt is thinned out, but still boasts plenty of talent in Marc Gasol, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki and DeMarcus Cousins.

TRENDS:

* Each team has scored at least 138 points in each of the last five All-Star Games.
* An East city has hosted the All-Star game just once in the past 11 years - the West beat the East 152-149 in Orlando in 2012.
* The West holds a 12-11 edge since 1990-91, averaging 134 points for and 130.3 points against.

CONSENSUS: Users are heavily backing the West, with 67 percent of the votes laying the 2 1/2 points.

**Udog** · 02-15-2015, 09:18 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Tampa Bay at San Jose
The Lightning head to San Jose tonight to face a Sharks team that is 0-4 in its last 4 home games. Tampa Bay is the pick (-105) according to Dunkel, which has the Lightning favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-105). Here are all of today's NHL picks.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15

Game 1-2: Pittsburgh at Chicago (12:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh 10.878; Chicago 12.208
Dunkel Line & Total: Chicago by 1 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-145); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago (-145); Over

Game 3-4: St. Louis at Florida (5:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings:St. Louis 12.881; Florida 11.221
Dunkel Line & Total: St. Louis by 1 1/2; 4 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: St. Louis (-170); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-170); Under

Game 5-6: Philadelphia at Buffalo (7:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 10.134; Buffalo 11.069
Dunkel Line & Total: Buffalo by 1; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Philadelphia (-185); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Buffalo (+165); Under

Game 7-8: Washington at Anaheim (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington 10.904; Anaheim 12.389
Dunkel Line & Total: Anaheim by 1 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 9-10: Tampa Bay at San Jose (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 11.739; San Jose 10.028
Dunkel Line & Total: Tampa Bay by 1 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: San Jose (-115); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-105); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, February 15

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PITTSBURGH (32-15-0-8, 72 pts.) at CHICAGO (34-18-0-4, 72 pts.) - 2/15/2015, 12:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 22-31 ATS (-29.1 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 20-3 ATS (+14.3 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 20-7 ATS (+7.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 179-129 ATS (+28.6 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
CHICAGO is 38-40 ATS (-24.2 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 7-10 ATS (-12.8 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CHICAGO is 26-26 ATS (-17.4 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 2-1 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 2-1-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.7 Units)

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ST LOUIS (36-15-0-4, 76 pts.) at FLORIDA (24-19-0-11, 59 pts.) - 2/15/2015, 5:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 92-75 ATS (+169.5 Units) in road games after a non-conference game since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 39-15 ATS (+12.6 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 150-174 ATS (+348.5 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
FLORIDA is 167-196 ATS (-80.6 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
FLORIDA is 61-96 ATS (-53.6 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1996.
FLORIDA is 8-22 ATS (+30.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 3-0 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 3-0-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.2 Units)

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PHILADELPHIA (23-22-0-10, 56 pts.) at BUFFALO (16-36-0-3, 35 pts.) - 2/15/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 1-10 ATS (+11.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
BUFFALO is 9-4 ATS (+14.4 Units) in home games revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 37-100 ATS (-110.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 12-47 ATS (+99.5 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 13-47 ATS (+98.7 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 14-48 ATS (+110.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 5-23 ATS (+39.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 5-2 (+2.9 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 5-2-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.9 Units)

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WASHINGTON (29-17-0-10, 68 pts.) at ANAHEIM (35-14-0-7, 77 pts.) - 2/15/2015, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 2-1 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 2-1-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
3 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.1 Units)

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TAMPA BAY (34-17-0-6, 74 pts.) at SAN JOSE (29-20-0-8, 66 pts.) - 2/15/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 0-4 ATS (-6.9 Units) in home games in February games this season.
SAN JOSE is 4-8 ATS (-10.8 Units) in home games second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 8-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 3-0 (+3.3 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 3-0-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, February 15

Hot teams
-- Penguins won four of their last five games.
-- Blues won nine of their last eleven games.

Cold teams
-- Chicago lost four of its last six home games.
-- Florida lost three of its last four games.
-- Sabres lost 21 of their last 24 games. Philly lost three of last four games, with all three in OT/SO.
-- Washington lost six of its last eight road games. Anaheim lost three of its last four games.
-- Sharks lost five of their ast seven games. Tampa Bay lost three of last four.

Series records
-- Chicago is 4-3 in last seven games with Pittsburgh.
-- Blues won their last five games with Florida.
-- Flyers won 11 of last 13 games with Buffalo.
-- Ducks lost four of last five with Washington; last three all ended 3-2.
-- Sharks won their last three games with Tampa Bay.

Totals
-- Six of last seven Penguin road games stayed under total.
-- Five of last seven St Louis road games went over.
-- Last four Buffalo home games all stayed under.
-- Three of last four Anaheim home games went over.
-- Eight of last ten San Jose home games went over.

Back-to-back
-- Washington is 0-6 on road if it played the night before.

NHL

Sunday, February 15

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Trend Report
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12:30 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. CHICAGO
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
Chicago is 13-6 SU in its last 19 games at home
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home

5:00 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. FLORIDA
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of St. Louis's last 19 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of St. Louis's last 8 games when playing on the road against Florida
Florida is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Florida's last 19 games when playing St. Louis

7:30 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. BUFFALO
Philadelphia is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing Buffalo
Philadelphia is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Buffalo's last 22 games when playing Philadelphia

8:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. SAN JOSE
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
San Jose is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games

8:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. ANAHEIM
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games at home
Anaheim is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

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**Udog** · 02-15-2015, 09:18 AM

NHL

Sunday, February 15

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Game of the Day: Penguins at Blackhawks
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Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks (-144, 5.5)

Marian Hossa has been an integral part of the Chicago Blackhawks' success of late, scoring a staggering seven times over the last four games. The 36-year-old looks to continue his torrid stretch as the Blackhawks play the fourth contest of their season-high eight-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. Hossa scored a goal and set up captain Jonathan Toews for the eventual game-winning tally in a 3-1 triumph over New Jersey on Friday and also collected a goal and an assist in Chicago's 3-2 shootout win against Pittsburgh on Jan. 21.

"On fire," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said of Hossa. "He's got it going. He's got that touch." While Chicago is riding a five-game point streak (3-0-2), Pittsburgh posted its second straight win and fourth in five outings with a 5-4 shootout victory over Ottawa on Thursday. Captain Sidney Crosby tallied twice while playing in his 600th career contest, but was held off the scoresheet in the first meeting against the Blackhawks.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, TVA, City

LINE HISTORY: The opening line had a total of 5.5, with a moneyline of Chicago -144.

INJURY REPORT: Penguins - D Christian Erhoff (Ques-Concussion), RW Steve Downie (Ques-Undisclosed) Blackhawks - D Michal Rozsival (Ques-Shoulder), D Tim Erixon (Ques-Lower Body)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (32-15-8 SU, 21-31-3 O/U): Evgeni Malkin scored for the second time in five games since returning from a lower-body injury and has six points (two goals, four assists) in five career meetings with Chicago. Perhaps the former Hart Trophy winner could ignite an ailing power play, which is 0-for-13 in February and failed to score on two opportunities in the first meeting with the Blackhawks. Marc-Andre Fleury has helped mask some of those problems with sterling play, following up back-to-back shutouts by stopping 23-of-24 shots in a 4-1 victory over Detroit on Wednesday.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (34-18-4 SU, 20-29-7 O/U): Patrick Kane has recorded a team-high 27 goals this season and 205 in his career, but not one has come at the expense of Pittsburgh. The 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy winner was held off the scoresheet in the first meeting with the Penguins this season and has notched just four assists in six career encounters. Kane enters Sunday's contest on a high, collecting two goals and five assists over his last five games.

TRENDS:

*Penguins are 6-2 in their last 8 vs. Central.
*Blackhawks are 2-7 in their last 9 games following a win.
*Under is 6-1-1 in Penguins last 8 overall.
*Over is 5-0 in Blackhawks last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

CONSENSUS: 73.53 percent of users are backing the Blackhawks, with the total split nearly 50/50.

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**Udog** · 02-15-2015, 09:21 AM

NHL

Sunday, February 15

Ducks' PF Ryan Getzlaf, probable Sunday

Getzlaf is expected to play Sunday against the Capitals despite an upper-body injury.

Favorites a strong play Saturday night

Wagering on favorites in the NHL Saturday night was a good bet, as they went a very impressive 9-0-0-1 straight up.

The Winnipeg Jets were the only underdog to buck the trend, pulling out a 5-4 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The big night has favorites at 516-217-37-54 (62.62 percent) for the season.

There are five games on the NHL slate for Sunday, with Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Anaheim and San Jose favored in their matchups.

Habs continue to be a strong under play

The Montreal Canadiens went under another total Saturday night, topping the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in a shootout.

The Habs have been a great under play of late going 3-10-2 over/under in their last 15 games, giving up just 2.00 goals against a game during that run. The run has put the Canadiens at 16-29-10 O/U this season, making them second best under team in the league.

Montreal next visits Detroit on Monday, where the Red Wings are 6-4 O/U in their last 10 games.

NHL roundup: Habs edge Leafs in shootout

MONTREAL -- Center David Desharnais scored the shootout winner to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

Goaltender Carey Price stopped 28 shots for Montreal (36-15-4) while counterpart Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs (23-29-5).

Right winger Brendan Gallagher scored in regulation for the Canadiens, who earned points for the fifth straight game.

Center Daniel Winnik replied for Toronto, which has just two wins in 19 games in 2015.

Jets 5, Red Wings 4 (SO)

DETROIT -- Right winger Drew Staffer scored the only goal of an eight-shooter shootout to give Winnipeg a win against Detroit at Joe Louis Arena.

Right wingers Chris Thorburn, Blake Wheeler, Stafford and left winger Andrew Ladd scored in regulation for Winnipeg. Defensemen Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien had two assists each and goalie Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves.

Center Pavel Datyuk had two goals and an assist, forward Darren Helm had a goal and an assist and defenseman Niklas Kronwall scored for Detroit. Left winger Tomas Tatar had two assists and goaltender Jimmy Howard, in his first start in more than a month, stopped 34 shots.

Islanders 6, Blue Jackets 3

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- A three-goal third period outburst helped the New York Islanders pull away from Columbus Blue Jackets at Nassau Coliseum.

Center John Tavares scored two goals in a span of a little more than four minutes to cap the outburst, while center Frans Nielsen snapped a 3-3 tie 1:54 into the third period before Tavares' goals iced the victory for the Islanders. Center Josh Bailey scored twice in the first period -- Tavares assisted on both goals -- while center Ryan Strome scored in the second period for the Islanders.

Center Brandon Dubinsky, right winger Cam Atkinson and left winger Nick Foligno scored for the Blue Jackets, who lost six of 10. Goalie Anton Forsberg, who was seeking his first NHL win, recorded 40 saves.

Senators 7, Oilers 2

OTTAWA -- A four-goal outburst in the second period propelled Ottawa past Edmonton at Canadian Tire Centre.

Winger Milan Michalek led the way with two goals and an assist for his second multi-point game of the season. Other Ottawa goals were scored by wingers Mike Hoffman and Alex Chiasson, defenseman Cody Ceci and centers Kyle Turris and David Legwand.

Center Derek Roy and defenseman Mark Fayne replied for the Oilers.

Rangers 5, Coyotes 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- New York left winger Rick Nash continued his recent scoring surge with his league-leading 35th goal to help the Rangers to a victory the Arizona at Gila River Arena.

Right winger Kevin Hayes, defenseman Mark Stahl, right winger Lee Stempniak and center Chris Kreider also scored for New York. Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot had 34 saves in his sixth straight start in place of the injured Henrik Lundqvist.

Coyotes center Antoine Vermette scored his team's lone goal.

Wild 6, Hurricanes 3

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Right winger Thomas Vanek had his first multi-goal game for Minnesota, scoring twice to lead his team over Carolina.

Center Jordan Schroeder, defenseman Nate Prosser and center Erik Haula also scored for Minnesota and left wing Zach Parise added an empty-netter. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves.

Carolina got goals from center Andrej Nestrasil, left winger Jeff Skinner and center Elias Lindholm. Making his first start against the team that drafted him in 2004, goaltender Anton Khudobin made 18 saves.

Predators 3, Devils 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A late third-period flurry enabled Nashville to extend its latest winning streak by topping New Jersey.

Centers Colin Wilson and Craig Smith scored 66 seconds apart in the last 3 1/2 minutes as Nashville improved to 24-3-1 in Bridgestone Arena. Center Matt Cullen opened the scoring in the first for the Predators, who got 21 saves from goalie Pekka Rinne.

Right winger Steve Bernier scored New jersey's lone goal in the second period.

Avalanche 4, Stars 1

DENVER -- Goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots, left winger Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist and Colorado beat Dallas.

Right winger Jarome Iginla, left winger Gabriel Landeskog and right winger Dennis Everberg also had goals for Colorado, which is 4-0 against the Stars this season.

Center Jason Spezza scored and goalie Jhonas Enroth had 26 saves in his first start for the Stars since being acquired from Buffalo on Wednesday.

Kings 3, Capitals 1

LOS ANGELES -- Third-period goals by centers Trevor Lewis and Jarret Stoll were the difference as Los Angeles defeated Washington before a sellout crowd 18,230 at Staples Center.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 27 of 28 shots, and the Kings (25-18-12) captured their fourth in a row. The win also allowed Kings coach Darryl Sutter to pass Larry Robinson for fourth on the club's all-time win list with 123.

Capitals netminder Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves. Washington (29-17-10) lost for just the second time in six contests.

Kings left winger Dwight King and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin also scored in the game.

Flames 3, Canucks 2

CALGARY, Alberta -- Karri Ramo stood tall to backstop Calgary to a victory over Vancouver at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Ramo, whose last start was on Jan. 7 but only lasted half a game due to an injury, surrendered a stinker of an early goal but finished with 28 saves in a victory that keeps the Flames in a wild-card spot while the Western Conference standings have become suffocatingly close. Flames center Sean Monahan scored twice and left winger Lance Bouma once in the game.

Rookie left winger Ronalds Kenins and right winger Linden Vey scored for Vancouver.

**Udog** · 02-15-2015, 12:46 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Sunday, February 15

Pittsburgh at Chicago, 12:35 ET
Pittsburgh: 9-13 SU after one or more consecutive overs
Chicago: 20-3 SU in home games in non-conference games

St Louis at Florida, 5:05 ET
St Louis: 25-10 SU after a game where they covered
Florida: 2-9 SU after 3 consecutive non-conference games

Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7:35 ET
Philadelphia: 2-0 SU on Sunday games
Buffalo: 11-49 SU after failing to cover 3 of their last 4 against the spread

Washington at Anaheim, 8:05 ET
Washington: N/A
Anaheim: N/A

Tampa Bay at San Jose, 8:05 ET
Tampa Bay: 16-3 SU after a home game where both teams score 3 or more goals
San Jose: 4-10 SU off a road win

Announcement

Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/15

Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/15

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