Announcement

**Udog** · 04-18-2015, 09:22 AM

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

-- Bronx 5, Tampa Bay 4-- ARod hit two HRs in front of 15,752 in the Trop; when are the Rays moving to Montreal?

-- Red Sox 3, Orioles 2-- Umpire Jordan Baker tossed Oriole starter Jimenez in the 4th inning, before he allowed a hit and before he warned either side. Not good.

-- Mets 4, Marlins 1-- Colon is 3-0; Mets have won six in a row.

-- Arizona 9, Giants 0-- SF is off to its worst start since 1951

-- Nationals 7, Phillies 2-- Phils are 0-10-1 in first five innings of a game.

-- In seven of eight games played in AL parks last night, the winning run scored after the sixth inning; lot of interesting games.

**********

Armadillo: Saturday's List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind.........

13) Since 2010, only two big leaguers batted cleanup in their MLB debut; Jose Abreu and Kris Bryant. Must be a Chicago thing. Bryant had a rough debut but there aren't too many guys like James Shields pitching in AAA.

12) CB Bucknor is generally regarded as the worst ump in the major leagues; he had the plate in the Arizona-SF game Thursday- both sets of announcers let him have it during the game.

When the Arizona play-by-play guy read the umpires' names before the game, analyst Bob Brenly let out a very loud groan, nothing else. Tremendous.

11) That said, I'll take Bucknor over Angel Hernandez any day of the week, where the A's are concerned. Oakland got hosed bigtime on a force play at second base last night and replay failed to overturn it.

Hernandez didn't umpire last night, so pretty good chance he was in New York sticking it to the A's while reviewing replays. He and Bob Melvin do not get along at all. I don't trust the freaking guy. Which leads me to......

10) ....MLB needs to be more transparent as to who is reviewing replays.

9) Get well soon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; he had quadruple bypass surgery on Thursday, is expected to make a full recovery. I firmly believe he is the greatest basketball player ever-- he hardly ever lost in high school or college. When he was a freshman at UCLA, freshman team beat the varsity by 20 and the varsity had won the national championship the year before.

8) NBA must be doing pretty well: salary cap projections for the net three years, with caveat that the labor agreement runs out after the 2017 season, so this may be posturing on the owners' part:
2016: $67.1M....2017: $89M......2018: $108M

7) Three NBA teams are getting new arenas built right now: Golden State, Sacramento and Milwaukee. How are two northern California teams getting new arenas but the A's can't get a new ballpark built? This is one problem I cannot blame on Angel Hernandez.

6) They're having problems with the new artificial turf at Rogers Centre in Toronto, where the Blue Jays play; it is too thick, too heavy. In batting practice some balls that were hit in the gaps stopped before they rolled to the fence.

5) Saints WR Marques Colston owns part of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena League; their game in New Orleans next week was pushed back to Sunday because the NBA's Pelicans have a home playoff game on Saturday.

4) Rick Pitino lost one of his assistant coaches to Cal, so he brought back 69-year old Ralph Willard, whose son Kevin is the coach at Seton Hall.

3) Kansas State must've had a fun season this past year; five players have already either transferred or been thrown off the team, just since the season ended. They've got six new kids coming in, but even with that, they're going to have a thin roster.

2) Good rule of thumb these days might be: act as if you're being videotaped, because chances are, you just might be. This goes double for anyone in the public eye. Maybe it should go triple, or tenfold.

1) How long now before a reality TV show will be set in the pay booth of a tow truck company?

**Udog** · 04-18-2015, 09:28 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 18

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MINNESOTA (47-28-0-8, 102 pts.) at ST LOUIS (51-25-0-7, 109 pts.) - 4/18/2015, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 18-10 ATS (+28.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
MINNESOTA is 17-7 ATS (+24.2 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
MINNESOTA is 11-5 ATS (+17.3 Units) in road games vs. division opponents this season.
MINNESOTA is 15-8 ATS (+6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 9-4 (+3.9 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 9-4-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.4 Units)

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DETROIT (44-25-0-14, 102 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (50-25-0-8, 108 pts.) - 4/18/2015, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 11-20 ATS (-16.9 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
DETROIT is 87-94 ATS (-57.6 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 21-7 ATS (+12.0 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 7-3 (+3.3 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 7-3-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.7 Units)

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PITTSBURGH (43-28-0-12, 98 pts.) at NY RANGERS (54-22-0-7, 115 pts.) - 4/18/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 43-40 ATS (-21.6 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 1-6 ATS (-9.2 Units) in April games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 20-26 ATS (-20.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 9-22 ATS (-26.1 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
PITTSBURGH is 6-14 ATS (-9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 54-29 ATS (+21.7 Units) in all games this season.
NY RANGERS are 34-14 ATS (+13.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 24-7 ATS (+13.6 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
NY RANGERS are 128-125 ATS (-62.2 Units) in home games after a division game since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 166-198 ATS (-112.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 11-10 (+2.5 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 11-10-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
10 of 20 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-1.5 Units, Under=-0.9 Units)

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WINNIPEG (43-27-0-13, 99 pts.) at ANAHEIM (52-24-0-7, 111 pts.) - 4/18/2015, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ANAHEIM is 52-31 ATS (+90.6 Units) in all games this season.
ANAHEIM is 12-1 ATS (+10.6 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ANAHEIM is 20-6 ATS (+11.2 Units) on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 33-14 ATS (+17.2 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 20-8 ATS (+8.1 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
ANAHEIM is 54-37 ATS (+1.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 217-205 ATS (+464.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
WINNIPEG is 11-5 ATS (+16.3 Units) on Saturday games this season.
WINNIPEG is 44-38 ATS (+87.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 33-24 ATS (+57.9 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 6-1 (+4.2 Units) against the spread versus WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 6-1-0 straight up against WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.8 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, April 18

Rangers won seven of last eight games with Pittsburgh, with only loss in a shootout. Penguins lost last four visits here; five of last seven series games stayed under total. Penguins lost six of last seven games overall, with only win vs lowly Buffalo; seven of their last nine stayed under. Rangers won seven of last eight games overall, with four of last six going over total; they scored 0:28 into Game 1, outshot Pitt 38-25, were just 1-5 on power play (Penguins were 0-1).

Tampa Bay outshot Detroit 46-14 in Game 1, but on seven power plays, Wings actually outscored them 1-0, scoring a shorthanded goal. Lightning won seven of last ten games with Detroit- seven of those ten stayed under the total. Red Wings lost four of last five visits to Tampa, are 4-5 in last nine games overall. Tampa Bay won three of its last four games, allowing eight goals; they won four of last six at home. Under is 4-1-1 in Lightning's last six games.

Minnesota scored two empty net goals late in Game 1; they held Blues to only 21 shots in 4-2 win, four in second period. St Louis won seven of last 11 games with Minnesota; Wild lost three of last five visits to St Louis. St Louis won five of its last seven games overall. Wild won five of its last six road games, but lost four of last seven games overall. Significant pressure on Blues to win here and not go to Minnesota down 2-0, given their recent sordid playoff history.

Anaheim won last four games with Winnipeg, scoring twice in first 2:00 of a period in 4-2 Game 1 win; Jets split last six visits here. Four of last five series games went over the total. Winnipeg won four of last six games; they were 0-3 on power play in Game 1, got beat 40-24 in faceoffs. Anaheim won six of its last eight games; they scored three third period goals in Game 1, after being down 2-1 after two periods. Two of four Anaheim goals came on power play (2-3).

Home teams are 8-4 in this round; over is 6-3-3.

NHL

Saturday, April 18

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Trend Report
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3:00 PM
DETROIT vs. TAMPA BAY
Detroit is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 10 games when playing Detroit
Tampa Bay is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Detroit

3:00 PM
MINNESOTA vs. ST. LOUIS
Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
Minnesota is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota
St. Louis is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Minnesota

8:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. NY RANGERS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 9 of the NY Rangers last 13 games

10:30 PM
WINNIPEG vs. ANAHEIM
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games

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**Udog** · 04-18-2015, 09:31 AM

NHL

Saturday, April 18

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Saturday's NHL Playoffs cheat sheet
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Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning (-175, 5.5)
Red Wings lead series 1-0

After posting franchise bests with 50 wins and 108 points this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning continued their run of misfortune in the playoffs by falling in the opener of their Eastern Conference first-round series. The Lightning look to snap a six-game postseason skid and even their set at one victory apiece when they host the Atlantic Division rival Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon.

"We'll be ready," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "We'll be swinging for the fences (Saturday), and we'll see what happens." The Lightning pretty much did exactly that in Game 1, unleashing a staggering 46 shots only to be thwarted by a goaltender that was making his postseason debut. Petr Mrazek stopped a career-high 44 of those in Detroit's 3-2 triumph on Thursday, becoming the fifth netminder in franchise history to win his first career appearance - joining Johnny Mowers (1941), Glenn Hall (1956), Bob Champoux (1964) and Chris Osgood (1994). Pavel Datsyuk recorded his sixth career multi-goal postseason performance on Thursday - and first since April 27, 2010 - while Luke Glendening also tallied in the win.

TRENDS:

*Red Wings are 1-7 in their last 8 games following a win.
*Under is 4-1-3 in Red Wings last 8 overall.
*Lightning are 40-15 in their last 55 home games.
*Under is 4-1-1 in Lightning last 6 overall.

Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues (-140, 5)
Wild lead series 1-0

The St. Louis Blues will need to find a way to cool off the league's hottest road team when they host the Minnesota Wild in Saturday's Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series. The Wild tied an NHL record by winning 12 straight away from home before dropping the regular-season finale in St. Louis, but they continued their road prowess with a 4-2 victory over the Blues in the series opener.

"We've got to play better," St. Louis captain David Backes said. "They came out and played a solid road game. We needed to capitalize on a few more chances." The final score was not indicative of the tight battle, with Minnesota sandwiching a pair of empty-net goals around a short-handed tally by the Blues' Alexander Steen in the final 73 seconds. It marked the first Game 1 victory in a postseason series in 12 years for the Wild, who expect a stong effort from the Central Division champions on Saturday. "We know the further it's going to go, the tougher it's going to get," Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu said.

TRENDS:

*Wild are 17-4 in their last 21 road games.
*Blues are 0-5 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
*Over is 5-1-2 in the last 8 meetings.
*Over is 5-2-2 in Wild last 9 vs. Western Conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (-185, 5)
Rangers lead series 1-0

The New York Rangers are known for their defensive hockey and the Presidents' Trophy-winning club didn't disappoint by keeping the Pittsburgh Penguins in check in the opener of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Rangers look to claim a 2-0 lead in the set when they host their Metropolitan Division rivals on Saturday night.

While pleased with his team's 2-1 victory on Thursday, New York coach Alain Vigneault was rather adamant both after the game and following Friday's practice with his perceived view of the Penguins interfering with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston also had the referees on his mind after seeing his team whistled for five penalties - including four in the first period. "You have to know to take a hit, a punch, or a hit with the stick at times because we know what the referees will call," Johnston said. "Key players couldn't get on the ice, so that was a key factor. Our game started to come as we played them 5-on-5. We need more of that in Game 2."

TRENDS:

*Penguins are 1-10 in their last 11 vs. Eastern Conference.
*Over is 5-1-1 in Rangers last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
*Under is 4-1 in Penguins last 5 overall.
*Penguins are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings.

Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks (-140, 5)
Ducks lead series 1-0

The Winnipeg Jets' inability to contain the Anaheim Ducks' top line proved to be their downfall in their postseason debut. Winnipeg looks to improve in that department and even its Western Conference first-round series at one win apiece when they visit Anaheim for Game 2 on Saturday.

Participating in their first playoff game since the franchise relocated from Atlanta, the Jets carried a one-goal lead into the third period before Corey Perry tallied twice and set up captain Ryan Getzlaf's score as the Ducks opened the matchup with a 4-2 triumph on Thursday. Winnipeg proved to be a worthy opponent early on, answering Anaheim defenseman Sami Vatanen's goal 1:57 into the contest with one by Adam Lowry 49 seconds later and moving ahead on Drew Stafford's tally five minutes into the second period. But the Ducks' dynamic duo of Perry and Getzlaf, which assisted on Vatanen's goal, dominated the final 20 minutes to take the early series lead. Anaheim went 2-for-3 on the power play, marking the first time it scored more than once with the man advantage since Jan. 11 - also against Winnipeg.

TRENDS:

*Jets are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings.
*Ducks are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.
*Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Anaheim.
*Over is 12-3-2 in Jets last 17 vs. Pacific.

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**Udog** · 04-18-2015, 10:19 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, April 18

Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers

Game 29-30
April 18, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh Pengui
12.136
New York Rangers
10.025
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh Pengui
by 2
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New York Rangers
-185
5
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh Pengui
(+165); Over

Winnipeg Jets @ Anaheim Ducks

Game 31-32
April 18, 2015 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Winnipeg Jets
12.996
Anaheim Ducks
11.387
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Winnipeg Jets
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim Ducks
-145
5
Dunkel Pick:
Winnipeg Jets
(+125); Over

Minnesota Wild @ St. Louis Blues

Game 25-26
April 18, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota Wild
10.037
St. Louis Blues
12.664
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis Blues
by 2 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis Blues
-145
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis Blues
(-145); Under

Detroit Red Wings @ Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 27-28
April 18, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Detroit Red Wings
9.184
Tampa Bay Lightni
12.740
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay Lightni
by 3 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay Lightni
-175
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay Lightni
(-175); Under

**Udog** · 04-18-2015, 01:34 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Saturday, April 18

Western Conference Quarterfinals - Best of 7 - Game 2 - MIN Leads 1-0

Minnesota at St Louis, 3:05 ET
Minnesota: 11-5 SU in road games vs. division opponents
St Louis: 9-14 SU off a loss against a division rival

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Best of 7 - Game 2 - DET Leads 1-0

Detroit at Tampa Bay, 3:05 ET
Detroit: 11-20 SU vs. division opponents
Tampa Bay: 32-10 SU as a home favorite

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Best of 7 - Game 2 - NYR Leads 1-0

Pittsburgh at NY Rangers ET
Pittsburgh: 9-22 SU vs. division opponents
NY Rangers: 40-17 SU as a favorite

Western Conference Quarterfinals - Best of 7 - Game 2 - ANA Leads 1-0

Winnipeg at Anaheim, 10:35 ET
Winnipeg: 12-8 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +150
Anaheim: 52-31 SU in all games

Announcement

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/18

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/18

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