The Bum's National Hockey League October Rated Plays - Trends - News - Etc. !!

[StarDust Bum]

Team Open Line Movements Current Puck Line Scores

7:05 PM EDT

1 BUFFALO SABRES 5o25 5o25 +1.5(-170)
2 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS -205 -205 / -200 / -185 -200 -1.5(+150)

BUF-G-Chad Johnson-Probable | PHI-G-Steve Mason-Probable | TV: MSG-Buffalo, DTV: 636

7:05 PM EDT

3 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 5o25 5o20 / 5 / 5u15 5u20 +1.5(-290)
4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS -135 -133 / -130 / -124 -120 -1.5(+230)

CLB-G-Sergei Bobrovsky-Probable | NJD-G-Cory Schneider-Probable | TV: FS-Ohio, DTV: 660

7:05 PM EDT

5 ARIZONA 5.5u30 5.5u30 / 5.5u35 / 5.5u30 5.5u19 +1.5(-170)
6 BOSTON BRUINS -180 -181 / -185 / -210 -205 -1.5(+150)

ARI-G-Mike Smith-Probable | BOS-G-Tuukka Rask-Probable | TV: FS-Arizona, DTV: 686

7:35 PM EDT

7 CAROLINA HURRICANES 5o15 5u15 / 5o15 / 5o20 5 +1.5(-260)
8 DETROIT RED WINGS -170 -165 / -155 / -140 -135 -1.5(+210)

CAR-G-Cam Ward-Probable | DET-G-Petr Mrazek-Probable | DET-C-Pavel Datsyuk-OUT | TV: FSSO, DTV: 646

7:35 PM EDT

9 COLORADO AVALANCHE 5.5u40 5.5u39 / 5.5u35 / 5.5u20 5.5u15 +1.5(-205)
10 FLORIDA PANTHERS -145 -155 / -170 / -165 -167 -1.5(+175)

COL-G-Reto Berra-Probable | FLA-G-Roberto Luongo-Probable | TV: FS-Florida, DTV: 654

8:05 PM EDT

11 EDMONTON OILERS 5o20 5o20 / 5o15 5o20 +1.5(-200)
12 MINNESOTA WILD -185 -185 / -186 / -185 -180 -1.5(+170)

EDM-G-Cam Talbot-Probable | MIN-G-Devan Dubnyk-Probable | TV: FS-North, DTV: 668

8:05 PM EDT

13 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 5.5u40 5.5u40 / 5.5u35 5.5u25 +1.5(-305)
14 ST. LOUIS BLUES -135 -135 -120 -1.5(+245 )

TAM-G-Ben Bishop-Probable | STL-G-Jake Allen-Probable | TV: NBCS, DTV: 220

8:05 PM EDT

15 LOS ANGELES KINGS 5o35 5o35 5o30 +1.5(-290)
16 WINNIPEG JETS -115 -112 / -109 / -105 -114 -1.5(+230)

LAK-G-Jonathan Quick-Probable | WIN-G-Ondrej Pavelec-Probable | TV: FS-West, DTV: 692

8:35 PM EDT

17 ANAHEIM DUCKS 5.5u15 5.5u15 5.5u21 +1.5(-215)
18 DALLAS STARS -145 -150 / -160 / -165 -164 -1.5(+185)

ANA-G-Frederik Anderson-Probable | DAL-G-Antti Niemi-Probable | TV: FS-San Diego, FS-Southwest, DTV: 676, 694

10:05 PM EDT

19 MONTREAL CANADIENS -130 -117 / -116 / -115 -120 -1.5(+255)
20 VANCOUVER CANUCKS 5 5 / 5u20 5u25 +1.5(-320)

MON-G-Carey Price-Probable | VAN-G-Ryan Miller-Probable | TV: City TV


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NHL Consensus Picks

SIDES (ATS)

Time Away Line Picks Pct Home Line Picks Pct Detail Odds

7:30 PM Carolina +120 250 23.74% Detroit -133 803 76.26% View View

8:00 PM Edmonton +161 263 25.83% Minnesota -179 755 74.17% View View

7:00 PM Buffalo +162 283 27.40% Philadelphia -180 750 72.60% View View

8:30 PM Anaheim +144 305 28.11% Dallas -160 780 71.89% View View

7:00 PM Arizona +180 330 31.16% Boston -200 729 68.84% View View

7:00 PM Columbus +100 359 33.93% New Jersey -110 699 66.07% View View

7:30 PM Colorado +144 359 36.01% Florida -160 638 63.99% View View

8:00 PM Los Angeles +104 404 43.02% Winnipeg -115 535 56.98% View View

8:00 PM Tampa Bay -110 426 44.19% St. Louis +100 538 55.81% View View

10:00 PM Montreal -110 737 66.52% Vancouver +100 371 33.48% View View


TOTALS (OVER/UNDER)

Time Away Total Over Pct Home Total Under Pct Detail Odds

8:00 PM Tampa Bay 5.5 285 40.71% St. Louis 5.5 415 59.29% View View

8:30 PM Anaheim 5.5 296 44.65% Dallas 5.5 367 55.35% View View

7:00 PM Columbus 5 309 45.85% New Jersey 5 365 54.15% View View

7:00 PM Arizona 5.5 360 48.98% Boston 5.5 375 51.02% View View

7:30 PM Colorado 5.5 321 49.61% Florida 5.5 326 50.39% View View

7:30 PM Carolina 5 326 52.16% Detroit 5 299 47.84% View View

10:00 PM Montreal 5 347 53.88% Vancouver 5 297 46.12% View View

8:00 PM Los Angeles 5 377 58.00% Winnipeg 5 273 42.00% View View

8:00 PM Edmonton 5 403 61.53% Minnesota 5 252 38.47% View View

7:00 PM Buffalo 5 408 61.63% Philadelphia 5 254 38.37% View View


----------------------------------

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Arizona - 7:00 PM ET Boston -200 500 TRIPLE PLAY
Boston - Over 5.5 500 TRIPLE PLAY

Columbus - 7:00 PM ET New Jersey -110 500 DOUBLE PLAY
New Jersey - Under 5 500

Buffalo - 7:00 PM ET Philadelphia -180 500 OCTOPLAY
Philadelphia - Over 5 500 OCTOPLAY

Carolina - 7:30 PM ET Detroit -133 500 *****
Detroit - Over 5 500

Colorado - 7:30 PM ET Colorado +144 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Florida - Over 5.5 500

Tampa Bay - 8:00 PM ET St. Louis +100 500 *****
St. Louis - Over 5.5 500

Edmonton - 8:00 PM ET Minnesota -179 500
Minnesota - Under 5 500 *****

Los Angeles - 8:00 PM ET Los Angeles +104 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Winnipeg - Under 5 500

Anaheim - 8:30 PM ET Anaheim +144 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Dallas - Under 5.5 500

Montreal - 10:00 PM ET Montreal -110 500 TRIPLE PLAY
Vancouver - Over 5 500

[StarDust Bum]

NHL MONDAY'S RESULTS:

1 - 0 - 0................ *****

1 - 0.....................DOUBLE PLAY

1 - 0.....................TRIPLE PLAY

0 - 0.....................OCTOPLAY


OVERALL RATED PLAYS

*****.....................................18 - 16 - 1.....................+ 0.36

double play..............................30 - 19.........................+ 22.56

triple play................................12 - 7............................+ 0.60

octoplay..................................8 - 5.............................+ 8.00

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Six of the more interesting college football matchups this weekend........

-- West Virginia @ TCU (-14)-- Three meetings were decided by total of 5 points.

-- Clemson (-10) @ NC State-- This is Miami/Florida State sandwich for Tigers

-- Ole Miss (-7) @ Auburn-- Rebels lost to Auburn last two years.

-- Stanford (-12) @ Washington State-- Coogs won three in row, scoring 47.3 ppg.

-- Georgia vs Florida (-2.5)-- World's largest cocktail party in Jacksonville.

-- USC (-6) @ Cal-- Trojans won their last 11 games against Golden Bears.

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud........

13) Royals 5, Mets 4 (14)-- Tremendous start to World Series; team that won Game 1 in last 20 years won 17 of those 20 series. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Royals P Edinson Volquez, who lost his dad Tuesday afternoon.

12) People Can Be Scumbags Dept: A kid in Queens turns 12 November 3rd; for his 12th birthday, the little tyke wanted a bat signed by Daniel Murphy, which cost $175.

This was before Murphy turned into Ty Cobb against the Cubs in the NLCS, so when his parents got an e-mail from Topps.com cancelling the sale, they went to the papers with their story and the NY Daily News ran with it.

Exposed for being scumbags, Topps and the MLB Alumni Association relented and sold the kid his bat for $175. Thats the power of the press!!!!

11) Idle thought: the kid lives in Queens. Wouldn't it have been easier to buy a bat, hang around Citi Field and get Murphy to sign the bat? Not like he is Lebron James, it can't be that hard to meet the guy and get an autograph.

10) Speaking of baseball memorabilia, Geddy Lee, the lead singer for Rush, has a big collection-- he has both baseballs from Johnny VanderMeer's back/back no-hitters.

9) Ravens, Cowboys both have zero takeaways in their last four games. It is very tough to win NFL games without creating takeaways.

8) Jets have 15 takeaways in six games; they had 14 all of last season.

7) In NFL history, there have been 14 plays of 99 yards; the two I remember most are a Jaworski-to-Mike Quick pass (against Atlanta, I think) and a Tony Dorsett run in Minnesota on Monday Night Football when the Metrodome first opened.

Record that probably never gets broken: in the late 60's, Jets had a punter named Steve O'Neal who had a 98-yard punt in Denver. Hard to break that record.

6) Speaking of the Jets, I hope Ryan Fitzpatrick writes a book someday; guy has been on six NFL teams, four in last four years and he is still starting!!! Not only that he has five kids and made the NFL after playing college ball at Harvard, so he didn't get a sports scholarship but is a starter in the NFL. His story needs to be told.

5) Baltimore actually gave the Rams a 7th-round draft pick for WR Chris Givens, who runs very fast but wasn't very productive in St Louis. Seriously, why would you trade for a WR the Rams didn't want-- they're desperate for productive WRs.

4) Mets TV announcer Ron Darling: "Today's guns are not right", speaking about the radar guns that supposedly show how fast pitchers throw. Darling is really smart, but his most interesting quotes come off-camera, which is too bad.

3) Two years ago, Temple was a 29.5-point underdog to Notre Dame in the season opener; Saturday, Owls are 7-0, College Game Day is coming to town and the game is on at ABC nationally at 8:00. Temple is a 10-point home dog in this game.

2) Basketball great John Stockton will be an assistant coach at Montana State, for the women's team this season. His daughter Lindsay is a senior on the team; one of the Bobcats' assistants quit recently, so Stockton took her place for this year.

1) Texans cut Ryan Mallett; apparently coach O'Brien and GM Smith both agreed to cut Mallett, but Smith wouldn't let it happen until after Sunday's game, since Texans still needed a backup QB in Miami. TJ Yates will be the new backup; very curious to see if anyone else gives Mallett a chance.

[StarDust Bum]

Why these three sensational spot bet situations hold so much value

DeAndre Jordan will face the team he scorned in free agency this offseason when the Clippers host the Mavs Thursday.

Lookahead spot

There’s bad blood brewing between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers, stemming from DeAndre Jordan’s summer of drama when he committed to signing with the Mavs then backed out at the last minute to resign with the Clippers. Dallas owner Marc Cuban will be out for blood when his Mavericks travel to Tinsel Town to play L.A. Thursday night. Watch your back DeAndre!

However, before that showdown with Los Angeles, the Mavericks open their season in Phoenix Wednesday. It seems funny to say a team could be lacking focus for its first game of the new schedule, but with what’s gone on between Dallas and L.A., the Mavs could get caught looking past the Suns, who are 4.5-point home favorites and have covered in five straight versus Dallas.

Letdown spot

The San Diego State Aztecs got a huge home win over Utah State last weekend, smashing the Aggies 48-14 as 4-point home pups. San Diego State has followed a three-game losing skid with a four-game winning run, heading into this Saturday’s trip up the Rocky Mountains to play Colorado State.

The Rams aren’t the same program without departed head coach Jim McElwain but picked up a big win over Air Force last week, topping the Falcons 38-23 as 3.5-point home dogs. Fort Collins is a tough place to play and CSU is 3-1-1 ATS inside Hughes Stadium. The underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last six between these programs, and with SDSU in letdown mode there could be value with the Rams.

Schedule spot

The New York Jets will spend plenty of time on their namesakes this week, travelling to the West Coast for a game against the Oakland Raiders. New York is coming off a disappointing loss to the Patriots in Week 7 and haven’t been at their best when jumping the country in past seasons.

Going from coast to coast is something N.Y. has only done three times since 2011, but that trio of road tilts haven’t been kind to Gang Green. The last three times the Jets went west, they were crushed 31-0 by San Diego, lost 28-7 to Seattle, and were dropped 34-24 by Oakland. Of course, this year’s squad has shown promise but New York is just 3-6 ATS in its last nine games coming off a showdown with New England.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, October 28


Hot teams
-- Caps won last five games, scoring 24 goals. Pittsburgh won four of its last five games.
-- Predators won three of their last four games.

Cold teams
-- Flames lost six of their last seven games. Ottawa lost last two games, with two in SOs.
-- San Jose lost three of its last four games.

Series records
-- Senators won four of last six games with Calgary; home side won last five.
-- Penguins lost three of last four games with Washington.
-- Nashville won six of last nine games with San Jose.

Totals
-- Four of last five Calgary-Ottawa games went over total.
-- Seven of last nine Pittsburgh-Washington games stayed under.
-- Under is 8-1-1 in last ten Nashville-San Jose games.




NHL

Wednesday, October 28

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Trend Report
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7:30 PM
CALGARY vs. OTTAWA
Calgary is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Ottawa
Calgary is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Ottawa is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing Calgary
Ottawa is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Calgary

8:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Washington
Pittsburgh is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing Washington
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home

10:30 PM
NASHVILLE vs. SAN JOSE
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Nashville's last 5 games when playing San Jose
Nashville is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games when playing on the road against San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing at home against Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing Nashville

[StarDust Bum]

NHL

Wednesday, October 28


Getzlaf leaves Ducks with appendicitis

Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf was sent back home with an appendicitis before the Ducks' game on Tuesday night in Dallas against the Stars.

Getzlaf is scheduled for a non-emergency appendectomy on Wednesday in Orange County (Calif.), the team said in a statement.

The Ducks expect Getzlaf to be sidelined about four to 12 days. He has experienced discomfort for the past six weeks, the team said.

In eight games this season, Getzlaf has no goals and one assist. The 30-year-old veteran has scored 208 goals and accumulated 471 assists during 11 seasons with the Ducks.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL roundup: Canucks halt Canadiens' opening winning streak

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Rookie center Jared McCann scored two goals, and the Vancouver Canucks beat Montreal 5-1 Tuesday to snap the Canadiens' season-opening winning streak.

Montreal (9-1-0) failed to tie the NHL record of 10 wins to begin a season, a mark shared by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.

Right winger Derek Dorsett had a goal and an assist for Vancouver, which ended a four-game losing skid and improved to 4-2-3. Right winger Radim Vrbata, on the power play, and defenseman Luca Sbisa also scored for the Canucks, who won at home for the first time this season after five losses.

Left winger Brandon Prust, playing his first game against his old team, had two assists for Vancouver but left the game late in the second period due to an ankle injury.

Center Torrey Mitchell scored for the Canadiens.

Sabres 4, Flyers 3 (OT)

PHILADELPHIA -- For the first time in three seasons, Buffalo has won three or more games in October thanks to a thrilling overtime victory over Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center.

Zemgus Girgensons potted the game-winner in the 3-on-3 extra session on a breakaway.

Tyler Ennis, Jamie McGinn and Jake McCabe also scored goals to lead the Sabres to their first road win of the season. The previous two seasons, Buffalo won just a pair of games in the first month of each. Brayden Schenn scored twice and Chris VandeVelde added one for Philadelphia.

Bruins 6, Coyotes 0

BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask pitched his first shutout of the season, leading Boston over Arizona.

Rask, who surrendered 19 goals as the Bruins went 0-3-1 in their first four home games, had a relatively easy night in goal and Boston won its second straight.

David Krejci had two goals and extended his points streak to all eight games. Jimmy Hayes, Joe Morrow, Brett Connolly and Brad Marchand also recorded goals for the Bruins.

Blue Jackets 3, Devils 1

NEWARK, N.J. -- Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson scored 35 seconds apart midway through the third period to spark Columbus over New Jersey at the Prudential Center.

Scott Hartnell added an unassisted goal for Columbus while Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves to help the Blue Jackets win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Kyle Palmieri scored a power-play goal, and goaltender Cory Schneider made 11 saves in the losing effort.

Hurricanes 3, Red Wings 1

DETROIT -- Ron Hainsey's goal early in the third period broke a tie, and Carolina defeated Detroit at Joe Louis Arena.

Victor Rask and Eric Staal also scored for Carolina. Cam Ward made 25 saves.

Jakub Kindl scored for Detroit. Petr Mrazek stopped 18 shots.

Panthers 4, Avalanche 1

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Vincent Trocheck scored a pair of power-play goals, and Roberto Luongo earned his first shutout of the season as Florida beat Colorado at the BB&T Center.

Trocheck, who also had an assist, now has four goals this season. Brian Campbell picked up a goal and a pair of assists and Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist.

Gabriel Landeskog ruined Luongo's shutout bid with 59.7 seconds left in the game.

Kings 4, Jets 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Milan Lucic scored with just 4:41 left in the third period to spark Los Angeles over Winnipeg.

Jake Muzzin also scored while Tyler Toffoli and Trevor Lewis added empty netters for the Kings.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored the lone goal for the Jets while Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves for Winnipeg and Jonathan Quick had to block 24 shots for L.A.

Wild 4, Oilers 3

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota got two goals just 43 seconds apart, rallying to beat the Edmonton to remain perfect at home.

Ryan Suter scored twice, and Charlie Coyle and Marco Scandella had a goal each for the Wild.

Taylor Hall, Iiro Pakarinen and Darnell Nurse scored for Edmonton.

Blues 2, Lightning 0

ST. LOUIS -- Jake Allen stopped all 26 Tampa Bay shots to win a goalie battle with good friend and former minor league teammate Ben Bishop on Tuesday night as St. Louis topped Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay was shut out for the second time in as many games, with the result spoiling the homecoming of Bishop, a St. Louis native.

Scott Gomez and Troy Brouwer scored the game's only goals.

Stars 4, Ducks 3

DALLAS -- Antoine Roussel scored off a rebound with 1:28 remaining as Dallas defeated Anaheim at American Airlines Center.

Anaheim led 3-0 after one period before Dallas responded for three answered in the second to make it a 3-3 contest after 40 minutes before Roussel's winner in the third.

Mike Santorelli, Shawn Horcoff, Carl Hagelin scored for Anaheim while Patrick Sharp, Cody Eakin and John Klingberg also scored for Dallas.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, October 28


Nashville @ San Jose

Game 55-56
October 28, 2015 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Nashville
12.881
San Jose
11.326
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Nashville
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-125
5
Dunkel Pick:
Nashville
(+105); Over

Calgary @ Ottawa

Game 51-52
October 28, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Calgary
11.240
Ottawa
10.313
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Calgary
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Ottawa
-145
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Calgary
(+125); Under

Pittsburgh @ Washington

Game 53-54
October 28, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
9.942
Washington
12.559
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 2 1/2
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-155
5
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-155); Over




NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, October 28

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CALGARY (2-7-0-0, 4 pts.) at OTTAWA (3-3-0-2, 8 pts.) - 10/28/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 95-94 ATS (+211.4 Units) in road games after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
OTTAWA is 82-89 ATS (-67.9 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 2-2 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 2-2-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)

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PITTSBURGH (4-4-0-0, 8 pts.) at WASHINGTON (6-1-0-0, 12 pts.) - 10/28/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 48-47 ATS (-25.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 7-12 ATS (-13.8 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 10-25 ATS (-28.7 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 35-41 ATS (-25.9 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 28-44 ATS (-39.1 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 3-9 ATS (-8.3 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 5-3 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 5-3-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.1 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NASHVILLE (6-1-0-1, 13 pts.) at SAN JOSE (5-3-0-0, 10 pts.) - 10/28/2015, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 175-129 ATS (+41.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 30-14 ATS (+14.5 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 173-154 ATS (+337.2 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 9-14 ATS (-12.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 4-2 (+3.8 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
NASHVILLE is 4-2-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.2 Units)

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Flames (2-7) at Senators (2-3)

Date: October 28, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

With the Ottawa Senators growing frustrated with their poor play at home, perhaps a visit from the struggling Calgary Flames could help.

As the Senators look to avoid opening with five straight home losses for the first time, the Flames try to avoid being swept on their three-game trip Wednesday night.

Having matched a club record by losing its first four home contests, Ottawa (3-3-2) isn't offering any excuses for its 0-2-2 start at Canadian Tire Centre.

"It wears on you. Fans come and they pay their money and they want to see wins," forward Bobby Ryan said after Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Arizona. "You can't stay in the hunt losing points at home."

The Senators have scored nine of their 23 non-shootout goals and gone 1 for 14 on the power play at home. They've also allowed at least three regulation goals in each game.

It's all left coach Dave Cameron at a loss to explain why.

"As a coach you look for indicators," he said. "You look for the practice, you look for how they're carrying themselves, you look for how they are at the meetings when you're preparing them, for signs that they're not into it. I didn't see any of that."

Veteran goaltender Craig Anderson is 3-1-0 with a 2.47 goals-against average on the road but is 0-1-1 with a 2.89 GAA at home. Andrew Hammond, however, could be back in net and looking to improve after yielding four goals during a 5-4 shootout home loss to New Jersey on Thursday in his season debut.

Ottawa has won three straight at home over Calgary despite yielding 10 goals.

The Flames (2-7-0), though, have not registered more than three goals in any contest this season and were outscored 8-1 while dropping the first two of this trip.

"We need to be consistent," coach Bob Hartley told the team's official website. "That's one thing ... this league is too good to pick and choose when you're going to be good."

The Flames recorded 21 shots in the second and third periods but had nothing to show for it in Monday's 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders.

"We've got to turn this around," defenseman Mark Giordano said. "We can't have too many more of these or it will get away from us pretty quickly. We have to keep grinding and not let games slip away."

Though Johnny Gaudreau leads the team with 10 points, he hasn't scored in the last seven contests and has only one goal this season.

Ottawa's Mark Stone, who tied Gaudreau with a rookie-high 64 points last season, has recorded all three of his points at home in the last three games.

After Joni Ortio made 31 saves in his first start of the season Monday, Jonas Hiller could be back in Calgary's net. Hiller is 2-3-0 with a 3.52 GAA and was pulled for yielding four goals on 21 shots in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers.

Hiller is 4-0-0 with a 1.47 GAA against the Senators as a starter, but hasn't faced them in that role since October 2013.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Penguins (4-4) at Capitals (6-1)

Date: October 28, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

Evgeny Kuznetsov has embraced his role as facilitator for Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie on Washington's top line, but every so often he'll show off his scoring ability, too.

The 23-year-old had the best performance of his career as the Capitals completed a perfect trip, and they'll return home seeking a sixth straight victory Wednesday night against a Pittsburgh Penguins team seeking its fifth win in six contests.

Kuznetsov finished with 11 goals and 26 assists in his first full season in 2014-15 before netting five goals in 14 postseason contests. He hadn't scored in Washington's first six this season before busting out with his first career hat trick while adding two assists in Friday's 7-4 win over Edmonton.

Ovechkin scored in the first five games he played before posting two assists against the Oilers, including one to Kuznetsov, who was named the NHL's first star of the week after finishing with nine points to help the Capitals (6-1-0) sweep a three-game trip.

"He's come out and has tons of confidence from last year," coach Barry Trotz said of Kuznetsov, whose 11 points lead the club. "I think he's comfortable with what we're doing as a team, he's comfortable with his linemates."

That line has combined for 27 points and hasn't had trouble meshing after Oshie was acquired from St. Louis in an offseason trade. Washington is on the verge of winning seven of its first eight for the first time since 2011.

Trotz doesn't believe the Capitals have played their best, though. He expressed disappointment with the four goals allowed against the Oilers and concern for the amount of high-quality chances opponents had during the trip.

"(Points) are worth just as much now as they are at the end of the season," Trotz said. "The key is to stay ahead of everybody. We have to make sure that any good work we did, that goes in the bank and now we've got to earn some more points.

"There's no patting on the back."

The Penguins (4-4-0) are still having trouble finding the back of the net but have rebounded from an opening three-game regulation skid with wins in four of their last five - three of them coming by one goal.

Phil Kessel scored in overtime to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 win at Nashville on Saturday, but it marked the seventh time they've scored fewer than three goals.

Sidney Crosby has a goal and two assists, each coming in a win over Florida on Oct. 20. He never had fewer than seven points through eight games in his previous 10 seasons.

Marc-Andre Fleury has helped make up for the scoring woes with a 1.60 goals-against average over the last five. He made 38 saves Saturday - 33 in the final two periods.

"He looks big in the net. He's square to pucks, he's keeping pucks tight to him," coach Mike Johnston said. "We have a lot of confidence in him back there."

Fleury has a 3.04 GAA in his last four against the Capitals after making 21 saves in a 4-3 win Feb. 25 that snapped Washington's three-game winning streak in the series.

Crosby scored in that contest, but that's his only point in the last four against the Capitals. Ovechkin's goal gave him four with an assist in his last three in the series.

Braden Holtby has won his last four starts with a 1.50 GAA and could be in net for Washington.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Predators (4-1) at Sharks (4-3)

Date: October 28, 2015 10:30 PM EDT

The Nashville Predators aren't getting too excited about their strong start, considering a similar beginning last season didn't amount to much.

After they were finally slowed offensively their last time out, they'll look to get back on track Wednesday night at San Jose, where they didn't score in two games last season.

Nashville (6-1-1) also leaped out of the gate last season, opening 5-0-2, but the Predators went on to get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

"We've just been talking about getting better every game and we've done that so far," defenseman Shea Weber told the team's official website. "We just continue to improve and as long as we keep getting better throughout the year here, we're going to be successful."

The Predators' stop-and-start four-game trip against Western Conference opponents is spread over nine days, with two between the first two games and three between the final two. Nashville plays the middle two games, against Los Angeles and Minnesota, on back-to-back nights.

James Neal forced overtime with a third-period goal Saturday, but Nashville fell 2-1 in OT to Pittsburgh. The Predators had totaled 14 goals in the previous three games.

"We are starting to play well, and we will just try to keep building on it," forward Austin Watson said. "We would've liked two points (against the Penguins), but at the end of the day it was nice to get the one before we hit the road."

Nashville, 2-0-1 in its first three away games, lost twice by a 2-0 score at the SAP Center last season. The Predators have never been blanked by the same opponent in three straight road contests, but they won't be thinking about that Wednesday.

"We feel comfortable and confident going away and playing some road games," said Pekka Rinne, 5-1-1 with a 1.84 goals-against average.

Despite losing three straight and four of his last five starts at San Jose, Rinne has a 1.17 GAA in those contests.

The Sharks (5-3-0), who have never shut out the same opponent in three consecutive home games, snapped a three-game skid with Saturday's 5-2 home win over Carolina. Ex-Predator Joel Ward recorded his second career hat trick as San Jose scored one more goal than it did in the previous three contests.

Ward, who signed a three-year deal with San Jose after spending the previous four seasons with Washington, leads his new club with five goals and eight points.

"I've always believed in myself," he told the NHL's official website. "I know I'm not the prettiest hockey player, but I've always believed in my abilities.

"It's just once you gain that trust and earn that respect from the guys, I think that confidence keeps building."

Teammate Tommy Wingels, who scored his first of the season Saturday, is glad to have Ward in the mix.

'He's a guy that goes to the net,' Wingels said. 'Guys in this locker room can learn from him."

Though Ward's presence is paying off, he hasn't helped a power play that's scored three times on 25 chances and is 0 for 11 in the last five games. Wingels had one of the Sharks' two power-play goals in a March 12 home win Nashville.

The Predators have killed off 21 of 24 penalties this season.

Neal does not have a point in his last three at San Jose, but has recorded six goals and three assists in the past five games.

[StarDust Bum]

Team Open Line Movements Current Puck Line Scores

7:35 PM EDT

51 CALGARY FLAMES 5.5 5.5 / 5.5u20 / 5.5u25 5.5u30 +1.5(-110)
52 OTTAWA SENATORS -150 -150 -1.5(-110)

CAL-G-Jonas Hiller-Probable | OTT-G-Craig Anderson-Probable | TV: TVA

8:05 PM EDT

53 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 5o25 5o25 / 5o15 / 5 5o15 +1.5(-250)
54 WASHINGTON CAPITALS -145 -145 / -146 -145 -1.5(+210)

PIT-G-Marc-Andre Fleury-Probable | WAS-G-Braden Holtby-Probable | TV: NBCS, DTV: 220

10:35 PM EDT

55 NASHVILLE PREDATORS 5o25 +105 -118 -1.5(+245)
56 SAN JOSE SHARKS -125 5o25 / 5o20 5o25 +1.5(-305)

NAS-G-Pekka Rinne-Probable | SAN-G-Martin Jones-Probable | TV: NBCS, DTV: 220

-------------------------------

NHL Consensus Picks

SIDES (ATS)

Time Away Line Picks Pct Home Line Picks Pct Detail Odds

7:30 PM Calgary +131 312 28.49% Ottawa -145 783 71.51% View View

8:00 PM Pittsburgh +121 427 37.33% Washington -134 717 62.67% View View

10:30 PM Nashville -107 474 43.77% San Jose -103 609 56.23% View View


TOTALS (OVER/UNDER)

Time Away Total Over Pct Home Total Under Pct Detail Odds

7:30 PM Calgary 5.5 356 45.94% Ottawa 5.5 419 54.06% View View


10:30 PM Nashville 5 366 46.27% San Jose 5 425 53.73% View View

8:00 PM Pittsburgh 5 546 66.83% Washington 5 271 33.17% View View

----------------------------


WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Calgary - 7:30 PM ET Calgary +131 500 DOUBLE PLAY

Ottawa - Under 5.5 500 OCTOPLAY


Pittsburgh - 8:00 PM ET Washington -134 500 DOUBLE PLAY

Washington - Under 5 500


Nashville - 10:30 PM ET Nashville -107 500 TRIPLE PLAY

San Jose - Under 5 500 *****

[StarDust Bum]

NHL TUESDAY'S & /WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS:

TUESDAY'S RESULTS:

1 - 2 - 0................ *****

1 - 3.....................DOUBLE PLAY

2 - 1.....................TRIPLE PLAY

1 - 1.....................OCTOPLAY

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS:

1 - 0..................................*****

0 - 2..................................DOUBLE PLAY

1 - 0..................................TRIPLE PLAY

0 - 1..................................OCTOPLAY


OVERALL RATED PLAYS

*****.....................................20 - 18 - 1.....................+ 0.06

double play..............................31 - 24.........................+ 13.96

triple play................................15 - 8............................+ 6.30

octoplay..................................9 - 7.............................+ 0,80

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

-- Royals 7, Mets 1-- Series heads to NYC with Kansas City up 2-0.

-- Royals have Paul Mondesi on the active roster for the World Series; he has never played in a big league game, but is eligible because he is on the 40-man roster.

-- New Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry brought Navy SEALS in to talk to his team about perseverance and teamwork. Pelicans have early injury issues.

-- Iowa State fired OC/former Kansas HC Mark Mangino. It won't help.

-- Michael Conforto is first ballplayer to have an RBI in the Little League WS, the college WS and the real World Series.

-- Jets cut punter Steve Weatherford, who nets $51K for punting four times and holding for five kicks in the Jet-Patriot game Sunday.

**********

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: NBA knowledge to start season with.......

While most of you were sleeping the other night, I was reading basketball previews; here is some of what I learned........
13) Steve Kerr did a great job, winning an NBA title in his first year as a head coach; will his success make it tougher for other first-year head coaches, like Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City? Team owners are rich people; rich people can be impatient.

12) Toronto Raptors paid DeMarre Carroll $60M for four years because they need to be better on defense and Carroll is an excellent defender.

11) Only four guys in NBA last year averaged 17+ ppg, 6.1+ assists/game and 5.2+ rebounds/game: Lebron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Eric Bledsoe.

10) Lance Stephenson was 18-105 behind the arc LY, thats 17.1%, the worst %age for any player ever who took 100+ 3's in a season. Clippers added him, Josh Smith, who Stan VanGundy paid $26M, just for him to leave Detroit. Interesting.

9) Portland only has six guys back from LY; they reduced payroll from $72.9M to $50.3M, reducing it by 31%. Damion Lillard scored 1,720 points LY; the other five returnees scored a combined 1,580. Could be a long winter in Oregon.

8) Orlando took 1,565 foul shots LY (19.1/game) LY, 4th-lowest by any team in NBA history, in the 82-game era. Hard to win that way.

7) Brad Stevens may have come to the NBA from college, but he is highly respected among his peers; there are NBA coaches who copy his after-timeout plays.There are so many timeouts in NBA games, those plays make a big difference in a close game.

6) Russell Westbrook scored 593 points in transition LY, 79 more than anyone else. Going to be interesting to see how the Thunder play under coach Donovan, especially Westbrook, who has tried to take games over by himself in the past.

5) Washington Wizards want to play faster this year; they were 18th in possessions LY; John Wall says they want to be in the top 5 this season.

4) Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Damian Lillard are only three players who led NBA in minutes played as a rookie; LY, Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins missed leading the league last year........by 12 minutes.

3) In Jason Kidd's first year in Milwaukee, Bucks improved from 30th in defensive rating to 4th; Milwaukee has lot of good young players, is an interesting team.

2) Kemba Walker took 280 3-pointers LY, but made only 30.4%, which isn't good. he needs to either take less of them or make more of them. 30.4% ain't cutting it.

1) Denver rookie PG Emmanuel Mudiay skipped college and played pro ball in China LY, but he only played in 12 games there because of injuries. He is really good but he is also really inexperienced; his career is an interesting case study on kids who may not want to go to college before they hit the NBA.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, October 29

Hot teams
-- Islanders won six of their last seven games.
-- New Jersey won four of its last five games. Flyers won four of their last six.
-- Pittsburgh won five of its last six games.
-- Blues won five of their last seven games.
-- Chicago won its last four games, last two both 1-0 in OT.
-- Dallas Stars won six of their last seven games.
-- Canadiens won nine of their first ten games.

Cold teams
-- Hurricanes lost six of their first nine games.
-- Sabres lost six of their nine games.
-- Tampa Bay lost last two games, 1-0ot/2-0. Avalanche lost last four games, scoring total of five goals.
-- Anaheim lost eight of first nine games, scoring nine goals.
-- Winnipeg lost three of its last four games.
-- Canucks lost four of their last five games.
-- Edmonton lost its last three games, allowing 14 goals.

Series records
-- Islanders won four of last five games with Carolina.
-- Flyers lost four of last five games with New Jersey.
-- Penguins won their last six games with Buffalo.
-- Lightning lost seven of last ten games with Colorado.
-- Ducks won five of last six games with St Louis.
-- Jets won four of last six games with Chicago (road teams 6-0).
-- Dallas Stars won their last seven games with Vancouver.
-- Oilers won their last three games with Montreal.

Totals
-- Four of last five Islander-Carolina games went over.
-- Three of last four Devil-Flyer games went over total.
-- Last three Buffalo games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Colorado games stayed under.
-- Four of last five Anaheim-St Louis games stayed under.
-- Three of last four Winnipeg-Chicago games went over.
-- Six of last eight Dallas games went over the total.
-- Last three Montreal games went over the total.