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

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Stars (18-5) at Flames (8-14)
Date: December 01, 2015 9:00 PM EDT

Owning the NHL's best road record is a key ingredient to the Dallas Stars' position atop the Western Conference.

The Stars go for their longest winning streak away from home in almost five years Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames.

Dallas (19-5-0) leads the league in wins and its 10-2-0 road record owns the same status. The Stars have won six straight as visitor, putting them on the brink of their longest such streak since an eight-game run from Dec. 13, 2010-Jan. 20, 2011.

Dallas is also trying to match its longest winning streak in Calgary, a four-game stretch from Feb. 20, 1995-Nov. 20, 1996.

"We're comfortable on the road. We really do play a simple game," left wing Jamie Benn said. "Sometimes when we're at home we try to do a little too much, but it seems like on the road we keep it simple."

The Stars opened this four-game road trip by rallying for a 4-3 win at Minnesota on Saturday. Tyler Seguin scored with 1:03 left in overtime. completing a comeback from a 3-0 deficit that included three third-period goals.

"This year we've been able to stay a lot more patient," Seguin said. "It's a message that really speaks loudly. Even going to the third period, we know how we can play, we know how much power we have in this locker room, not only up front but on the back end."

Benn and Seguin have both put together personal eight-game point streaks after they had one goal and one assist apiece Saturday. Benn has 14 points on his and Seguin's collected 11.

Benn also has six goals during a four-game scoring streak, giving him a league-leading 18 on the season. His 35 points rank second in the league, one ahead of Seguin.

Both Benn and Seguin have been extremely productive against the Flames. Benn has 25 points in 20 career matchups, including 15 over the last seven.

Seguin has 15 points in seven meetings, tallying a career-high six in a win at Calgary on Nov. 14, 2013.

The Flames (8-14-2) open a five-game homestand after concluding an 0-2-1 trip by giving up the first four goals in a 5-2 loss to San Jose on Saturday.

"We know what we have to do," captain Mark Giordano told the team's official website. "We have a homestand here that if we can pick up some points it'll go a long way.

"It's been frustrating, but at the same time we have to come together. Sometimes it's a good thing to get a little fire under your game, individually and as a team."

A return home could provide a spark since the Flames have scored 12 goals during a four-game winning streak there after going 1-5-0 in their first six.

Johnny Gaudreau, who had one point on the recent trip, has accumulated 14 of his team-leading 21 points at home. The left wing has 12 points during a seven-game point streak there.

Karri Ramo is expected to start in net after Jonas Hiller made 24 saves Saturday in his return from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for 12 games. Ramo has posted a 1.49 goals-against average while playing every game during the home win streak, but is 0-1-1 with a 4.25 mark in three career games against Dallas.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Canucks (8-9) at Kings (13-8)
Date: December 01, 2015 10:30 PM EDT

The last time Los Angeles faced the Vancouver Canucks, the Kings were sent to their worst home start in 30 years.

Things have certainly changed.

The Kings look to continue their home success against the struggling Canucks on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles (14-8-1) had just 15 shots while falling 3-0 to Vancouver on Oct. 13 to begin the season with three straight losses. It was the first time they had such a start at home since 1985-86.

They've put those worries to rest by winning eight of 10 at home and moving into first place in the Pacific Division.

"We obviously didn't have a good start at home ... we have to turn this home record around," defenseman Alec Martinez told the team's official website of the team's attitude following the loss to the Canucks. "I believe that was our (third) game, against Vancouver, and we weren't really happy with our starts, so you look at it that way. You also look at it as a divisional opponent. Those are a big two points up for grabs."

Los Angeles has been outscored 9-2 while losing the last three meetings with the Canucks (9-9-7). However, the Kings are on the brink of a second four-game home winning streak after Marian Gaborik's second goal completed a comeback in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win against Chicago.

"It was tough, but our team never quits until the last whistle," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "It was great to get the win, and it really good for Gabby - because now he's going to get hot."

Gaborik has three goals and one assist in the last two home games after getting one point in the first 11.

Jonathan Quick will likely be in net after making 20 saves against the Blackhawks. He's 7-2-0 with a 1.87 goals-against average over his last nine home games since stopping 23 of 25 shots and taking the loss to the Canucks on Oct. 13.

He's 4-2-0 with a 1.18 GAA over his last six home matchups with Vancouver.

The Canucks were 3-0-1 after that victory in Los Angeles in October, but they've won just three of their last 13 games (3-7-3). They're also coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, falling 4-0 at Anaheim on Monday as they were shut out for the first time.

"That's the furthest from being into a game we've been all year," Henrik Sedin said. "We knew it was a big game coming in. We did some technical stuff right, but our energy level wasn't there."

Henrik Sedin had 10 points during a six-game point streak that ended Monday, while Daniel Sedin ended his seven-gamer with 12 points. He leads Vancouver with 11 goals and 27 points while Henrik isn't far behind with eight and 23.

It's uncertain if Ryan Miller will start on back-to-back days for the third time this season. He was pulled midway through the third period Monday after allowing four goals on 29 shots.

Miller is 6-2-1 with a 1.93 GAA and two shutouts in his last nine starts against the Kings, including his 15-save effort in October.

Backup Jacob Markstrom stopped the only shot he faced Monday. He had 26 saves in a loss with Florida in his only meeting with Los Angeles on Oct. 13, 2013.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Penguins (12-8) at Sharks (13-9)
Date: December 01, 2015 10:30 PM EDT

Evgeni Malkin is riding an impressive hot streak, but he needs some more help from his teammates in order to pull the Pittsburgh Penguins out of their recent malaise.

They'll hope for other contributors Tuesday night when they visit the surging San Jose Sharks, who haven't lost to Pittsburgh at home in nearly two decades.

The Penguins (13-8-2) have dropped three of four and six of 10 since a six-game winning streak. They fell 2-1 in overtime at Columbus on Friday, then 3-2 in a shootout Saturday against a last-place Edmonton team that was playing its fourth road contest in six days. It was just their second home loss to the Oilers going back to 1994.

Malkin accounted for both goals, the first coming 48 seconds into the second period when he stole the puck near the Edmonton zone and ripped a spinning backhand shot into the top of the net.

"That's one of those highlight-reel goals you're going to see for the next couple of days," coach Mike Johnston told the team's official website. "It was just a great play and high-end skill to be able to beat a defenseman like that."

Though Pittsburgh is slumping, Malkin has been extremely productive. He has seven goals and three assists in his last six games, contributing to more than half of the Penguins' 16 goals in that span. He'll be looking to end a three-game personal point drought against the Sharks, however.

"You saw his battle and his compete (Friday against Columbus)," Johnston said. "He's been in the groove lately. He's really been playing on top of his game."

Meanwhile, second-leading goal scorer Phil Kessel has just one goal in his last nine games, though Sidney Crosby could be heating up with three goals during a season-high five-game point streak. He has scored only once in nine career games against San Jose.

The Sharks (14-9-0) have won seven of their last eight games behind excellent special teams. In that span, they've scored seven times on 29 power-play chances while surrendering three goals on 25 times short-handed.

Pittsburgh has scored on the power play in six straight games, but has also surrendered nine power-play goals over its last 10.

Six of San Jose's last seven victories have come on the road, while the club is just 4-6-0 at home. Saturday's 5-2 home victory against Calgary was its first since Nov. 5.

"We were desperate right from the start," said Joe Pavelski, who had two assists. "We had everyone going and that was important. We've got to start winning a few games at home, and that was kind of our talk, is win tonight and go from there."

The Sharks are undefeated in their last 12 home meetings with Pittsburgh including 10 straight victories. They haven't lost to the Penguins at home since Oct. 22, 1997.

San Jose won 3-1 at Pittsburgh on Nov. 21 despite being outshot 39-29. Brent Burns scored twice while former Penguin Paul Martin had a goal and an assist.

Patrick Marleau had two assists and has three goals and four assists in his last four games overall.

[StarDust Bum]

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

COL at NJ 07:00 PM

COL +130 DOUBLE PLAY


CLB at MON 07:30 PM

MON -152


PHI at OTT 07:30 PM

U 5.5 TRIPLE PLAY


BUF at DET 07:30 PM

DET -172


FLA at STL 08:00 PM

STL -166 TRIPLE PLAY


ARI at NAS 08:00 PM

NAS -195 DOUBLE PLAY

O 5.0 DOUBLE PLAY


MIN at CHI 08:00 PM

CHI -147

O 5.0


DAL at CAL 09:00 PM

DAL -157 DOUBLE PLAY

O 5.5


VAN at LA 10:30 PM

LA -200

U 5.0


PIT at SJ 10:30 PM

SJ -124 DOUBLE PLAY

U 5.0

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, December 2

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TORONTO (8-11-0-5, 21 pts.) at WINNIPEG (11-12-0-2, 24 pts.) - 12/2/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 38-68 ATS (+116.1 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 8-33 ATS (+55.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-25 ATS (+39.3 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 3-18 ATS (+26.6 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 20-46 ATS (+74.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 5-17 ATS (+23.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 4-1 (+2.7 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 4-1-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.2 Units)




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NY RANGERS (17-6-0-2, 36 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (13-8-0-4, 30 pts.) - 12/2/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY ISLANDERS are 12-3 ATS (+8.5 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 81-45 ATS (+20.3 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 36-14 ATS (+16.8 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 34-15 ATS (+13.0 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 124-108 ATS (+236.3 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
NY ISLANDERS are 36-41 ATS (-9.6 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 5-5 (+0.2 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 5-5-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.2 Units)




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BOSTON (13-8-0-1, 27 pts.) at EDMONTON (8-15-0-2, 18 pts.) - 12/2/2015, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 7-14 ATS (-15.5 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 15-21 ATS (-13.9 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 8-2 ATS (+10.4 Units) in road games first half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 32-75 ATS (-101.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 46-64 ATS (-34.0 Units) in home games in December games since 1996.
EDMONTON is 16-47 ATS (+81.2 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 1-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
EDMONTON is 25-72 ATS (+131.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 13-42 ATS (+84.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 3-1 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 3-1-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.1 Units)




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TAMPA BAY (11-11-0-3, 25 pts.) at ANAHEIM (9-11-0-5, 23 pts.) - 12/2/2015, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 16-40 ATS (+64.7 Units) in road games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 314-382 ATS (-126.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 145-188 ATS (-68.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 21-6 ATS (+12.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 21-6 ATS (+10.7 Units) in December games over the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 28-13 ATS (+9.1 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 9-16 ATS (-17.9 Units) in all games this season.
ANAHEIM is 9-16 ATS (+9.0 Units) first half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 0-8 ATS (-9.6 Units) after a division game this season.


Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 4-1 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 4-1-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.1 Units)




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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, December 2

Hot teams
-- Islanders won three of last four games.
-- Bruins won their last five games.

Cold teams
-- Maple Leafs lost three of last four games. Winnipeg lost nine of last 12.
-- Rangers lost three of their last four games.
-- Edmonton lost seven of its last nine games.
-- Tampa Bay lost four of its last five road games. Anaheim lost three of last five overall.

Series records
-- Jets won six of last seven games with Toronto.
-- Visiting team won four of last five Ranger-Islander games.
-- Oilers lost nine of last ten games with Boston.
-- Lightning won five of last six games with Anaheim.

Totals
-- Six of last eight Toronto road games stayed under.
-- Over is 4-1-2 in last seven Islander games.
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Boston games.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Tampa Bay-Anaheim games.




NHL

Wednesday, December 2

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Trend Report
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7:30 PM
TORONTO vs. WINNIPEG
Toronto is 4-16 SU in its last 20 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 5 games at home
Winnipeg is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Toronto

See more trends!
DECEMBER 2, 8:00 PM
NY RANGERS vs. NY ISLANDERS
NY Rangers are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 7 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Islanders are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the NY Islanders last 7 games when playing at home against NY Rangers

See more trends!
DECEMBER 2, 9:30 PM
BOSTON vs. EDMONTON
Boston is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 8 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Edmonton's last 8 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Edmonton's last 6 games at home

See more trends!
DECEMBER 2, 10:30 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. ANAHEIM
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Anaheim
Tampa Bay is 4-8-1 SU in its last 13 games ,when playing on the road against Anaheim
Anaheim is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Anaheim is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Picks: Islanders best Rangers in first 'Battle of New York' in Brooklyn


New York Rangers at New York Islanders, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN

It's hard to believe we've gotten this far into the season without a matchup between both of New York's hockey teams, but that will change Wednesday night. However, for the first time in the regular season, the Rangers and Islanders will be taking the Battle of New York to Brooklyn and they'll do it underneath the national spotlight.

It's always fun when these two local rivals meet up, but both teams are playing well to start the season to add a little extra oomph to the game. There were some awesome battles between the two teams last year.

This time around, the Rangers have a six-point lead on the Islanders as they sit atop the Metropolitan Division standings with a 17-6-2 record. The Isles are currently in wild card position, fourth in the Metro, with a 13-8-4 mark. The boys in Brooklyn are staring down a big opportunity to gain some ground on those fellows from Manhattan.

The Isles have points in each of their last four games, which has allowed them to recover a bit after a moderate lull in late October and early November. John Tavares, as always, is leading the way this season with 21 points in 25 games including 11 goals. Kyle Okposo is second on the club with 20 points, but if the Islanders are going to beat their neighbors, they're going to have to get some secondary scoring. They've been getting that in their recent four-game stretch. One player in particular that has been helping the cause is Ryan Strome who has four points over his last three games. That's a player the Isles needed to get going.

It is unclear which goaltender will start for the Islanders, but both Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak have played extremely well. Greiss in particular has been a real surprise this season with a .925 save percentage in 12 appearances.

On the other side of the ice, of course, will be Henrik Lundqvist who has been playing at a MVP level so far this season. He has a 13-5-2 record with a .935 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average. He's also had a fair amount of success against the Isles over his career with a .921 save percentage in 50 games against the Rangers' local rival.

The Rangers will head into Wednesday's game down a few men, though. Center Derek Stepan is out of the lineup with broken ribs, while top-four defenseman Kevin Klein has been sidelined by a strained oblique. Coach Alain Vigneault will have to use defensemen Dan Boyle and Dylan McIlrath in the same lineup, which he has been reluctant to do this year and that does leave the Rangers a little exposed on the back end. Still they should have the depth to manage in this game.

That said, with the Islanders rolling a bit right now and the fact that they'll be playing the Rangers for the first time in their new building, we're going to give the slight edge to the home team in this one. Pick: Islanders 3, Rangers 2

[StarDust Bum]

Awful special teams play is holding the Lightning back

Six months ago the Tampa Bay Lightning were just two games away from winning the Stanley Cup and seemed to be on the verge of beginning what would almost certainly be a lenghty run as the top team in the Eastern Conference for many years.

Returning pretty much that entire roster this season, including one of the best goal-scorers in the league (Steven Stamkos), one of the best all-around defensemen (Victor Hedman), and an impressive group of young complementary players that are just starting to hit their prime years, this is supposed to be one of the top Stanley Cup contenders in the league.

By the time April rolls around they very well might be. But so far this season things haven't yet gone according to plan.

Entering Monday the Lightning have won just 11 of their first 25 games and find themselves on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It's still only a two-point deficit when it comes to a playoff spot, and it's still too early to really start to worry about this team, but this is not where the Lightning were expected to be at any point this season.

What stands out most about their early season struggles is that it's not the fault of their defense or their goaltending. Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy have combined for the fifth best save percentage in the NHL, while the team in front of them is only surrendering 28 shots on goal per game, one of the best marks in the league.

The problem is almost entirely in the offensive zone, which is downright stunning given the makeup of the roster and the type of hockey they played a year ago. After finishing as the top scoring team in the league in 2014-2015, they are averaging just 2.4 goals per game this year, a mark that puts them 24th in the NHL.

And it's a teamwide problem at this point.

With 19 points in 25 games Stamkos, who remains unsigned beyond this season, is on pace for a career-low in scoring, while nobody else on the roster has more than 13 points. Injuries have certainly played a role in that recently, especially as they have played some games over the past couple of weeks without four or five of their top-nine forwards, including Ondrej Palat, a huge part of their Triplets line from a year ago.

But injuries are not the only problem. The biggest concern at this point is what's happening to them on special teams, specifically when it comes to their suddenly power-less power play.

Even when they were at their best last season the Lightning power play was never really a strength. They were a middle of the pack team in success rate and have done nothing so far this season but take a pretty significant step backwards. What's worse than the fact that they are not scoring with the man-advantage is that they are not really coming close to scoring, either.

And it seems to be frustrating them.

Here is what Stamkos had to say about the power play on Saturday, via Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa-Tribune.

"How many more wins could we have had this year if our power play could score a goal?. It boils down to the power play being terrible. It's not even the goals, it's killing momentum. It's not fun. It's even more frustrating when you know you have the skill set and you know that when it's on it can be one of the best in the league, which it should be. That's the frustrating part."

The numbers are simply stunning at this point.

They are converting on just 16 percent of their power play opportunities which places them 22nd in the league. But it's what is leading to those failures that is so concerning because there doesn't seem to be any sign that it's going to end anytime soon.

The biggest factor in scoring on the power play -- and scoring in general -- is having a shoot- first mentality. The second part is hitting the net.

The Lightning are failing in both areas.

They are only 27th in the NHL when it comes to shot attempts per 60 minutes of power play time, a statistic that is made worse when you consider that more than half of the shots they do attempt on the power play are not even reaching the net. On Monday Sportsnet's Andrew Berkshire noted that the Lightning power play unit is well below the league average in terms of their ability to hit the net with their shots on the power play, but it's actually much worse than that.

More than 53 percent of their total shot attempts on the power play have failed to hit the net, whether due to a block by an opponent or them simply missing the net on their own. Only one team in the NHL this season -- the Carolina Hurricanes -- has failed to hit the net more often on the power play. When you combine that with the fact they're simply not generating a lot of shot attempts on the power play to begin with that is putting a massive dent in their ability to score.

But it's not just the power play that is hurting them.

At just a 76 percent success rate, the Lightning are the fifth-worst team in the league on the PK and while the power play is unable to consistently generate shot attempts, their penalty killers are giving up the 10th most in the league.

It's these two areas that have contributed most to the Lightning's struggles so far this season because they are still one of the best teams in the league during 5-on-5 play. Even though goal-scoring is down across the board for the team, they still have one of the best goal differentials in the league at 5-on-5 and are in the top-10 in shot-based metrics, a pretty good sign that their offense might still improve.

But everything begins to fall apart as soon as the game turns into a special teams battle.

With the way the NHL is played right now most teams are able to match each other during 5-on-5 play and play things pretty evenly. It's why most games end with the same 3-2 or 2-1 final score every night. It's the special teams battle that can sometimes decide individual games, and with teams getting so few opportunities per game, there is very little margin for error.

Right now the Lightning are losing that battle almost every night, and it's the single biggest reason they're off to such a disappointing start.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Power Rankings: Kings looking like their old title-winning selves

Watching the Los Angeles Kings' dramatic win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday was one of many indications the recent two-time champions are who we thought they were. The 2014-15 season barely registers as a memory at this point when watching the Kings play.

That Kings were in control, even though they trailed for a lot of that game. The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 36-22 and at times looked like they'd never give up the puck. They stuck with their game and pulled out an impressive 3-2 win thanks to a pair of third-period goals and Marian Gaborik finishing off one of the best overtime periods this season.

The Kings' success obviously is measured in many ways, but one of the most definitive is the Kings are controlling 56.6 percent of the shot attempts taken at even strength. They're dominant in possession, which is something we've often come to expect from them.

That isn't necessarily translating to more goals, but they are one of the best in terms of shutting down the opposition. The 2.13 goals Los Angeles allows per game is the second-lowest mark in the league. Only the New York Rangers behind MVP-like goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist have a better goals-against rate.

The Kings own a .926 team save percentage, with Jonathan Quick posting a .917 mark in 19 appearances. Drew Doughty has been a work horse once again, playing an average of 27 minutes against top-level competition. But the Kings' success on defense is because entire lineup buys in.

Offensively Jeff Carter is having another tremendous season with 22 points in 23 games. Young Tyler Toffoli has a team-best 11 goals. Other than that, there aren't a lot of players whose stats jump off the page because they're getting contributions throughout.

Most all of their offseason acquisitions have panned out. Milan Lucic has had a great start (seven goals), Christian Ehrhoff has been effective in lighter minutes and even backup goalie Jhonas Enroth has been very good when called upon (.962 save percentage).

With the Pacific Division looking fairly weak, the Kings have an opportunity to cruise into favorable playoff position. As we know, when it comes to the Kings, they save their best for the postseason. What they're doing right now is pretty good, too.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Maple Leafs (6-11) at Jets (11-12)
Date: December 02, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

The Winnipeg Jets continue to have trouble slowing their opponents down, and that's making it difficult to build any momentum.

Winnipeg is returning home after a much-needed break, however, and can win the season series with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third time in four years Wednesday night.

The Jets (11-12-2) have allowed 3.7 goals per game while going a league-worst 3-8-1 since Nov. 5. They lost 5-3 at Colorado on Saturday to close a three-game trip, already the 12th time they've surrendered four or more goals. They're 1-10-1 in those games.

Winnipeg has been idle since that night, a welcomed three days off for a club which is struggling and has played 11 of its past 15 games on the road.

"It's important to take that mental break away from the game, especially when things aren't going right," center Bryan Little told the team's official website. "It's good to get away and not have hockey on your mind all the time. It's good to get some rest and some practice days to actually work on some stuff.

"We're just happy to be home and we're trying to re-focus right now."

Winnipeg's 10 home games played are tied for the league's fewest.

In 14 games during November, the Jets went 4 for 45 on the power play while giving up 15 goals in their opponents' 56 chances (26.8 percent).

"The fatigue sets in for everybody," coach Paul Maurice said. "Everybody's got their stretches. We went through ours, didn't get great results, so we've got lots of places to get better."

Andrew Ladd, though, has come to life with two goals and two assists in his last four games following a four-game point drought. He scored Saturday as did Blake Wheeler, who tied Little for the team lead with his ninth goal.

Wheeler has keyed the Jets dominating this series of late, totaling five goals and six assists in the last seven meetings as they've gone 6-0-1. That stretch includes a 4-2 road victory Nov. 4.

Toronto (8-11-5) ended a three-game losing streak in a 3-0 home win over Edmonton on Monday. With James Reimer out with a lower-body injury and Jonathan Bernier struggling, Garret Sparks was called up from the club's AHL affiliate and recorded 24 saves, becoming the franchise's first player with a shutout in his debut.

"Going into the third period (a shutout) is definitely on your mind," Sparks said. "You just want to be on and make sure if they're going to beat you they have to really beat you. The guys in front of me kept everything outside, kept it manageable and I have them to thank."

Coach Mike Babcock said he expects Sparks to get the nod again Wednesday unless Reimer can play.

"Good for the kid," Babcock said. "Life's about opportunity and how you respond to that opportunity, obviously he must have some swagger about him, some confidence. He played well, we got a win."

Leo Komarov scored twice, giving him four goals in his last three games and a team-high 10 on the season. Second-leading scorer Joffrey Lupul, who has eight goals, missed his first game due to an undisclosed injury.

Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (lower-body) is expected to miss a fifth consecutive game. Michael Hutchinson has struggled in three starts with Pavelec sidelined, giving up 12 goals. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 14 shots in a 3-1 win at Minnesota on Friday in his debut.

Little has five goals and 15 assists in his last 14 meetings with Toronto.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Rangers (16-6) at Islanders (13-8)
Date: December 02, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

The New York Rangers got back on track after an ugly three-game losing streak, but hardly in encouraging fashion.

A similar effort probably won't be nearly good enough to beat the surging New York Islanders when the storied rivalry makes its Barclays Center debut Wednesday night.

The Rangers (17-6-2) held on to beat Carolina 4-3 on Monday to stop a disheartening skid in which they were blown out by Montreal, lost a late lead at Boston and were blanked by Philadelphia. Their 18th win in 19 games against the Hurricanes, though, came after they built a 4-1 lead despite being outplayed for much of the game. New York was outshot 36-22.

Mats Zuccarello and Oscar Lindberg had first-period power-play goals and Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard also scored, while Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves.

'A win is always big, even though it's not perfect,' Lundqvist said. 'It's something you can build on. The finish was more important than the start.'

Brassard, who added an assist, ended a six-game goal drought, while Kreider scored for the first time in eight games.

"The second half of this game was just us kind of hanging on," defenseman Dan Boyle told the team's official website. "We're not happy with the way we played down the stretch, but we managed to get the two points and now we move on."

They'll do so without Kevin Klein, who had just been promoted to the top defensive pairing with Ryan McDonagh before he suffered a strained abdominal muscle early in the first period and is expected to miss two to three weeks. That means a bigger role for rookie Dylan McIlrath, who's expected to take Klein's spot in the lineup.

Klein is the second key Ranger to be lost to injury in the past week after top center Derek Stepan suffered broken ribs against the Bruins on Friday. He's out four to six weeks.

The Rangers' depth will consequently be tested by the Islanders (13-8-4), who are 3-0-1 in their last four. The fourth line sparked the Isles to a 5-3 victory over Colorado on Monday, as Cal Clutterbuck's goal 1:52 into the third period broke a 2-all tie and Casey Cizikas added a necessary insurance score.

Kyle Okposo, Mikhail Grabovski and Ryan Strome also scored and Thomas Greiss stopped 25 shots.

'Our goalie played extremely well there in the first period that kept the score where it was, or we could've been behind the 8-ball,' coach Jack Capuano said. 'The name of the game is to get points, so hopefully that will give the guys some confidence as we move forward.'

It didn't take long for the Islanders to turn their focus to their archrivals in Manhattan after the game.

"We've all had it circled for a while," Strome told the team's website.

The Brooklyn setting - and gleaming modern arena - certainly will present a different look after 33 years of suburban battles between the teams at the small, long-outdated but beloved Nassau Coliseum.

The Rangers have won the last two meetings, both on the road. Lundqvist, however, has dropped three straight starts in the series with a 4.88 goals-against average.

The Islanders' Jaroslav Halak, expected to start Wednesday, has allowed three goals on 45 shots in two outings since getting pulled in a 5-3 loss to Montreal on Nov. 20.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Bruins (12-8) at Oilers (7-15)
Date: December 02, 2015 9:30 PM EDT

Though far from complacent, the Boston Bruins are having a good time amid their longest winning stretch of the season.

The visiting Bruins will try for a sixth consecutive victory Wednesday night against the lowly Edmonton Oilers.

Things didn't look very bright while Boston (13-8-1) lost five of the first seven in November, but its collective attitude improved while winning the final five of the month. The Bruins last won six in a row during a 12-game run in March 2014.

"Winning's just fun," forward Matt Beleskey told the Bruins' official website. "Keeping that up is almost easy. You come to the rink, you're having fun - you've just got to stay focused.

"I think everyone likes that feeling in here, and being on a winning streak's great. So it's something we're going to have to keep working on."

Boston's surge has been keyed by a defense that's yielded 10 goals in the last five games after giving up 23 in the previous seven. The Bruins have killed 15 of 16 penalties during the five-game run after opponents converted 10 of 29 chances through the first seven of November.

"We've got to keep going, keep playing our game, and I think we see (in the dressing room) when we do it, good things happen," Beleskey said.

Boston hasn't played since showing its mettle by erasing a pair of one-goal deficits to score the final two of Friday's 4-3 win over the New York Rangers.

"We have to know that we can win games when we're down by a goal or two or three and we keep that resiliency going," winger Brad Marchand said.

David Krejci scored the winner late against the Rangers for his ninth of the season. He has two goals with seven assists in the last 10 contests.

Boston begins this three-game western Canadian trip at Edmonton, where it's 13-game series winning streak ended with a 4-3, 12-round shootout loss Feb. 18.

A winner of three in a row, Boston's Tuukka Rask is 4-0-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average against Edmonton.

The Oilers (8-15-2) concluded a 1-3-1 trip against Eastern Conference teams with a 3-0 loss to Toronto on Monday.

'I didn't think we were a very hard team,' said Edmonton coach Todd McLellan, whose team recorded eight shots in each period. 'I didn't think we stood over a lot of pucks. I didn't think we won a lot of battles along the boards. I didn't think we were competitive enough in a lot of areas to come up with the victory.'

Edmonton totaled six non-shootout goals and was shut out twice on the trek.

"It's frustrating," said forward Taylor Hall, who recorded one of his team-leading 25 points on the trip. "We're going to have to manage to get some wins on the board. ... We've been right there (on the trip), but it seems like we've been right there the whole season."

Hall has five goals and 10 assists in 10 home games, but one point in four overall against Boston.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Lightning (10-11) at Ducks (8-11)
Date: December 02, 2015 10:30 PM EDT

Expectations were sky high for the Tampa Bay Lighting and Anaheim Ducks after both advanced far in the playoffs last season.

Through the first two months, it's fair to say those expectations haven't been met.

The Lightning look to avoid a fourth consecutive road loss when they open a three-game California trip Wednesday night against the Ducks, who are coming off their most complete effort of the season.

With a deep offense led by superstar Steven Stamkos and the goaltending of Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay finished with a franchise-record 108 points in 2014-15 and reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Chicago in six games.

Naturally, the Lightning were expected to again be among the league's elite after bringing back virtually the same roster. Tampa Bay (11-11-3), however, wouldn't even qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, and is much closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference than the top.

"I think it's way too early to start looking at playoff pictures and stuff like that," coach Jon Cooper told the team's official website. "There's way too much hockey left."

Their biggest problem is an offense averaging 2.32 goals, a huge dropoff from last season's league-leading 3.16 mark. That decrease can be attributed to several struggling players, none more so than Tyler Johnson, who has four goals and 11 points after setting career highs with 29 and 72 last season.

It appeared Tampa Bay was turning the corner with three straight wins over quality opponents in the Rangers, Anaheim and Los Angeles but losses to Washington and the Islanders followed.

The Lightning's usually reliable penalty-killing unit was beaten five times on seven opportunities in those losses after having killed 44 of 49 over the previous 18 games.

Tampa Bay went 0 for 3 on the power play in Saturday's 3-2 defeat to the Islanders and is 4 for the last 32.

"Clearly, special teams was the difference in the game," Cooper said. "We play the whole game 5-on-5, we might have been OK, but special teams let us down a little bit."

Special teams were no problem for the Lightning in their 5-0 victory over the Ducks on Nov. 21. Stamkos scored one of his two goals on the power play and assisted on Jonathan Marchessault's man-advantage tally to back Bishop's 30-save performance.

It was Tampa Bay's third straight win against Anaheim and gave it at least one point in 10 straight meetings (6-0-4).

Bishop is 5-0-1 with a 1.04 goals-against average against the Ducks, while Stamkos has seven goals and 12 points in seven meetings.

This season has been a struggle from the start for Anaheim (9-11-5), which opened with four straight losses and finished October 1-7-2.

The Ducks, who lost Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the Blackhawks in May after a 109-point season, picked up their play considerably in November with an 8-4-3 record. They did just about everything right in Monday's 4-0 victory over Vancouver, as John Gibson turned aside 25 shots and 10 players recorded a point.

'We haven't had one like this all year so it was good to be able to breathe in the last 5 minutes of the game,' coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Gibson could get another start with Frederik Anderson expected to sit again with the flu. Gibson stopped 28 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning on Feb. 18 in the teams' most recent meeting in Anaheim.

After starting this season in an 11-game goal drought, Corey Perry has eight in his last 14 games. He has no goals in 10 contests against Tampa Bay.

[StarDust Bum]

Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE - ATLANTIC

Team Win Loss OTL Shootout Loss Pts Goals For Goals Against Home Away Division

Montreal Canadiens 19 4 3 1 41 90 57 10-2-2-0 9-2-1-1 7-0-1-0
Detroit Red Wings 13 8 4 1 30 61 64 7-5-3-0 6-3-1-0 7-3-2-0
Ottawa Senators 12 7 5 3 29 78 72 5-4-4-3 7-3-1-0 4-2-1-0
Boston Bruins 13 8 1 1 27 73 64 5-6-1-0 8-2-0-0 6-3-0-0
Florida Panthers 11 9 4 2 26 63 60 6-5-2-0 5-4-2-1 4-2-0-0
Tampa Bay Lightning 11 11 3 1 25 59 58 6-5-1-1 5-6-2-1 4-5-1-1
Buffalo Sabres 10 12 3 1 23 58 67 5-8-1-0 5-4-2-2 3-6-1-1
Toronto Maple Leafs 8 11 5 2 21 56 66 4-5-3-2 4-6-2-2 0-4-4-3

EASTERN CONFERENCE - METROPOLITAN

Team Win Loss OTL Shootout Loss Pts Goals For Goals Against Home Away Division

New York Rangers 17 6 2 1 36 74 53 11-3-1-0 6-3-1-1 5-1-2-1
Washington Capitals 17 5 1 1 35 75 51 10-3-1-0 7-2-0-0 4-2-0-0
Pittsburgh Penguins 14 8 2 1 30 57 55 8-4-1-1 6-4-1-0 1-2-1-0
New York Islanders 13 8 4 0 30 72 62 8-4-2-0 5-4-2-2 3-0-2-1
New Jersey Devils 12 10 2 2 26 57 59 5-6-2-2 7-4-0-0 4-4-0-0
Philadelphia Flyers 10 10 5 1 25 49 67 5-4-3-1 5-6-2-0 4-3-0-0
Carolina Hurricanes 8 12 4 0 20 50 70 4-5-3-1 4-7-1-0 1-3-2-0
Columbus Blue Jackets 10 16 0 0 20 61 78 4-7-0-0 6-9-0-0 4-4-0-0

WESTERN CONFERENCE - CENTRAL

Team Win Loss OTL Shootout Loss Pts Goals For Goals Against Home Away Division

Dallas Stars 19 5 1 1 39 88 66 9-3-0-0 10-2-1-1 3-1-0-0
St. Louis Blues 15 7 3 1 33 66 61 7-3-2-0 8-4-1-0 5-2-0-0
Nashville Predators 13 7 4 2 30 64 62 8-2-2-1 5-5-2-0 2-2-0-0
Chicago Blackhawks 13 9 3 0 29 68 64 8-3-1-0 5-6-2-0 1-3-1-0
Minnesota Wild 12 7 4 0 28 65 62 8-3-1-0 4-4-3-0 6-3-3-0
Winnipeg Jets 11 12 2 0 24 67 80 5-4-1-0 6-8-1-1 3-7-0-0
Colorado Avalanche 10 14 1 0 21 73 76 3-6-1-0 7-8-0-0 3-1-0-0

WESTERN CONFERENCE - PACIFIC

Team Win Loss OTL Shootout Loss Pts Goals For Goals Against Home Away Division

Los Angeles Kings 15 8 1 1 31 60 51 9-5-0-0 6-3-1-1 4-4-0-0
San Jose Sharks 14 10 0 1 28 67 63 4-7-0-0 10-3-0-0 3-2-0-0
Arizona Coyotes 13 10 1 0 27 67 70 6-4-0-0 7-6-1-0 7-1-0-0
Vancouver Canucks 9 9 8 1 26 70 71 3-4-3-0 6-5-5-1 4-1-3-0
Anaheim Ducks 9 11 5 1 23 51 65 6-3-4-1 3-8-1-0 3-3-3-1
Calgary Flames 9 14 2 1 20 60 90 6-5-0-0 3-9-2-1 2-4-1-0
Edmonton Oilers 8 15 2 1 18 62 77 4-5-1-0 4-10-1-0 3-4-0-0

Updated Wed Dec 2 12:34 PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Conference championship games this weekend..........

-- MAC-- Bowling Green (-11.5) vs Northern Illinois

-- C-USA-- Western Kentucky (-7) vs Southern Mississippi

-- AAC-- Houston (-6) vs Temple

-- Pac-12-- Stanford (-4.5) vs USC

-- SEC-- Alabama (-17.5) vs Florida

-- MW-- San Diego State (-3.5) vs Air Force

-- ACC-- Clemson (-5.5) vs North Carolina

-- Big 14-- Michigan State (-3.5) vs Iowa

**********

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

13) First of all, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people in San Bernadino after yesterday's killings at a county office complex. It is just very sad; I'm not going to go on a rant here about guns or anything, but stuff like this needs to stop.

12) It is interesting how CNN brings in experts in to talk about these situations as cameras from helicopters show police activity. Former CIA people, police offficers, military experts- they all speculate on a fluid situation-- live TV is very interesting.

On to more pleasant subjects........
11) There is an interesting article in ESPN the Magazine on agent Jimmy Sexton, who is one of the major power brokers in college football- he represents fifty college coaches, and NFL players like Philip Rivers and Julio Jones.

Put it this way: last week, Alabama-Auburn, Florida-Florida State, USC-UCLA all played rivalry games. Sexton represents the head coach from all six of those schools.

10) David Price got $31M a year from the Red Sox; he's a damn good pitcher, but his 0-7, 5.27 career postseason record has to raise eyebrows. He is also 30 years old, so he will be 37 when his contract runs out. Lot of $$$ to commit to one player.

Price is 104-56, 3.09 in 213 career regular season starts; he was 18-5, 2.45 in 2015.

9) Miami Marlins are really going to hire Barry Bonds as a hitting coach? Does that mean he has to talk to the media? Don Mattingly as a manager, Bonds as hitting coach would put a lot of hitting expertise in Miami's dugout.

Mark McGwire is going to be the Padres' bench coach; interesting times we live in.

8) Mark Richt is the new football coach at Miami, his alma mater, where he backed up Jim Kelly in the early 80's. Richt is highly regarded as a person, averaged 9.6 wins a year at Georgia. I am very, very curious what Michael Irvin says about this hire.

7) Interesting development: Ivy League is considering having a postseason hoop tournament, starting in 2016-17. Guess they've finally seen the light that getting the whole league together for a weekend would be a money maker, plus it would give the league's basketball programs some national publicity. Right now, Ivy League is the only Division I league that doesn't have a postseason tournament.

6) 76ers suspended Jahlil Okafor for two games; they can't do anything right. This is why teams do exhaustive research on draft prospects and still, problems pop up and screw things up. I mean, the season is five weeks old and he's already had incidents involving the police three times. No bueno.

Meanwhile, Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis says the 76ers never worked him out before the draft. Seriously? The NBA should make these idiots sell the team, or hire a new GM, at the least. The guy running things now is an imbecile.

5) San Diego State-San Diego are playing basketball outdoors at Petco Park Sunday, just before the Chargers play Denver at Qualcomm. Interesting concept; Toreros have a new coach, Aztecs are offensively challenged. Big sports day in San Diego.

4) ESPN's Dan Dakich last night said that he's always thought Rick Pitino is the best coach in the country at player development. Interesting comment coming from a guy who both played and coached at Indiana.

3) Basketball scheduling note: Duke doesn't play a true road game until their ACC slate starts January 2 at Boston College. Until then, Blue Devils play nine home tilts, only one of which (vs Indiana, ACC-Big 14 challenge) is against a team in top 100.

They're also playing four neutral court games, all in New York City, all against top 50 opponents, all on national TV. Interesting how different teams schedule.

2) Central Florida signed Oregon OC Scott Frost as its new coach; UCF is a really big school, a sleeping giant athletically. Frost played at both Nebraska/Stanford, then played in NFL for six years with four different teams.

1) Michigan State 71, Louisville 67-- Funny how the new rule, really going back to an old rule, how coaches can't call timeouts while the clock is running, has created a few problems early on-- players haven't adjusted to calling timeouts yet.

Wisconsin 66, Syracuse 58, OT-- Jim Calhoun is worth listening to on TV; he talks lot slower than he did when he was coaching, he obviously knows a ton and gives out good basic basketball knowledge.

I have to look this up; teams that win these Thanksgiving tournaments at fun places tend to let down in their first game back on campus. Something I sense, have to find out for sure. There are peaks and valleys to every season.

Butler 78, Cincinnati 76-- You have to be damn good to score 78 on Cincy.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, December 3

Hot teams
-- Washington won last five games, scoring 21 goals. Montreal won five of its last six.
-- Coyotes won three of their last four games. Detroit won four of its last six.
-- Florida won its last three games, allowing four goals.
-- Dallas Stars won seven of their last nine games.

Cold teams
-- Avalanche lost four of last six road games. Rangers lost four of last five.
-- New Jersey lost five of its last seven games. Carolina lost eight of its last ten.
-- Chicago lost four of its last six games. Ottawa lost three of last five at home.
-- Nashville lost five of its last seven games.
-- Maple Leafs lost four of their last five games. Minnesota lost six of its last eight.
-- Vancouver lost eight of its last ten games.

Series records
-- Colorado won three of last four visits to Madison Square Garden.
-- Devils won five of last seven games with Carolina.
-- Blackhawks won five of last six games with Ottawa.
-- Road team won seven of last nine Washington-Montreal games.
-- Red Wings lost three of last four games with Arizona.
-- Predators won seven of last nine games with Florida.
-- Maple Leafs lost last three games with Minnesota.
-- Canucks lost last nine games with Dallas, last three in OT/SO.

Totals
-- Seven of last nine Colorado games went over the total.
-- Last five New Jersey-Carolina games stayed under total.
-- Last four Ottawa games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Washington games went over total.
-- Over is 3-1-1 in last five Detroit games.
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Florida games.
-- Six of last nine Toronto games went over total.
-- Last three Vancouver games stayed under; three of last four Dallas games went over.

Back-to-backs
-- Rangers are 5-1 if they played the night before.
-- Maple Leafs are 0-6 when they played the night before.