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

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NHL

Thursday, December 3

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
COLORADO vs. NY RANGERS
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Colorado's last 9 games
Colorado is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games at home
NY Rangers are 6-14-1 SU in their last 21 games ,when playing Colorado

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DECEMBER 3, 7:00 PM
NEW JERSEY vs. CAROLINA
New Jersey is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games on the road
New Jersey is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Carolina is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games at home
Carolina is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games

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DECEMBER 3, 7:30 PM
ARIZONA vs. DETROIT
Arizona is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Arizona is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Detroit is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Arizona
Detroit is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games when playing Arizona

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DECEMBER 3, 7:30 PM
CHICAGO vs. OTTAWA
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Ottawa
Chicago is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Ottawa is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

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DECEMBER 3, 7:30 PM
WASHINGTON vs. MONTREAL
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Montreal
Washington is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Montreal is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing Washington

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DECEMBER 3, 8:00 PM
FLORIDA vs. NASHVILLE
Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 7 games
Nashville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida
Nashville is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games at home

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DECEMBER 3, 8:00 PM
TORONTO vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing Minnesota
Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto

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DECEMBER 3, 10:00 PM
DALLAS vs. VANCOUVER
Dallas is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Dallas's last 10 games on the road
Vancouver is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home
Vancouver is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas

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NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, December 3

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COLORADO (10-14-0-1, 21 pts.) at NY RANGERS (17-6-0-3, 37 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.


Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 3-2 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 3-2-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.6 Units)




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NEW JERSEY (12-10-0-2, 26 pts.) at CAROLINA (8-12-0-4, 20 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.


Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 5-3 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 5-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.3 Units)




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CHICAGO (13-9-0-3, 29 pts.) at OTTAWA (12-7-0-5, 29 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OTTAWA is 13-6 ATS (+6.7 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 3-1 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 3-1-0 straight up against OTTAWA 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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WASHINGTON (17-5-0-1, 35 pts.) at MONTREAL (19-4-0-3, 41 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MONTREAL is 19-7 ATS (+11.1 Units) in all games this season.
MONTREAL is 19-7 ATS (+7.8 Units) first half of the season this season.
MONTREAL is 9-1 ATS (+7.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
MONTREAL is 9-1 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season this season.


Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 3-3-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
5 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.0 Units)




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ARIZONA (13-10-0-1, 27 pts.) at DETROIT (13-8-0-4, 30 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARIZONA is 11-37 ATS (+75.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 6-12 ATS (-11.8 Units) in home games in December games over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 26-34 ATS (-32.6 Units) in home games first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
ARIZONA is 3-1 (+4.2 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
ARIZONA is 3-1-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.4 Units)




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FLORIDA (11-9-0-4, 26 pts.) at NASHVILLE (13-7-0-4, 30 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 130-204 ATS (+356.4 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
FLORIDA is 120-177 ATS (+299.8 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more since 1996.
FLORIDA is 30-57 ATS (-32.8 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 9-20 ATS (-12.0 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 3-1 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
NASHVILLE is 3-1-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)




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TORONTO (8-12-0-5, 21 pts.) at MINNESOTA (12-7-0-4, 28 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 38-69 ATS (+117.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-26 ATS (+40.6 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 7-26 ATS (+44.5 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 11-28 ATS (+44.5 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 9-28 ATS (+41.9 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.


Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 3-1 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 3-1-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.1 Units)




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DALLAS (19-5-0-1, 39 pts.) at VANCOUVER (9-9-0-8, 26 pts.) - 12/3/2015, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 19-6 ATS (+10.6 Units) in all games this season.
DALLAS is 10-3 ATS (+6.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
DALLAS is 19-6 ATS (+10.6 Units) first half of the season this season.
VANCOUVER is 9-17 ATS (-19.1 Units) in all games this season.
VANCOUVER is 9-17 ATS (+38.8 Units) first half of the season this season.


Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 8-0 (+9.4 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 8-0-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)

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Preview: Avalanche (10-14) at Rangers (16-6)
Date: December 03, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

The struggling New York Rangers may be looking forward to a return to Madison Square Garden, where they own the best home record in the NHL.

Matt Duchene's torrid stretch for the Colorado Avalanche has mostly come on the road.

The Rangers will attempt to cool the red-hot Duchene on Thursday night and sweep the season series from the Avalanche.

New York (17-6-3) followed a 13-1-1 stretch by losing four of five games, and its only victory during the slump was a 4-3 home win over Carolina on Monday. The victory improved the Rangers to 11-3-1 with an average of 3.20 goals per game at MSG.

They'll try to continue that success after falling 2-1 in a shootout against the Islanders across the East River in Brooklyn on Wednesday. The Rangers came away encouraged despite losing in their first appearance at Barclays Center.

"Focus. I think it comes down to so much mentally in this game; when you're good, when you're not good. It comes down to making good decisions," goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "When we're smart with the puck, when we time it and it all comes down to making that good read. Making that smart decision with the puck. Things just fall into place.

"Play a simple game, especially when you play a good team."

The Rangers should heed that advice when dealing with Duchene, who has 12 goals and eight assists over the past 14 games. The center has nine goals and six assists in 10 road games over that stretch.

After setting a franchise record with 11 goals in November, Duchene got December off to a strong start by scoring a goal in a 2-1 win at New Jersey on Tuesday.

"The big thing is to not think about it too much," said Duchene, who had one goal and two assists in his first 11 games. "I'm just focusing on speed, going hard to the net and shooting a lot of pucks. I felt like I maybe could have had another one (Monday). You have to stay hungry. That's the biggest thing."

Duchene has seven points in his last six meetings with the Rangers but just two goals, and he finished with no points in a 2-1 home loss to them Nov. 6.

Reto Berra made 31 saves in that matchup - his first against New York. He had 27 saves Tuesday but will likely return to the bench in favor of Semyon Varlamov, who is 5-7-1 with a 3.28 goals-against average.

"I love the fact Reto makes it a competition," coach Patrick Roy told the NHL's official website. "This is how we will get back in the playoff race; we need solid goaltending and we're aware of that. But we still have a lot of confidence in (Varlamov) and we're confident he'll bounce back as well."

Varlamov, though, is 4-3-0 with a 3.52 GAA in seven career games against the Rangers.

It's unclear if New York will turn to Lundqvist in the second of back-to-back games after he had 36 saves and turned aside two of three shootout attempts Wednesday. He is 8-2-1 with a 2.03 GAA in 11 home starts and made 29 stops at Colorado last month.

Backup Antti Raanta, who is 4-1-0 with a 1.36 GAA in six starts, has split two decisions over three career meetings with the Avalanche while compiling a 2.55 GAA.

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Preview: Devils (10-10) at Hurricanes (8-12)
Date: December 03, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

The New Jersey Devils have been much better on the road than at home, and that's also been true for Adam Henrique.

After losing for the third straight time at home, Henrique and the Devils go for a three-game road winning streak Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

New Jersey (12-10-2) is 7-4-0 away from Newark and averaging 2.72 goals compared to 1.92 at home. Scoring on home ice was an issue again Tuesday when the Devils outshot Colorado 28-25 only to lose 2-1.

"There's really not a focus on that," first-year coach John Hynes said. "We want to try to win every game that we can play. We don't put any emphasis one way or the other on home versus on the road. We've obviously found a way to win a little bit more on the road than we have at home. That's something that we'll discuss and talk about.

"If we want to continue to be a good team, we gotta find a way to win more games at home."

That will have to wait until Friday against Philadelphia after the Devils visit Carolina (8-12-4), which is tied with Columbus for last place in the Eastern Conference.

Henrique leads New Jersey with 11 goals and his 19 points are second to Mike Cammalleri's 23. However, the left wing has done much of his damage as the visitor, scoring seven goals with five assists.

The venue when facing the Hurricanes hasn't mattered to Henrique, who has six goals in eight overall matchups, though he was kept off the score sheet during a 3-1 loss in Raleigh on March 28 that ended the Devils' four-game winning streak there.

"We try to prepare the same," said Cory Schneider, who had 23 saves Tuesday. "We're trying to keep everything as similar as possible. Some nights we're getting that late goal on the road for some reason or getting that extra one to go ahead."

Schneider should be back in net and looking to improve on his 7-2-0 record and 2.19 goals-against average on the road. He's not at fault for the struggles at home, posting a 1.89 GAA with his only shutout of the season while going 4-5-2.

Schneider is 4-1-1 with a 1.65 GAA in six overall starts against the Hurricanes, winning his last three visits to Carolina behind a 1.34 GAA.

The Hurricanes enter a three-game homestand following a 3-6-4 stretch that includes wins in their last two at PNC Arena. They've dropped their previous two games on the road after falling 4-3 to the New York Rangers despite holding a 36-22 edge in shots.

"Obviously, we need to get wins," captain Eric Staal said. "We need points. We are finding ways to let them slip away. We have to find a way to pick up the win, and crawl our way back into the mix."

Victor Rask is chipping in with three goals over the last four games, matching his total over the previous 14. His eight goals tie him with defenseman Justin Faulk for the team lead and are three shy of matching his total as a rookie last season.

Rask hasn't scored in four meetings with the Devils, while Faulk has one goal in each of the last two at home.

Staal had two points against New Jersey on March 28, but has the same amount in the last seven games overall.

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Preview: Capitals (16-5) at Canadiens (18-4)
Date: December 03, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

One might think the Montreal Canadiens would feel the absence of Carey Price a bit more with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals coming to town.

The thing is the Canadiens haven't played very well against the Capitals on home ice even with their star goaltender between the pipes.

Washington has won nine of its previous 11 visits to the Bell Centre and rides a five-game overall win streak into the season's first meeting Thursday night.

Price will miss at least six weeks with a knee injury, leaving Michael Condon and Dustin Tokarski in goal until mid-January at the earliest. While Montreal (19-4-3) holds the NHL's largest division lead, things could tighten up in a hurry with Price out.

Having the Vezina Trophy winner in net, however, hasn't really mattered at home against the Caps, who are 9-0-2 in Montreal since the start of 2009-2010 and have handed Price a 2-6-2 record and a 3.39 goals-against average in that span.

Ovechkin in particular has played well during Washington's run of dominance in the City of Saints, netting eight goals with six assists for a plus-9 rating in his last 10 games there after scoring twice in a 5-4 shootout win April 2.

Nicklas Backstrom has 10 points over his last eight in Montreal, and now that he's been reunited with Ovechkin on the top line, Washington (17-5-1) has begun to surge. Backstrom was eased into things after undergoing offseason hip surgery, but since coach Barry Trotz moved him back alongside Ovechkin in mid-November, the Capitals have won six of seven.

"We know they have some weapons," P.K. Subban told the Canadiens' official website. "It's definitely going to be our toughest challenge of the season, in my opinion. With them coming into our barn, we've definitely got to be prepared to play our best game."

While it's no easy task replacing Price, who was 10-2-0 with a 2.06 GAA, Condon has played well with a 2-0-1 record and 1.92 GAA in three games since Price was sidelined for a second time.

He made 22 saves and Paul Byron and Max Pacioretty scored in a 2-1 win over Columbus on Tuesday that improved the league-best Canadiens to 3-2-1 in their last six at home.

The win also showed that Montreal is unlikely to wither while waiting on Price. After Nick Foligno sent winger Andrew Fleischmann into the boards on a knee-to-knee hit with the game tied at 1 in the second period, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu hit Foligno and dropped the gloves, though he was shaken up by a hard punch from the Blue Jackets captain.

"Beaulieu is a great teammate," said Pacioretty, who scored the winner in the third on the power play. "That earns a lot of respect in the room."

The Canadiens will need that united front to start turning it around at home against the Capitals, who have had four days of rest and will be trying to win six in a row for the first time since an eight-game run in April 2013.

Washington pushed its goal total to 13 in its last three games with a 4-2 win at Toronto on Saturday. Braden Holtby stopped 32 shots to win his seventh straight start - a span in which he has a 1.85 GAA.

"We're trying not to get too complacent with what we're doing," Holtby told the Capitals' official website. "We don't think our game is quite where we want it yet, but we're finding ways to win, which is a good sign."

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Preview: Blackhawks (13-9) at Senators (9-7)
Date: December 03, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

Patrick Kane will try to claim a piece of Chicago Blackhawks history Thursday night and help his team avoid a season-high losing streak.

Kane will seek to tie Bobby Hull's franchise-record point streak when Chicago visits the Ottawa Senators.

Kane put himself on the verge of matching Hull's 21-game streak by scoring in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Minnesota. The NHL's point leader with 38, Kane has 12 goals and 20 assists in the longest streak by an American-born player and the NHL's longest since Sidney Crosby's 25-game run for Pittsburgh in 2010-11.

"It would be nice, especially when a guy like Bobby Hull has the record, but it's not really something I'm thinking about," Kane said. "But I'm not really worried about it anymore. ... I'm just trying to play the game and help my team the best I can."

The Blackhawks (13-9-3) were coming off a 3-2 overtime defeat in Los Angeles to conclude a 3-1-2 road trip. They've lost back-to-back games on five occasions and responded from their latest skid by beating San Jose 5-2 on Nov. 25.

Chicago will try for another decisive win against a team that's given up a combined eight goals in its own set of back-to-back defeats and 15 while splitting its last four games.

Ottawa lost 4-2 to Philadelphia on Tuesday in its return from a three-game road trip. The Senators (12-7-5) tied that game twice but couldn't come up with an equalizer following Wayne Simmonds' goal late in the second period.

"I think we were tired today," captain Erik Karlsson said. "I think you could feel that. Unfortunately, the way it is sometimes. They did a tough job on us. I think we created enough scoring chances to win, but we couldn't put the puck in the net.

"It's just one of those games that we have to move on. I think we're doing a lot of good things and we still have a great feeling in the room."

Ottawa also lost forwards Milan Michalek and Mika Zibanejad during that game with Michalek's injury looking more long term. Michalek was hit in the hand by a shot from the Flyers' Radko Gudas, and Zibanejad was hit in the face by the defenseman.

Michalek's injury could prove significant as he had seven goals and two assists in his previous 10 matchups with Chicago.

The Blackhawks have won five of the last six games against Ottawa and swept last season's two matchups. They won 5-4 in a shootout in their lone trip to Ottawa on Oct. 30 with Jonathan Toews scoring a pair of goals.

Kane failed to register a point and has one assist in his last four matchups.

Toews, meanwhile, has six goals and two assists in his past four meetings, and Marian Hossa has totaled five goals and five assists in a seven-game point streak versus his former team.

Hossa has also scored a goal in each of his last four visits to Ottawa.

Toews and Hossa, however, haven't been too productive lately. Hossa has one goal and one assist in his last six games while the Chicago captain doesn't have a point in his past three.

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Preview: Coyotes (13-10) at Red Wings (12-8)
Date: December 03, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

The Detroit Red Wings continue to give up tying goals in the third period. That hasn't prevented them from maintaining their point streak that's stretched into a third week.

The Wings look to keep rolling as they face an Arizona Coyotes team coming off an ugly loss Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit (13-8-4) allowed an equalizer in the third for the fifth straight game and then fell behind by one against Buffalo on Tuesday, but Justin Abdelkader's power-play goal with 6:29 left forced overtime. Brad Richards then scored the only goal of the shootout to lift the Wings to a 5-4 victory, giving them a 5-0-3 mark since Nov. 16.

"As much as you don't want to give up leads, and mistakes happen, we're getting points and that's very good," said left wing Drew Miller, who had a goal and an assist. "You look at the end of the year, you don't want to miss (the) playoffs by one or two points. You look back now and you're getting one or two points losses but you're getting the one point that helps a lot down the line.

"So I thought tonight we had a good character win. Finding a way to win is big in this league, so I think we're learning that and that's big for our team."

All eight games during the point streak have been decided by one goal.

Detroit outshot Buffalo 32-14 over the second and third periods and 46-32 for the game. The total for the game was the Wings' highest since they recorded 47 on Nov. 21, 2013.

Abdelkader snapped a seven-game goal drought with two goals and an assist and completed a "Gordie Howe hat trick" by fighting Josh Gorges in the second period.

Tomas Tatar scored and has six goals and three assists in his last 10 games, while Gustav Nyquist notched two assists to give him four points in the past three.

Arizona (13-10-1) had its three-game winning streak end in disheartening fashion Tuesday in a 5-2 loss at Nashville. The Coyotes came in 10-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes, but allowed four unanswered goals in the third.

The Predators held a 41-15 advantage in shots. Arizona's minus-3.92 shot differential is among the worst in the league.

"Going into the third we knew we were fortunate to be up by one, and that goes in big part to Smitty (goaltender Mike Smith)," center Kyle Chipchura told the team's official website. "We had belief we could hold on, but you can't keep (getting outshot) every night. It's eventually going to catch up with you."

Sloppy play and turnovers also plagued the Coyotes, who are enjoying a resurgent season but have suffered through some growing pains with their young players.

"You can't turn the puck over like that and expect to win games," coach Dave Tippett said. "(Our) puck play was poor, to say the least. (Smith) kept us in it for a long time, but you can't keep giving them Grade A chances off turnovers like that and expect to win."

Tippett's team also needs to be better on the penalty kill as it's allowed at least one power-play goal in the past four games, with opponents going 5 for 14.

Rookie Max Domi has five assists in a four-game point streak, while defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his fifth goal in the past nine contests.

Arizona has been surprisingly successful in this series of late, winning three of the past four meetings with Detroit and five of eight. The Coyotes took the last matchup 5-4 at Joe Louis on March 24.

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Preview: Panthers (9-9) at Predators (11-7)
Date: December 03, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

The Florida Panthers will seek their first four-game win streak in two seasons in a difficult place for them.

The Panthers are winless in their last nine road games against the Nashville Predators heading into Thursday night's contest.

Florida (11-9-4) won its third straight Tuesday, 3-1 at St. Louis. Brandon Pirri and Derek MacKenzie scored 13 seconds apart to open the scoring in the second period, MacKenzie added another and Roberto Luongo made 29 saves.

'It was a great win for us,' coach Gerard Gallant said. 'We battled hard against a real good hockey team over there. We got some breaks and MacKenzie came up big for us tonight. And obviously Luongo played really good in the net. So we had a good team effort again tonight.'

The Panthers haven't won four straight since a five-game run Dec. 10-19, 2013.

Florida's drought in Nashville dates to a 4-2 victory Dec. 11, 1999. The Panthers have lost five times in regulation, twice in shootouts and tied twice in their nine visits since.

The Panthers are 0 for 31 on the power play in their last 11 games against the Predators. They own the league's second-worst power play on the road at 8.3 percent.

Nashville (13-7-4) won for the second time in seven games with Tuesday's 5-2 victory over Arizona. Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist, scoring twice in a third period in which the Predators outscored the Coyotes 4-0.

Forsberg has three goals in his last three games after a 17-game drought.

"It's kind of part of my job to score goals for the team," Forsberg said. "Obviously it's been frustrating, especially when we haven't been winning."

Both teams could be missing key players.

Nashville lost center Mike Fisher in Tuesday's game and Colin Wilson sat out due to lower-body injuries. They have combined for 15 points.

Florida center Nick Bjugstad missed his first game after suffering an upper-body injury during Monday's practice. Bjugstad is tied for second on the team with seven goals.

'He's pretty irreplaceable,' MacKenzie said. 'I thought Bollie (Dave Bolland) came in and did a good job for us tonight. Bjugs was certainly missed, especially against big teams like this. He's a big horse for us and hopefully we'll see him back soon.'

Fisher, who was placed on injured reserve and will miss four games, and Bjugstad win more than half of their face-offs for clubs that are below 50 percent.

Luongo figures to start after yielding four goals in this win streak, which includes two goals from Pirri and three points from Jussi Jokinen.

"Guys have had more jump in the last few games, been more aggressive on their plays and we've created more chances like that," Luongo said. "Guys are working hard on both ends of the ice, which is a big difference for our team right now. "

Pekka Rinne figures to start for the Predators after he made 13 saves Tuesday to end an 0-3-1 stretch in which he posted a 3.26 goals-against average. Rinne has a 2.22 GAA in winning all three home starts against Florida.

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Preview: Maple Leafs (6-12) at Wild (12-7)
Date: December 03, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

Beating the defending Stanley Cup champions to snap out of a slump is all well and good for Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, but he knows it won't mean much if the Wild revert back to old habits.

They'll look to avoid a fourth straight home loss when they face the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Minnesota (12-7-4) slogged through a 1-4-2 stretch that included dropping the final three of a four-game homestand before heading off to Chicago on Tuesday.

Yeo openly criticized his team's play during that rough patch, but he came away feeling much better after Ryan Suter punched home a rebound with less than eight minutes left in the third period to give the Wild a 2-1 win over the Blackhawks.

"We hadn't played well, hadn't played consistent in a long time, and we finally put a game together," Suter said. "Finally, we got everybody moving in the right direction."

Jason Pominville scored in the first for Minnesota, which now looks to pick up two points on home ice. The Wild started 8-1-0 at Xcel Energy Center before the current slump and caps a stretch of playing six of seven at home Saturday against Colorado.

"I think more importantly than anything else is, let's build on it," Yeo said. "We played a good game, got a good result, now what do we do with it?"

They're hoping the defensive showing against Chicago carries over. The Wild allowed at least three goals in seven of their previous nine, and opponents are putting an average of 29.6 shots on net per game.

Minnesota received a boost Tuesday when defenseman Marco Scandella returned after missing five games with a lower-body injury.

"It definitely starts in our own end and being tight defensively," center Charlie Coyle said. "From there, some teams get kind of discouraged, and we keep them to the outside, and then we'll catch them."

Toronto (8-12-5) could stand to play better defensively as well. The Leafs are amid a 1-3-1 stretch and have given up at least four goals in three of their last four.

One of the few positives came Monday when Garret Sparks made 24 saves in a 3-0 win over Edmonton to become the first in franchise history to post a shutout in his NHL debut.

Sparks wasn't nearly as good Tuesday while suffering a 6-1 loss to Winnipeg. He took much of the blame for the defeat, something coach Mike Babcock said wasn't necessary.

"He shouldn't have taken ownership," Babcock said. "I thought we were set up really good going into the third period down 2-1. We came out and dominated the first shift of the third and then we made enough mistakes to make the goalie take ownership for no reason."

Sparks was called up from the minors to replace Jonathan Bernier, who is 0-8-1 with a 3.28 goals-against average this season. Bernier was sent to the AHL for a 10-day conditioning stint to hopefully get back into form.

James Reimer is expected to start against the Wild, who have won the last three meetings. Reimer is 4-1-1 with a 1.45 GAA since Nov. 12 and has won both of his career starts against Minnesota, stopping 65 of 66 shots.

Devan Dubnyk is likely to get the nod for the Wild. He made 34 saves to beat the Leafs 2-1 in the most recent meeting March 23.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Stars (18-5) at Canucks (8-9)
Date: December 03, 2015 10:00 PM EDT

While the Dallas Stars try to avoid their first losing streak this season, the Vancouver Canucks hope another lengthy one doesn't await them.

The way the series has played out recently suggests the woes of the latter might continue.

The Stars will go for their third victory in as many tries against the Canucks this season and 10th straight overall when they visit Rogers Arena on Thursday night.

Dallas' nine-game winning streak in this series dates back to April 18, 2013, and includes three games in Vancouver. The latest two victories - 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 29 and 3-2 in a shootout on Friday - have helped the Stars (19-5-1) to easily their best start in franchise history. Dallas, and the Minnesota North Stars prior to the 1993-94 season, never posted more than 16 wins through 25 games.

The Stars are tied with Montreal for the league lead in wins, and they haven't lost consecutive games yet. But after opening a four-game road trip with Saturday's 4-3 overtime victory at Minnesota, Dallas suffered a hiccup with a 4-3 shootout loss at Calgary on Tuesday.

The Stars led 3-0 before Antti Niemi allowed three third-period goals on 16 shots and surrendered three in the shootout. The loss, Dallas' first this season when leading after two periods, ended the Stars' six-game road winning streak while dropping them to 10-2-1 away from home.

'We just stopped playing hockey,' captain Jamie Benn said. "It's a pretty embarrassing loss.'

Dallas also might have lost defenseman Jason Demers when he left with an upper-body injury. Demers, who has four goals and seven assists in 22 games, did not practice on Wednesday and is listed as questionable to face the Canucks.

The Stars might have Kari Lehtonen back in net, though, after he was activated from injured reserve this week. Lehtonen missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury suffered in the second period of a 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Nov. 24. Niemi has started all three games since.

Lehtonen has won nine of 10 starts this season and his last seven against the Canucks with a 1.42 goals-against average. He left Wednesday's practice earlier than Niemi, typically a sign he will start the next game.

The Canucks (9-9-8) have lost three straight and will try to avoid their third four-game losing streak this season.

Vancouver's overtime woes stretch far past its series with Dallas. The Caunucks are 1-8 in games decided after regulation this season, the one victory coming in a shootout on Oct. 12.

Since, they have lost seven straight overtime contests - the latest Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Los Angeles during which Vancouver allowed the Kings to tie the game early in the third period before Anze Kopitar ended it three minutes into extra time.

"It's really tough," goaltender Jacob Markstrom told the team's official website. "It's getting sick and tired right now losing in overtime. It's no fun."

The Canucks open a four-game homestand at Rogers Arena, where they started the season 0-2-3 but are 3-2-0 since.

Ryan Miller will likely be back in net Thursday after getting pulled from Monday's 4-0 loss at Anaheim before sitting out Tuesday's loss.

He is 0-4-3 with a 3.85 GAA in his last seven starts against the Stars while playing with Buffalo, St. Louis and Vancouver.

The Canucks will be without center Brandon Sutter for 4-6 weeks after he underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia on Wednesday.

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


COL at NYR 07:00 PM

NYR -135 *****



NJ at CAR 07:00 PM

NJ +123 DOUBLE PLAY



WAS at MON 07:30 PM

WAS -108 DOUBLE PLAY



CHI at OTT 07:30 PM

OTT +119 TRIPLE PLAY



ARI at DET 07:30 PM

DET -182 OCTOPLAY



TOR at MIN 08:00 PM

MIN -220 *****



FLA at NAS 08:00 PM

NAS -170 *****



DAL at VAN 10:00 PM

DAL -113 DOUBLE PLAY

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

NFL trends with Week 13 upon us..........

-- Vikings covered nine of their last ten games.

-- Patriots are 7-0 in game following their last seven losses.

-- Ravens are 2-10-2 vs spread in their last 14 games.

-- 49ers are 0-5 on road (1-4 vs spread), losing by average of 36-14

-- Denver covered nine of last ten as an AFC West road favorite.

-- Falcons are 0-7 vs spread in their last seven games.

**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with the weekend here......

13) We've talked about how fine a line there is between winning and losing in the NFL. here's an example. Mike Smith coached Falcons for seven years; in the first five years, he was 28-11 in games decided by 7 or less points. The last two years, he was 5-11 in games decided by 7 or less, and he got fired.

The bounce of a ball, here or there, an injury or two, an official's call.......

12) NFC East teams are 9-17 vs spread this year in non-divisional games.

11) Jets play a "road game" against the Giants this week; they also played one over in London against the Dolphins, which means they're really playing only six true road games this season, a pretty big advantage in short season of 16 games.

10) Davidson won't retire Steph Curry's number because he hasn't graduated from the school. They had a great player named Mike Maloy in the late 60's; same thing with him, he isn't in the school's Hall of Fame because he didn't graduate.

9) Will Muschamp made $1.6M this year to be the defensive coordinator at Auburn; Tigers are 6-6, Muschamp is trying to get a head coaching job but even if he doesn't get one, it looks like he won't be coming back to Auburn next year. Boosters aren't fond of shelling out huge money when the ballclub goes 6-6.

8) Arizona's big man Kaleb Tarczewski is out 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot, bad news for a thin, inexperienced Wildcat squad.

7) NCAA President Mark Emmert was chancellor at LSU when they signed Nick Saban as football coach in 1999- they gave him $1.2M, a huge amount back then.

6) Pittsburgh Pirates won 98 games this year without one complete game by a pitcher, most wins ever by team without a CG-- previous record was 83 wins.

5) In his last three games, DeAndre Jordan is 17-54 on the foul line. In the game before that, he didn't take a foul shot in 25 minutes; what were the Pelicans thinking?

4) Packers 27, Lions 23-- Green Bay was dead in this game several times, but Detroit wouldn't let them lose. After leading 17-0, Lions gagged game away in epic fashion, as they rushed only three guys on last play, giving Rodgers time to chuck ball down field 62 yards where Richard Rodgers made Motown miserable with the walk-off TD.

3) UCLA 87, Kentucky 77-- Bruins trailed 41-7 at half in LY's game; they led 9-2 in this one and were never headed, as Wildcats lose for first time this year. UCLA is 5-3, from everything we read/hear, there are lot of teams who could win a national title as there are no one or two dominant teams like last year.

2) Jim Boeheim's 9-game suspension starts Saturday-- he is away from the team the whole time, so pushing the suspension up to now is a big help for Syracuse- he'll be back after three ACC games, instead of nine. He'll miss games against stiff teams like Montana State, Colgate, Colgate and Texas Southern and will be back for games against Duke and Notre Dame.

1) Toronto Blue Jays put out their 2016 calendar recently, but one small problem; David Price is on the cover, the same David Price who just signed with the Red Sox for $217M over seven years. Whoops.



recapping yesterday's action:

nfl............................. 2 - 0

nhl............................ 6 - 2

nba............................. 5 - 4

cbb............................. 1 - 6 - 1

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, December 4

Hot teams
-- Flyers won four of their last five games.
-- Columbus won four of last five at home. Florida won last four games, allowing five goals.
-- Islanders won four of their last five games.
-- Bruins won five of their last six games.
-- Dallas Stars won eight of their last ten games.
-- Sharks won seven of their last nine games.

Cold teams
-- New Jersey lost its last three home games.
-- Arizona lost five of its last six road games. Buffalo lost seven of last nine overall.
-- St Louis lost three of its last four road games.
-- Calgary lost three of its last four games.
-- Edmonton lost seven of its last ten games.
-- Anaheim lost three of its last four games.

Series records
-- Devils won five of last six games with Philly.
-- Blue Jackets won nine of last ten games with Florida.
-- Sabres won eight of last ten games with Arizona.
-- Islanders lost seven of last nine games with St Louis.
-- Bruins lost last two games with Calgary, after winning previous five.
-- Dallas Stars won four of last five games with Edmonton.
-- Sharks won five of last seven games with Anaheim.

Totals
-- Over is 3-1-1 in last five Flyer-Devil games.
-- Under is 7-2-1 in last ten Florida-Columbus games.
-- Four of last five Arizona games went over total.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight St Louis games.
-- Three of last four Calgary games went over.
-- Four of last five Dalals games went over the total.
-- Last four San Jose games went over the total.

Back-to-backs
-- Devils are 1-1 if they played the night before.
-- Panthers are 1-2 if they played the night before.
-- Arizona is 3-2 if it played the night before.
-- Dallas Stars are 2-0 if they played the night before.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL

Friday, December 4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7:00 PM
ARIZONA vs. BUFFALO
Arizona is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Arizona is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo's last 6 games when playing Arizona
Buffalo is 3-7-3 SU in its last 13 games ,when playing at home against Arizona

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 7:00 PM
FLORIDA vs. COLUMBUS
Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Columbus is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Columbus's last 11 games when playing Florida

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 7:00 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games
Philadelphia is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
New Jersey is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 7:30 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. NY ISLANDERS
The total has gone OVER in 11 of St. Louis's last 13 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
St. Louis is 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of the NY Islanders last 7 games when playing St. Louis

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 9:00 PM
BOSTON vs. CALGARY
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games when playing at home against Boston

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 9:00 PM
DALLAS vs. EDMONTON
Dallas is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Dallas18-5-1 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Edmonton's last 6 games
Edmonton is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games

See more trends!
DECEMBER 4, 10:00 PM
SAN JOSE vs. ANAHEIM
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing San Jose
Anaheim is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing San Jose

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Friday, December 4


Philadelphia @ New Jersey

Game 51-52
December 4, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Philadelphia
10.406
New Jersey
8.853
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Philadelphia
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New Jersey
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Philadelphia
N/A

Florida @ Columbus

Game 53-54
December 4, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida
10.800
Columbus
9.467
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Columbus
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Florida
N/A

Arizona @ Buffalo

Game 55-56
December 4, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Arizona
9.674
Buffalo
11.112
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Buffalo
by 1 1/2
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Buffalo
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Buffalo
N/A

St. Louis @ NY Islanders

Game 57-58
December 4, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
10.762
NY Islanders
12.360
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NY Islanders
by 1 1/2
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Islanders
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
NY Islanders
N/A

Boston @ Calgary

Game 59-60
December 4, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
10.019
Calgary
11.406
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Calgary
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-120
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Calgary
(+100); Over

Dallas @ Edmonton

Game 61-62
December 4, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
10.414
Edmonton
11.506
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Edmonton
by 1
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
-140
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Edmonton
(+120); Under

San Jose @ Anaheim

Game 63-64
December 4, 2015 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
11.710
Anaheim
13.135
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Anaheim
by 1 1/2
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim
-125
5
Dunkel Pick:
Anaheim
(-125); Over