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

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NHL MONEYLINE

NHL > (5) TORONTO@ (6) DETROIT | 2016-03-13 19:35:00 - 2016-03-13 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO using money line in Road games second half of the season
The record is 5 Wins and 35 Losses for the last two seasons (-28.05 units)

NHL > (5) TORONTO@ (6) DETROIT | 2016-03-13 19:35:00 - 2016-03-13 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO using money line in Road games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season
The record is 4 Wins and 24 Losses for the last three seasons (-19.15 units)

NHL > (1) PITTSBURGH@ (2) NY RANGERS | 2016-03-13 12:35:00 - 2016-03-13 12:35:00
Play AGAINST PITTSBURGH using money line in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 20 Wins and 34 Losses for the last two seasons (-27.65 units)

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NHL PUCKLINE

NHL > (5) TORONTO@ (6) DETROIT | 2016-03-13 19:35:00 - 2016-03-13 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO in Road games second half of the season
The record is 5 Wins and 35 Losses for the last two seasons (-28.05 units)

NHL > (5) TORONTO@ (6) DETROIT | 2016-03-13 19:35:00 - 2016-03-13 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO in Road games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season
The record is 4 Wins and 24 Losses for the last three seasons (-19.15 units)

NHL > (1) PITTSBURGH@ (2) NY RANGERS | 2016-03-13 12:35:00 - 2016-03-13 12:35:00
Play AGAINST PITTSBURGH in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 20 Wins and 34 Losses for the last two seasons (-27.65 units)

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NHL TOTALS

NHL > (3) TAMPA BAY@ (4) COLUMBUS | 2016-03-13 15:05:00 - 2016-03-13 15:05:00
Play OVER COLUMBUS on the totalin Home games after a division game
The record is 31 Overs and 14 Unders for the last three seasons (+18.65 units)

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Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

-- Would people really buy a car just because it has WiFi in it?

-- LSU trailed 35-13 at halftime yesterday; thats the kind of effort that gets your coach fired. Losing is one thing; losing 71-38 on national TV is quite another.

-- Oklahoma State fired basketball coach Travis Ford , who really lost his job when he didn't make hay when he had Marcus Smart on his team.

-- If you've never had an avocado smoothie, have one very soon- tremendous.

-- Seton Hall 69, Villanova 67-- Pirates last won the Big East tourney in 1993.

-- Can we move this Presidential election up a couple months before the whole country implodes? Little too much tension now; people need to relax.

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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Thoughts on Selection Sunday.......

Did you turn you clock ahead an hour?

13) Bubble teams all over America will be rooting for UConn against Memphis in the AAC title game today. UConn is in the field of 68, Memphis is not, so the Tigers steal a bid they win. I'm rooting for Memphis; I've met Josh Pastner a couple times and he is a terrific guy. If you had a son, you'd want him to grow up to be like Josh.

12) Big West has nine teams in it, eight of whom are California state schools- why not add Bakersfield and make it a ten-team league?

11) I know TV pays for lot of this so they dictate game times, but day games after night games in these conference tournaments is a bad idea- kids need recovery time if you want the product to be good quality. Even 20-year olds get tired.

10) Dummy of the Day-- NFL Draft is in six weeks or so; lot of teams really need a QB and QBs make a lot of money, so if you're a QB that wants to be drafted, getting a DUI six weeks before the draft is just dumb. (Dak Prescott of Mississippi State).

9) Cal-Bakersfield 57, New Mexico State 54-- Dedrick Basile swished a 3-ponter at the buzzer to give Cal-Bakersfield its first-ever spot in March Madness. Bakersfield has won three national titles in D-II, if I remember right- this is a bigger deal. Why do I say that? The mayor of Bakersfield was on the team's bench right after the game.

8) Stony Brook 80, Vermont 74-- Seawolves get to March Madness for first time; three Vermont players fouled out- they led by 15 with 15:17 left.

7) Of 14 teams in Atlantic 14, only three of them (St Joe's, George Washington and Duquesne) were members of the league when it began 40 years ago, as Eastern 8.

6) Middle Tennessee 55, Old Dominion 53-- Enjoy watching coaches after they make the NCAA tournament for the first time. MTSU coach Kermit Davis wore a baseball cap with his gray suit after his Blue Raiders won the C-USA tournament. He was positively glowing. Coaching can be stressful; good to see them have fun.

5) Fresno State 68, San Diego State 63-- Mountain West was terrible this year; it is going to be a very long Sunday for members of the Aztec program, as they wait and see if they get an at-large bid. Fresno has veteran guards; last time they were in the NCAA tournament was in 2001, when Jerry Tarkanian was coaching his alma mater.

4) When UNLV won in triple OT in the Mountain West tournament earlier this week, the correct play was to go against them next day; sure enough, they lost to Fresno State by 11 the next day. So when UConn beat Cincinnati in 4 OTs Friday, popular wisdom said to go against the Huskies in their game with Temple yesterday.

But UConn seems to thrive on adversity; they won easily Saturday, thwarting lot of handicappers who tried to capitalize on their situation. I didn't have Temple or Fresno but I couldn't fault anyone who did. Capitalizing on that is solid handicapping.

3) Was great to hear Don Orsillo working a Padre spring training game Saturday; he got hosed last summer when the Red Sox fired him, but San Diego quickly scooped him up and he will replace Dick Enberg as the Padres' main TV guy in 2017.

2) Hawai'i 64, Long Beach State 60-- Weird situation; Hawai'i is going on probation after this season, but they can go to the tournament this year- they're not going to be an easy out. Hawai'i beat Northern Iowa by 16, lost to Oklahoma by 3. .

Big West title game ended three great days of basketball; tremendous fun. NCAAs are going to have a tough act to follow.

1) This is why there might be 20-25 teams who can win a national title this season; when UConn won in 2014, they won their first round game in OT-- they were down 3 in last minute of regulation. Huskies were then an underdog in four of their next five games and pick 'em in the other one- they just as easily could've lost that first game.

This year is just like that; survive and advance will be the key words.

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NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, March 13

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PITTSBURGH (35-24-0-8, 78 pts.) at NY RANGERS (39-22-0-7, 85 pts.) - 3/13/2016, 12:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 14-8 (+7.2 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 14-8-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
11 of 20 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.8 Units)

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TAMPA BAY (39-24-0-5, 83 pts.) at COLUMBUS (28-32-0-8, 64 pts.) - 3/13/2016, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 332-388 ATS (-120.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 40-36 ATS (-1.1 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLUMBUS is 13-6 ATS (+19.6 Units) in March games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 5-3 (+0.3 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 5-3-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.6 Units)

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TORONTO (22-34-0-11, 55 pts.) at DETROIT (34-23-0-11, 79 pts.) - 3/13/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 22-45 ATS (+83.7 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 11-42 ATS (+71.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 8-23 ATS (+38.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
TORONTO is 1-12 ATS (+21.8 Units) when playing on back-to-back days this season.
TORONTO is 1-19 ATS (+26.5 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
TORONTO is 8-31 ATS (+51.2 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 29-67 ATS (+112.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 9-32 ATS (+55.8 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 4-15 ATS (+23.1 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
TORONTO is 3-18 ATS (+29.5 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.
DETROIT is 7-13 ATS (-7.4 Units) in March games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 7-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 7-4 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 7-4-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.0 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, March 13

Hot teams
-- Penguins won five of their last eight games.
-- Columbus is 4-0 in game following its last four losses.

Cold teams
-- Rangers lost three of their last five games.
-- Tampa Bay lost last three games, outscored 8-3.
-- Maple Leafs lost six of their last seven games. Detroit lost three of last four

Series records
-- Rangers won four of last five games with Pittsburgh.
-- Lightning won five of last six games with Columbus.
-- Red Wings won six of last nine games with Toronto.

Totals
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Penguin-Ranger games.
-- Six of last eight Tampa Bay-Columbus games stayed under.
-- Last seven Detroit-Toronto games stayed under the total.

Back-to-backs
-- Rangers won last three games if they played the night before.
-- Detroit lost its last seven games if it played night before. Toronto is 1-12 if it played night before- under is 10-1-1 in last 12 of those.




NHL

Sunday, March 13

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Trend Report
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12:30 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. NY RANGERS
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
NY Rangers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh

3:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. COLUMBUS
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games
Columbus is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Columbus's last 13 games when playing Tampa Bay

7:30 PM
TORONTO vs. DETROIT
Toronto is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games
Toronto is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing Toronto
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, March 13


Pittsburgh @ NY Rangers

Game 1-2
March 13, 2016 @ 12:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
11.769
NY Rangers
13.164
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NY Rangers
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Rangers
-135
5
Dunkel Pick:
NY Rangers
(-135); Over

Tampa Bay @ Columbus

Game 3-4
March 13, 2016 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
13.282
Columbus
9.999
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 3 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-150
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(-150); Under

Toronto @ Detroit

Game 5-6
March 13, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
11.997
Detroit
10.971
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
-215
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(+180); Under

[StarDust Bum]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 4 - 2 + 6.32
YTD; 23 - 25

SUNDAY, MARCH 13

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


PIT at NYR 12:30 PM

NYR -110

O 5.0


TB at CLB 03:00 PM

CLB +134

U 5.5


TOR at DET 07:30 PM

TOR +175

U 5.5

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Preview: Panthers (38-21) at Islanders (37-21)
Date: March 14, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Florida Panthers have a chance to regain sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

They can do it by sweeping the season series from the New York Islanders for the first time in eight years Monday night.

Florida (38-21-9) trails idle Boston by one point for the Atlantic's top spot with two games in hand.

The Panthers are opening a stretch of six of seven on the road, where they are 3-6-2 in their last 11 after winning 11 of the previous 13.

The venue, though, hasn't mattered much when facing the Islanders (37-21-8). Florida is 6-1-1 in its last eight meetings with New York, winning three of four on the road after a 5-1 victory in its first visit to Brooklyn on Dec. 15.

The Panthers are trying to win all three matchups this season, which would be their first season sweep of the Islanders since taking all four in 2007-08.

Aleksander Barkov had one goal and two assists in the most recent meeting, giving him six points in six career games in the series. He has nine and six in his last 16 games, scoring one goal and netting the decisive shootout tally in Saturday's 5-4 victory over Philadelphia.

Barkov is 5 of 6 in the tiebreaker with four game-winners. The Panthers are 7-3 in the shootout, the most wins in the league.

Offense isn't a problem for the Panthers, who have 15 goals over the last three games (2-0-1).

"We've been shooting a lot of pucks and every now and then they're going to find their way in. There's no real secret to it," said Reilly Smith, who had two goals Saturday.

Smith, who is tied with Jaromir Jagr for the team lead with 23 goals, has three with six assists in eight games against the Islanders.

This has also been a favorable matchup for Jussi Jokinen, who has seven points in his last five against New York. The center enters this one with 12 during a career-high 10-game point streak.

The Islanders have been cooled with consecutive losses following a 7-1-0 stretch that helped them tighten their grip on third in the Metropolitan Division. Their lead over fourth-place Pittsburgh has been cut to two points, though they do have two games in hand.

Both of those losses - including Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Boston - have come since No. 1 goaltender Jaroslav Halak went down with a lower-body injury that will sideline him at least six weeks.

Thomas Greiss hasn't played badly in the losses and ranks second in the league with a .928 save percentage, but could be rested Monday in favor of rookie Jean-Francois Berube. Berube has split his two starts and hasn't played since a relief appearance in a 5-1 loss at Detroit on Feb. 6.

"We'll see how it goes," Islanders coach Jack Capuano told the team's official website. "There's no question he's a proven goalie in the American League and he's played some good games with us. I have confidence that when I put him in there he's going to do the job."

John Tavares has a goal in three straight games and a point in his last four. New York's captain doesn't have a point against Florida this season after totaling five in three games in 2014-15.

The Islanders are 7 for 20 on the power play during a 5-0-1 stretch at home.

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Preview: Kings (40-22) at Blackhawks (41-22)
Date: March 14, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Road losses to their two chief competitors has the Chicago Blackhawks in position to begin the playoffs away from home.

It's a scenario the Los Angeles Kings are trying to avoid as well when they visit the United Center on Monday night for an important matchup between the past two Stanley Cup champions.

Chicago (41-22-6) has fallen from first place to third in the closely contested Central Division by losing five of its last eight games, the last two coming to its main rivals. After being edged 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday at St. Louis, the Blackhawks allowed the first four goals en route to Friday's 5-2 defeat to Dallas that dropped them three points behind the Stars and Blues.

Poor special teams play was the culprit in the latest loss. Chicago went 0 for 5 on the power play and surrendered two goals in six short-handed situations to extend its ongoing penalty-killing issues.

"Our special teams had probably as bad a night as you could have," coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks were 1 for 3 on the penalty kill against St. Louis and are a league-worst 61.9 percent since Feb. 9.

"We definitely have to focus on it more. That's what it comes down to," captain Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously, heading into the last number of games and the postseason, it's going to be a huge part of our game going forward."

Chicago hopes a return to the United Center, where it's 24-8-2 this season, can yield a bounce-back. The Blackhawks play four of their next five at home, culminating with a rematch with the Stars on March 22.

Home-ice advantage should help Corey Crawford recover from a dismal showing in Dallas, where he was pulled midway through the second period after permitting four goals on 20 shots. He's 20-8-2 with a 1.74 goals-against average at United Center this season.

Los Angeles (40-22-5) is also locked in a tight race in the Pacific Division, holding a two-point advantage on Anaheim and a three-point edge on San Jose. The Kings were able to gain a little separation on the Ducks with Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to New Jersey, managing a point despite falling behind 1:12 into the contest.

'I think the energy level wasn't where it needed to be, especially at the start,' said center Anze Kopitar, who recorded the tying goal late in the second period. 'We just didn't play the way we need to to win a game, especially at this time of the year.'

The Kings registered 23 shots - their lowest total since Dec. 17 - after scoring nine goals in winning their previous two. They did remain stingy on the defensive end, having yielded just 18 goals over a 7-2-1 stretch.

Los Angeles, losers of four of five on the road, begins a challenging back-to-back stretch that concludes Tuesday in Dallas. The Kings were dealt a fourth consecutive regular-season loss in Chicago with a 4-2 defeat on Nov. 22, in which the Blackhawks scored three unanswered third-period goals to support Crawford's 33 saves.

The Kings, 3-10-1 in their last 14 regular-season visits to Chicago, did hand the Blackhawks a 3-2 overtime defeat in Los Angeles on Nov. 28.

NHL points leader Patrick Kane has six over his past three games against Los Angeles and eight goals in his last 11 regular-season matchups.

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Preview: Blues (41-20) at Flames (28-35)
Date: March 14, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

The St. Louis Blues made a big statement last week by sweeping a stretch that played out much like a mini-tournament between some of the Western Conference's best clubs.

Now they can take over sole possession of the top spot against the lowly Calgary Flames.

As Vladimir Tarasenko looks to continue his surge, visiting St. Louis will try to extend both its longest winning streak in 13 months and its run in this series to seven on Monday night.

After sweeping a difficult four-game stretch in impressive fashion, the Blues (41-20-9) hope to avoid a let down as they face the Pacific Division's three worst teams in the next six days.

St. Louis defeated playoff-hopeful Minnesota 4-2 last Sunday, beat defending champion Chicago 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday, topped Anaheim 5-2 on Friday and outlasted Dallas 5-4 in overtime on Saturday to move into a tie with the Stars for the West's best record.

The Blues, winners in 11 of 14, have totaled 24 goals during a six-game winning streak that is their longest since a seven-game run from Jan. 17-Feb. 5, 2015. Tarasenko, who has team highs of 33 goals and 61 points, has put up three and six over his last three games.

Robby Fabbri has contributed two goals and seven points during the streak, while Jaden Schwartz has five assists and six points and Kevin Shattenkirk has two goals and six points.

"It's a great week, played great, scored a lot of goals and had a lot of threats to score too," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Like I said, this is a week if you'd said we were going to go 4-0, I think everybody wouldn't have been shocked, so we're really happy, happy for the guys."

Hitchcock's squad has a couple of opportune matchups as it looks to move ahead of Dallas. The Blues will visit West co-worst Edmonton on Wednesday and 11th-place Vancouver on Saturday after going after their 12th win in 14 matchups with Calgary (28-35-5).

Alexander Steen has five goals and 12 points over his past nine meetings, but he's sidelined with an upper-body injury. Tarasenko has four goals and 10 points over a seven-game point streak in the series and captain David Backes has two and six in his last five meetings.

"We're getting something out of everyone, I think," Shattenkirk told the team's official website.

The Flames, who are allowing a league-high 3.1 goals per game, have allowed 3.7 while dropping 12 of 15. They certainly haven't fared much better against the Blues, giving up 24 goals during a series skid that dates to a 4-3 shootout home win on Dec. 23, 2013.

Defenseman Dennis Wideman returned in Friday's 4-1 loss to Arizona after an arbitrator reduced his 20-game suspension for physically abusing an official to 10 earlier in the day.

'I'm just excited to get back and get playing and help the Flames win some games here,' he said. 'I know that this was pretty chaotic the last couple weeks and a bit of a distraction.'

Calgary, tied with Winnipeg and Edmonton with a West-worst 61 points, has gotten off to a 1-1-1 start on this six-game homestand. Mikael Backlund has been a bright spot with 10 goals over his past 18, though he's been kept out of the net in 15 meetings with the Blues.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Predators (34-22) at Oilers (27-37)
Date: March 14, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

The Nashville Predators' franchise-record point streak ended when a cold offensive stretch resulted in their first regulation loss in over a month.

They might not have to worry about a losing streak given their goaltender's hot stretch against their next opponent - and their own, for that matter.

Pekka Rinne hopes to get the Predators back on track when they close a road trip Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers, a team he has dominated over the last three seasons while helping Nashville to five consecutive wins in this series.

The Predators (34-22-13) saw their 14-game point streak and 13-game run on the road come to a close with Saturday's 4-2 loss at Vancouver, their first regulation defeat since Feb. 9. They dropped to 2-1-1 on their five-game road trip, which started promisingly before Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss at Calgary.

Nashville scored four times on 63 shots between the two defeats after totaling 23 goals in the previous five games.

Rinne has experienced his own struggles with a .904 save percentage in five starts this month, but his recent string of success against the Oilers (27-37-7) should restore some confidence.

The All-Star netminder has already earned two wins this season over the Western Conference's worst team, making 31 saves in a 2-0 home win on Oct. 10 and 23 in a 4-1 victory in Edmonton on Jan. 23. He improved his save percentage to .972 during Nashville's run of five wins in this series.

Rinne's October shutout was his second straight against the Oilers following a 37-save effort in a 1-0 overtime win on Nov. 27, 2014.

The Predators could use another solid performance in net to continue building the gap between themselves and the two teams battling for the final postseason spot in the West. Seventh-place Nashville leads Minnesota and Colorado by seven points.

"It's a tight playoff race and we need all the points we can get," Roman Josi told the team's official website. "... we have to keep it going and get points along the way here."

Edmonton's Cam Talbot has been in net for both losses against Nashville this season, allowing five goals on 50 shots.

Talbot stopped 25 of 29 shots in Saturday's 4-0 loss to Arizona in the opener of five-game homestand, dropping the Oilers to 1-6-1 in their last eight there.

Coach Todd McLellan fumed following his team's second shutout loss in three games - both at home - noting the Oilers finished with 44 shots but few outnumbered rushes, while giving up several on the other end.

'The smarter team won the game, hands down,' McLellan said. 'It's a formula for failure. It's been going on and has proven here over the years to be a formula for failure. We just proved it again tonight. It's kind of insanity isn't it? When you keep hitting your head against a wall and getting the same result.'

Edmonton is the league's lowest-scoring team since Feb. 18 with an average of 1.77 goals in 13 games, and is operating at 5.7 percent (1 for 29) on the power play in that span.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Devils (33-29) at Ducks (37-21)
Date: March 14, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Kyle Palmieri is enjoying the best season of his career as he gets ready to play against his first NHL team on the road for the first time.

Palmieri will return to face the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night as his New Jersey Devils seek to sweep a three-game West Coast trip.

The winger was drafted in the first round by the Ducks in 2009. His career-best point total with Anaheim came in 2013-14 when he had 31, as he had some trouble establishing himself on a star-studded team that boasts Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Palmieri, who grew up in New Jersey, was traded in the offseason to the Devils (33-29-7) for two draft picks in part because Anaheim had many players set to hit the free-agent market after this season and needed salary cap flexibility.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray has said that he may regret the move and predicted a 20-goal season for Palmieri, who has exceeded that with a career-high 25 along with a career-best 20 assists for a team-leading 45 points.

Palmieri came up empty in his first game against his former team, a 2-1 defeat Dec. 19. Chris Stewart and Ryan Kesler had first-period goals in the Ducks' fourth straight victory in the series.

Anaheim (37-21-9) returns home on an 0-2-1 slide following Friday's 5-2 loss at St. Louis. The Ducks were outscored 4-1 in a dismal final period and have totaled three goals in the past three.

Coach Bruce Boudreau gave his team Saturday off before returning to practice Sunday. Newcomer Brandon Pirri, acquired from Florida on Feb. 29, is still not ready to make his club debut due to an ankle injury.

Shawn Horcoff's 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL's performance-enhancing substances program is over, although Boudreau has not indicated whether the veteran center will see his first action since Jan. 23.

New Jersey has been impressive on its trip, beating San Jose 3-0 on Thursday and Los Angeles 2-1 on Saturday on John Moore's overtime goal.

"We've got to get ready for a pretty hungry New Jersey team," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "They've beaten both California teams so far, which is tough to do, so we have to make sure we're ready for a good test."

The strong play came after New Jersey endured a 2-8-0 stretch, capped by last Sunday's 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Coach John Hynes said he told the Devils to focus on their team commitment after that defeat, and they matched a season high by blocking 29 shots against the Kings.

"We just talked about how we want to play and what our identity is and to continue to build our culture," Hynes said. "Whether we win or lose games, it's part of the process of who we want to become and we want to become a team that has a strong culture and plays a certain way and we want to play with a certain commitment level and we've done it the last two games."

The Devils, the NHL's lowest-scoring team with 2.2 goals per game, know it won't be easy to sweep this trip.

"We like what we've done so far, we know we've got a big, tough opponent in Anaheim," Hynes said.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Jets (28-35) at Canucks (27-28)
Date: March 14, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Mark Scheifele is making the most of an opportunity, and it could pay off for him this summer.

Scheifele looks to extend his career-high point streak to eight games as the Winnipeg Jets face the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

Scheifele moved to Winnipeg's top line Feb. 18 after Bryan Little was lost for the season with a fractured vertebrae, and he's fit right in with wingers Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler.

Scheifele, who turns 23 on Tuesday, has 10 goals and eight assists in 12 games since replacing Little. His 18 points are the most in the NHL over that stretch and match his total from his 32 previous games.

"I've been playing the same hockey," Scheifele said. "Every day I want to become a better hockey player. Obviously, I've taken this challenge with a lot of motivation being with (Little) out. I obviously come to the rink with a lot more motivation knowing I'll be playing tougher players in tougher matchups."

Scheifele, who has a career-high 22 goals, also has the motivation of playing for a new contract since he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

He certainly looks deserving of a sizable deal with seven goals and three assists during a seven-game point streak. He got one of each while the Jets (28-35-5) scored three answered goals in a 3-2 win over Colorado on Saturday.

"We've talked about Mark Scheifele for about three weeks because he's scoring all these points," coach Paul Maurice said. "That was his finest game in the last three weeks regardless of the hat trick (on March 5) or any of the other games."

Scheifele has six points in six career meetings with Vancouver, netting three goals with an assist in the last two. He scored twice and assisted on Stafford's tally in a 4-1 win over the Canucks on Nov. 18.

Stafford finished with two goals and one assist. He has two goals in three games after finding the net Saturday.

The Jets have lost six straight visits to Vancouver dating to a win there as the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 13, 2004.

The Canucks (27-28-12) are aiming for their first three-game winning streak of the season after beating Nashville 4-2 on Saturday, ending the Predators' 14-game point streak.

Sven Baertschi is giving Vancouver some unexpected production with five points in five games, one fewer than his total from the 19 prior.

"He's moved quite a ways from where he was at the start of the year," coach Willie Desjardins said of Baertschi, who is in his first full season in the NHL after spending parts of the last four with Vancouver and Calgary.

Daniel Sedin also had a goal Saturday, and he's tallied once in each of the last two matchups with Winnipeg. That's part of his seven points over the past four meetings, matching Henrik Sedin's output over that stretch.

Henrik had an assist against Nashville after missing two games with an upper-body injury.

Ryan Miller should be back in net after making 35 saves Saturday, ending a three-game losing streak during which he had a 3.47 goals-against average.

He stopped 30 of 33 shots at Winnipeg in November.

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Six prominent basketball coaches who were student managers in college......

-- Lawrence Frank-- Assistant coach with the LA Clippers.

-- Buzz Williams-- Has Virginia Tech on rise in the ACC.

-- Will Wade, VCU-- His Rams play Oregon State in NCAAs.

-- Matt McCall, Chattanooga-- Worked for Billy Donovan for ten years.

-- Bruce Pearl-- Donned the BC Eagle costume for couple games in college.

-- Dan McHale, Eastern Kentucky-- Was a manager in college at Kentucky.

**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Initial thoughts on the field of 68......

13) So Tulsa was the last team in, and whoever between Vandy-Wichita State wears the dark jersey was the second-to-last team in, which means that if SMU/Louisville weren't in trouble with the NCAA, those two teams would both be in the NIT.

12) No 16-seed has ever beaten a 1-seed and it ain't happening this year. Hampton is a 24-point underdog to Virginia; I saw the Pirates play in Las Vegas Dec 22, where they lost to a bad Nicholls State team, 84-81 (Nicholls was 11-23 this year). All the upsets in conference tournaments weakened the bottom of the bracket.

11) West Virginia vs Stephen F Austin-- Lumberjacks are only team in America that forces a higher %age of turnovers than West Virginia, but they do it more in half-court defense, not full-court. SFA is a veteran team, but Mountaineers will make them go a lot faster than they're used to going. West Virginia plays at an intensity level with lot of good players that you're not going to find in the Southland Conference.

10) College hoop has a long season; way back in November, Syracuse beat UConn, Texas A&M in the Bahamas- those two wins got them in thie NCAAs. Orange lost five of their last six games, they went 4-5 while their coach was suspended, but they are in and are facing a Dayton team that struggled the last few weeks.

9) Gonzaga-Seton Hall is a fascinating first round game; Zags only got in because they won the WCC tournament, while Seton Hall buzzed thru the Big East tourney-- this game is in Denver though, more Zags' territory than a Big East team.

8) Vanderbilt-Wichita State is a great play-in game; some of the people on TV came out and said the winner of that game would beat Arizona in the first round.

7) Pointspread that turned my head: Baylor -5.5 over Yale. Ivy League teams are 5-1 vs spread in the first round the last six years. Last time an Ivy team lost by more than nine points in first round of NCAAs was back in 2009.

6) Stony Brook is +13.5 vs Kentucky; since Vermont upset Syracuse in '05, America East teams are 0-10 in non-play-in games, 5-5 vs spread, covering last three years, but only one of those 10 losses was by less than 12 points. Oddly, Kentucky started this season against another America East team, the Albany Great Danes (78-65).

5) Not sure how Oregon State got a 7-seed; Tres Tinkle is hurt, they're +3.5 against VCU the 10-seed. The last six years, #7 seeds who are underdogs in first round are 3-0 against spread, with two SU upsets.

Go back to 1987, and 7-seed underdogs are 16-10-2 vs spread in the first round.

4) When Paul Hewitt coached at Siena, the Saints ran/pressed a lot; they made the NCAAs one year and drew Arkansas in the first round.

In Denver. High altitude, fast-paced teams, the game went over easily.

Now Iona of the MAAC is also heading to Denver, to play a veteran Iowa State team that isn't deep but is very good. Doug Gottlieb was babbling about the total going over about 20 seconds after he saw the brackets. No bueno.

3) USC lost seven of its last ten games, Providence won four of its last five games; how important is momentum heading into the tournament? Friars have two really good players who are surrounded by very young players. Can Andy Enfield recapture his magic with Florida Gulf Coast in 2013, when he beat the Big East's Georgetown?

2) UConn got a bad draw, time-wise; they're playing a Thursday afternoon game in Iowa vs Colorado, after they won the AAC tournament Sunday. Quick turnaround.

1) NC-Wilmington presses, they go up and down, they can get Duke in foul trouble and expose their lack of depth, but the Seahawks also played the #275 pre-conference schedule and lost to Georgetown by 5, their only top 100 non-conference game. Guys on TV totally overlooked this game, analyzed Duke-Baylor in second round instead.

Not so fast, my friend.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, March 14


Florida @ NY Islanders

Game 51-52
March 14, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida
12.406
NY Islanders
9.970
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida
by 2 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Islanders
-140
5
Dunkel Pick:
Florida
(+120); Under

Los Angeles @ Chicago

Game 53-54
March 14, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
12.033
Chicago
11.144
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 1
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(+110); Over

Nashville @ Edmonton

Game 55-56
March 14, 2016 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Nashville
12.566
Edmonton
11.406
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Nashville
by 1
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Nashville
-145
5
Dunkel Pick:
Nashville
(-145); Over

St. Louis @ Calgary

Game 57-58
March 14, 2016 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
12.406
Calgary
10.311
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-165
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(-165); Under

Winnipeg @ Vancouver

Game 59-60
March 14, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Winnipeg
10.503
Vancouver
9.033
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Winnipeg
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Vancouver
-120
5
Dunkel Pick:
Winnipeg
(+100); Over

New Jersey @ Anaheim

Game 61-62
March 14, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New Jersey
12.401
Anaheim
11.167
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
New Jersey
by 1
3 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim
-260
5
Dunkel Pick:
New Jersey
(+240); Under

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, March 14

Hot teams
-- Florida won its last two games, scoring 11 goals; they lost four of last five on road.
-- Kings won seven of their last ten games.
-- St Louis won its last six games, three in OT/SO.
-- Canucks won three of their last four games.
-- New Jersey won three of its last four road games.

Cold teams
-- Islanders lost last two games, 3-1/4-3.
-- Blackhawks lost three of their last four games.
-- Nashville, Edmonton both lost three of their last five games.
-- Calgary lost eight of its last ten games.
-- Winnipeg lost six of its last eight games.
-- Anaheim lost its last three games, outscored 10-3.

Series records
-- Islanders lost their last four games with Florida.
-- Kings lost five of last eight games with Chicago.
-- Predators won their last five games with Edmonton.
-- St Louis won its last six games with Calgary.
-- Home side won seven of last eight Winnipeg-Vancouver games.
-- Devils lost their last four games with Anaheim.

Totals
-- Over is 8-0-1 in last nine Panther-Islander games.
-- Over is 7-0-3 in last ten LA-Chicago games.
-- Five of last six Nashville games went over the total.
-- Over is 5-0-1 in last six St Louis games.
-- Over is 3-0-1 in last four Vancouver games.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight New Jersey-Anaheim games.

Back-to-backs
-- None

[StarDust Bum]

NHL

Monday, March 14

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

7:00 PM
FLORIDA vs. NY ISLANDERS
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Florida's last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
Florida is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 5 games when playing at home against Florida
NY Islanders are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games at home

8:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. CHICAGO
Los Angeles is 8-15 SU in its last 23 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games on the road
Chicago is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chicago's last 11 games when playing Los Angeles

9:00 PM
NASHVILLE vs. EDMONTON
Nashville is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games on the road
Nashville is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Edmonton's last 12 games

9:00 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. CALGARY
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of St. Louis's last 14 games when playing on the road against Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Calgary's last 14 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Calgary is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against St. Louis

10:00 PM
NEW JERSEY vs. ANAHEIM
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of New Jersey's last 22 games on the road
Anaheim6-2-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games when playing at home against New Jersey

10:00 PM
WINNIPEG vs. VANCOUVER
Winnipeg is 5-12-1 SU in its last 18 games ,when playing Vancouver
Winnipeg is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Vancouver's last 13 games
Vancouver is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games at home