The Bum's NHL Best Bets-Trends-News Etc. !

[StarDust Bum]

Nhl playoffs record: ( as in baseball dogs and totals only)
All picks for the day:

05/22/2017....................... 1-0-0................ 100.00%.................... +5.00
05/21/2017....................... 0-2-0................... 0.00%.................... -10.50
05/20/2017....................... 1-1-0.................. 50.00%........................ +0
05/19/2017....................... 0-0-1................... 0.00%......................... +0
05/18/2017....................... 0-0-1.................... 0.00%........................ +0
05/17/2017....................... 2-0-0................. 100.00%.................. +10.75
05/16/2017....................... 1-1-0................... 50.00%.................... +0.00
05/12/2017....................... 1-0-1.................. 100.00%.................... +5.00
05/10/2017....................... 1-3-0.................... 25.00%..................... -7.75
05/09/2017....................... 2-0-0....................100.00%.................. +12.50
05/08/2017....................... 0-1-0...................... 0.00%..................... -5.50
05/07/2017....................... 1-3-0..................... 25.00%................... -10.50
05/06/2017....................... 1-2-0..................... 33.33%.................... -5.50
05/05/2017....................... 2-1-0..................... 66.67%................... +5.00
05/04/2017....................... 0-1-1...................... 0.00%..................... -5.00
05/03/2017....................... 1-2-0......................33.33%.................... -5.00
05/02/2017....................... 0-2-1....................... 0.00%.................. -10.50
05/01/2017....................... 2-0-0..................... 100.00%................ +10.00

Totals:..............................16 - 19 - 3..................45.71%................- 12.00

Best Bets............ Sides...............................Totals.

05/22/2017...........0 - 0.............0.00%...........0.00.......1 - 0........100.00%......+1.00
05/21/2017...........0 - 1.............0.00%...........-1.10......0 - 1..............00%......-1.10
05/20/2017...........1 - 0 .........100.00%..........+ 1.10.....0 - 1..............00%......-1.10
05/19/2017...........0-0-1............0.00%...........+0.00......0 - 0..............00%.....+0.00
05/18/2017...........0-0-1............0.00%...........+0.00......0 - 0..............00%.....+0.00
05/17/2017...........1 - 0.........100.00%...........+1.00.......1 - 0.........100.00%....+1.00
05/16/2017...........0 - 1..........00.00%............-1.00........1-0-0........100.00%....+1.00
05/12/2017...........1 - 0............100%............+1.00.......0-0-1.........00.00.........0.00
05/10/2017...........1 - 1..........50.00%...........+0.50........0 - 2..........00.00%.....-2.20
05/09/2017...........1 - 0 .......100.00%...........+1.50........1 - 0.........100.00%.....+1.00
05/08/2017...........N O P L A Y......................................0 - 1..........00.00%......- 1.10
05/07/2017...........0 - 1...........0.00%............-1.00.........1 - 1.........50.00%......-0.10
05/06/2017...........0 - 1...........0.00%............-1.00.........1 - 1..........50.00%......-0.10
05/05/2017...........0 - 1...........0.00%............-1.00.........2 - 0.........100%.........+2.00
05/04/2017...........0 - 1...........0.00%............-1.00.........0 - 1.........0.00%........- 1.10
05/03/2017...........1 - 0...........100%............+1.20........0 - 2.........0.00%........- 2.20
05/02/2017...........0 - 1---------0.00%...........- 1.00.........0 - 1 - 1....0.00%.........-1.10
05/01/2017...........1 - 0 ..........100%...........+ 1.00........1 - 0 ........100%.........+1.00

Totals...............7 - 8 - 1..........46.66%%........- 0.70........9 - 12 -1...........42.85%.......-1.80


TUESDAY, MAY 23

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PIT at OTT 08:00 PM

OTT +125

O 5.0

[StarDust Bum]

Game 7 - Senators at Penguins
May 24, 2017

For the second straight season, the Penguins will be playing a Game 7 at home in the Eastern Conference Finals. Last season, Pittsburgh edged Tampa Bay, 2-1 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final before knocking out San Jose in six games to capture the franchise's fourth championship. The Senators were a substantial underdog heading into this series as Ottawa looks for its second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.

Pittsburgh couldn't close the door on Ottawa in Tuesday's Game 6 by losing to the Senators, 2-1. The Penguins have won two of three home games in this series, including a 7-0 rout of the Senators in Game 5 at PPG Paints Arena.

The Senators have never won a Game 7 in franchise history by posting an 0-5 mark with the most recent defeat coming to the Rangers in the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Ottawa has dropped three consecutive playoff series to Pittsburgh since 2008 with the only postseason series victory coming against the Penguins in 2007, when the Senators reached the Stanley Cup Final.

The Penguins opened as -200 favorites in Game 7, while the Senators sit at +170 at most sports books. The total is listed at 5, but shaded to the 'over' at -135.

Road teams have gone 38-42 in this year’s NHL playoffs, while owning a 5-7 mark in the conference finals.

There have been 168 all-time Game 7’s in the NHL Playoffs and the home squad owns a 98-70 (58.3%) record.

Recent Game 7 History

Pittsburgh
2017 Conference Semifinals - Beat Capitals on road 2-0
2016 Conference Finals - Beat Lightning at home 2-1

Ottawa
2012 Conference Quarterfinals - Lost to Rangers on road 2-1
2004 Conference Quarterfinals - Lost to Maple Leafs on road 4-1

The winning team in eight of the last 12 Game 7's scored just two goals, as eight of those games finished under the total.

NHL Game 7 Playoff History (2012-2017)

2017
Pittsburgh Penguins 2 at Washington Capitals 0
Edmonton Oilers 1 at Anaheim Ducks 2

2016
Tampa Bay Lightning 1 at Pittsburgh Penguins 2
Nashville Predators 0 at San Jose Sharks 5
St. Louis Blues 6 at Dallas Stars 1
Nashville Predators 2 at Anaheim Ducks 1
Chicago Blackhawks 2 at St. Louis Blues 3

2015
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at New York Rangers 0
Chicago Blackhawks 5 at Anaheim Ducks 3
New York Rangers 2 at Washington Capitals 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at Detroit Red Wings 0
Washington Capitals 2 at New York Islanders 1

2014
Los Angeles Kings 5 at Chicago Blackhawks 4 (OT)
Los Angeles Kings 6 at Anaheim Ducks 2
Montreal Canadiens 3 at Boston Bruins 1
New York Rangers 2 at Pittsburgh Penguins 1
Philadelphia Flyers 3 at New York Rangers 4
Minnesota Wild 5 at Colorado Avalanche 4
Los Angeles Kings 5 at San Jose Sharks 1

2013
New York Rangers 5 at Washington Capitals 0
Toronto Maple Leafs 4 at Boston Bruins 5 (OT)
Detroit Red Wings 3 at Anaheim Ducks 2
Detroit Red Wings 1 at Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
San Jose Sharks 1 at Los Angeles Kings 2

2012
Ottawa Senators 1 at New York Rangers 2
Washington Capitals 2 at Boston Bruins 1 (OT)
New Jersey Devils 3 at Florida Panthers 2 (2OT)
Washington Capitals 1 at New York Rangers 2

[StarDust Bum]

East Game 7 offers chance at history
May 24, 2017

PITTSBURGH (AP) Craig Anderson is a realist, the byproduct of 15 years playing the most demanding position in the NHL.

The Ottawa goaltender would like to chalk his 45-save masterpiece in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh up to his own brilliance. He knows that's not exactly the case.

''I think you need to be a little bit lucky to be good at times,'' Anderson said.

Ottawa has relied on a bit of both during its deepest playoff run in a decade and Anderson helped force Game 7 Thursday night. Yet here the Senators are, alive and still skating with a chance to eliminate the deeper, more experienced and more explosive Stanley Cup champions.

So much for the series being over after the Penguins destroyed Ottawa 7-0 in Game 5.

''I think, if you believe you're beaten, you're done already,'' Anderson said. ''If you believe that you can win, there's always a chance.''

All the Senators have to do to reach the Stanley Cup Final for just the second time in franchise history is take down one of the league's marquee franchises on the road in a building where they were beaten by a touchdown last time out.

No pressure or anything. Really. The Senators weren't supposed to be here. Then again, in a way neither were the Penguins. No team has repeated in nearly two decades and at times during the season and even during the playoffs this group was too beat up. Too tired from last spring's Cup run. The bullseye on their backs too big.

Yet they've survived behind the brilliance of stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, coach Mike Sullivan's impeccable decisions and a resiliency that has them one game from being the first Cup champion to return to the finals since Detroit in 2009.

Those Red Wings, by the way, fell to the Penguins in seven games. There have been several Game 7s for Pittsburgh in the interim on both sides of the ledger, though the Penguins are 2-0 in Game 7s under Sullivan. They edged Tampa Bay in Game 7 of last year's East finals and clinically disposed of Presidents' Trophy winner Washington in Game 7 of the second round earlier this month.

''It's not something that's new to them,'' Sullivan said. ''These guys have been involved in these experiences on a number of occasions, and they have those experiences to draw on. You know, I think they know what to expect, and now it's a matter of going out and earning it and controlling what they can and doing your very best to get the result that we're looking.''

The Senators are 0-5 in Game 7s, the last setback coming in the first round to the New York Rangers in 2012. That was five years ago, a lifetime in the NHL. Ottawa rebuilt itself on the fly this season in coach Guy Boucher's first year. Boucher favors discipline over daring, and while the stat sheet looked awfully one-sided in Game 6, the scoreboard did not.

The Senators understand they're the underdog and that the idea of a Cup final between first-timer Nashville and a Canadian club from one of the smallest markets in the league won't exactly draw eyeballs to the screen. They don't care. They'll try to play the way they always play on Thursday night. To be successful, they don't really have a choice.

''We tried to win another way, and we got our butts kicked,'' Boucher said.

While both Boucher and Sullivan are doing their best to try and keep their teams focused on the process and not the outcome, in some ways it's a fool's errand. It's the only game all year that will end with the Prince of Wales Trophy presented - but not handed - to the winners. They know. The players do, too.

''I think it's fun to kind of get lost in those moments and to just do what you can do,'' Penguins goaltender Matt Murray said.

Just don't confuse adrenaline with nerves.

''These are the games, when you're a kid growing up, that you're playing in the backyard, the Game 7s and that,'' said 40-year-old Pittsburgh forward Matt Cullen, who could play in his final NHL game on Thursday. ''So for us as players, this is what it's all about.''

Game 7 offers the Penguins and their stars the opportunity to cement their legacy while the Senators can complete an improbable run to their sport's biggest stage.

''We're against a really good hockey team, the Stanley Cup champion, and we have a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup finals,'' Senators forward Derick Brassard said. ''We can't ask for anything better than this, but we just have to have fun with that.''

[StarDust Bum]

NHL playoffs
Thursday’s game

Game 7 in series where home team is 4-2; Senators lost five of last six games in Steel City, getting blanked 1-0/7-0 in last two games in this arena. Under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games, since an 8-5 Penguin win here back in December. Ottawa lost four of last six road games; they have a whole country rooting for them- no Canadian franchise has won Stanley Cup since 1993. Pittsburgh has last line change, also the pressure of playing at home- they’re 3-2 in last five home games overall. Penguins are 5-22 on power play in their last seven games; Ottawa is 1-32 on power play in their last 11 games.

Conference finals

Ottawa-Pittsburgh
Ottawa 2-1 OT
Pitt 1-0
Ottawa 5-1
Pitt 3-2
Pitt 7-0
Ottawa 2-1

Nashville-Anaheim
Nashville 3-2 OT
Anaheim 5-3
Nashville 2-1
Anaheim 3-2 OT
Nashville 3-1
Nashville 6-3
Predators win series, 4-2

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Odds to win the PGA Tour event at Colonial this weekend:

12-1— Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth

14-1— Sergio Garcia

20-1— Jason Dufner

25-1— Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey

30-1— Bud Cauley, Kevin Kisner

35-1— Adam Hadwin, Tony Finau, Zach Johnson

**********

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

13) Dodgers beat St Louis 2-1 in 13 innings late Tuesday night, but Cardinals tied the game in the 9th inning in an odd way. Clayton Kershaw was going for a complete game shutout but threw a wild pitch with a man on second and Randall Grichuk scored all the way from second with the tying run. Don’t see that more than a couple of times a year.

12) That game Tuesday started the Cardinals out on a 47-game in 48-day stretch that takes them up to the All-Star break. Has to be a makeup game in there somewhere, since teams generally aren’t allowed to play more than 20 consecutive days.

11) They had a 3:12 rain delay in Atlanta Tuesday nite; with non-division opponents only visiting a city once a year, teams don’t want to have to play doubleheaders, so they wait the rain out and finish the game when they can, which in this case was close to 2am.

10) If you’re trying to develop young pitchers, like the Milwaukee Brewers are, is it smart to have your AAA farm team in the high altitude of Colorado Springs?

Arizona, Colorado, Milwaukee, San Diego and the Mets all have their AAA teams in high altitude cities.

9) North Carolina’s 6-10 Tony Bradley scored 7.1 pts/game in 14.6 minutes per game, but he is bolting to the NBA, UNC’s first one/done player since 2007 (Brandan Wright).

8) Most overused word in English language these days: “process”. If ballplayers don’t know what to say during an interview, they “trust the process”- its become a cliche.

7) Former Duke guard Frank Jackson had a stress reaction in his foot last winter at Duke but reportedly played pain-free through the season, but decided to have surgery on the foot now to begin the rehabilitation process- he is expected to be back by late July, but summer league is in early July.

Unless the kid got a promise from an NBA team that they will draft him, what on earth was he thinking, signing with an agent? That prevented him from going back to school, having the operation on Duke’s dime, rehabbing all summer and then playing for the Blue Devils next winter.

6) Purdue’s chances of making the Final Four next spring went down the drain when big man Caleb Swanigan stayed in the NBA Draft. Matt Painter is suspect as a game coach, so they probably wouldn’t have made it anyway, but having Swanigan gave them an advantage.

5) All-time, there have been 18,988 major league baseball players; Houston’s new backup catcher Juan Centeno became the 875th all-time Astro this week.

4) Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon has 44 RBI, most in the major leagues and he bats leadoff— part of that is because Colorado has sacrificed 22 times (most in MLB) this year, giving him lot of guys in scoring position when he bats.

Blackmon has come to bat with a guy on 3rd base 15 times this year (T2 in MLB), also 15 times with a man on second base (most in MLB). Makes it easier to get a lot of RBI that way.

3) Phillies were 12-12 on May 1st; they are 3-17 since then, with all three wins in games started by Jeremy Hellickson- they’ve lost their last 15 games not started by Hellickson.

2) If/when David Ortiz gets in the Hall of Fame and I think he will, then Edgar Martinez has to get in, too, since that would eliminate the anti-DH bias. Playing in Seattle shouldn’t work against him; Ortiz played in the eastern media spotlight, Martinez didn’t.

Martinez had a career on-base percentage of .418, he hit .312 with 309 homers. A great hitter.

1) Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz spent 10 days in LA this spring with QB gurus Adam Dedeaux and Tom House (of baseball fame), to improve his throwing mechanics, I guess. Doug Pederson is the Eagles’ coach, a former NFL QB and apparently he wasn’t all that happy Wentz did that.

[StarDust Bum]

Thursday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview: Senators at Penguins

Continuing their improbable postseason journey will require the Senators to dethrone Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena -- a venue where they suffered a humbling 7-0 beatdown in Game 5.

Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins (-200, 5)

Series tied 3-3

The Ottawa Senators bounced back from a lopsided drubbing with a gritty home victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champions to force a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final. Ottawa looks to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2007 and deny Pittsburgh a return trip when they visit the Penguins on Thursday night.

Continuing their improbable postseason journey will require the Senators to dethrone Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena -- a venue where they suffered a humbling 7-0 beatdown in Game 5. “We wanted to force Game 7 and that’s what we did," Ottawa forward Zack Smith said while acknowledging the Senators are well aware they are considered an overwhelming underdog. “That’s fine with us. I feel it’s been that way for most of the year and playoffs. That’s fine, we’ll play that role.” The Penguins are bidding to become the first team to make back-to-back appearances in the Cup Final since they turned the trick in 2008-09, but have a checkered history in winner-takes-all matchups with an all-time record of 3-7 record in Game 7s at home. “We’ve been in this situation before,” Pittsburgh defenseman Trevor Daley said. “We’re a confident team in here. We have a lot of veteran guys. We’ve been here before. We know what we need to do to get the job done in Game 7.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS

LINE HISTORY: The Penguins opened as massive -225 moneyline favorites but by Wednesday evening that line was down to -200. The total opened at 5 and is not expected to move.

GOALIE MATCHUP: Craig Anderson (OTT) vs. Matt Murray (PIT)

Anderson - GP: 18, W/L: 11-6, 2.36 GAA, .922 SAVE %, 1 SO
Murray - GP: 4, W/L: 2-1, 1.33 GAA, .950 SAVE %, 1 SO

INJURY REPORT:

Senators - D M. Borowiecki (Questionable, leg), LW A. Burrows (Doubtful, leg).

Penguins - RW P. Hornqvist (Questionable, upper body), D J. Schultz (Questionable, upper body), RW T. Kuhnhackl (Questionable, lower body), D C. Ruhwedel (Questionable, concussion), D K. Letang (Out for season, neck).

ABOUT THE SENATORS (55-34-7-4, 39-53 O/U): Craig Anderson was away from the team for half the season to be with his wife during her cancer treatments, so the fact the he bounced back with a superlative 45-save effort in Game 6 after being yanked in the 7-0 debacle was no surprise to Ottawa. "It starts with the goalie," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "It's like a quarterback in football and a pitcher in baseball, and we have it. We got that guy." Veteran Bobby Ryan, taken No. 2 overall in the 2005 NHL draft behind Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, scored 13 times in 62 regular-season games but has six goals in 18 playoff contests after his tying tally in Game 6. Ryan's goal also ended Ottawa's 0-for-29 power-play drought.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (61-26-8-5, 55-39 O/U): Pittsburgh has the luxury of sending out a pair of Conn Smythe Trophy winners in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who guided the team to Cup titles in 2016 and 2009, respectively. Crosby scored in three straight games prior to Tuesday's 2-1 setback and is tied for second in the postseason in scoring with 19 points. "I just think he in particular has played in arguably the most high-stakes environments in all different venues, whether it be the NHL, the Olympics, the World Cup," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He has such a wealth of experience to draw on and he's a fierce competitor." So is Malkin, who scored Pittsburgh's lone goal in Game 6 to boost his playoff-leading total to 24 points.

TRENDS:

* Senators are 1-4 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Penguins are 24-8 in their last 32 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Under is 6-2-1 in Senators last 9 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 8-3-1 in Penguins last 12 home games.
* Senators are 3-14 in the last 17 meetings in Pittsburgh.

CONSENSUS: 67 percent of users are siding with the home favorite Penguins and 60 percent of the totals wagers are on the Over.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, May 25


Ottawa @ Pittsburgh

Game 61-62
May 25, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Ottawa
10.507
Pittsburgh
13.181
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh
by 2 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-200
5
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh
(-200); Over




NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 25

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

OTTAWA (55-35-0-10, 120 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (61-26-0-13, 135 pts.) - 5/25/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 125-81 ATS (+225.1 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 30-12 ATS (+12.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 82-49 ATS (-5.4 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 55-45 ATS (+104.5 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 35-29 ATS (+67.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
OTTAWA is 31-20 ATS (+56.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OTTAWA is 19-13 ATS (+35.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 9-6 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 9-6-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.7 Units, Under=-0.9 Units)

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




NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 25

Game 7 in series where home team is 4-2; Senators lost five of last six games in Steel City, getting blanked 1-0/7-0 in last two games in this arena. Under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games, since an 8-5 Penguin win here back in December. Ottawa lost four of last six road games; they have a whole country rooting for them- no Canadian franchise has won Stanley Cup since 1993. Pittsburgh has last line change, also the pressure of playing at home- they’re 3-2 in last five home games overall. Penguins are 5-22 on power play in their last seven games; Ottawa is 1-32 on power play in their last 11 games.

Conference finals
Ottawa-Pittsburgh
Ottawa 2-1 OT
Pitt 1-0
Ottawa 5-1
Pitt 3-2
Pitt 7-0
Ottawa 2-1

Nashville-Anaheim
Nashville 3-2 OT
Anaheim 5-3
Nashville 2-1
Anaheim 3-2 OT
Nashville 3-1
Nashville 6-3
Predators win series, 4-2




NHL

Thursday, May 25

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

8:00 PM
OTTAWA vs. PITTSBURGH
Ottawa is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Ottawa is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 11 games at home

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, MAY 25

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

OTT at PIT 08:00 PM

OTT +170

O 5.0

[StarDust Bum]

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime to set up Stanley Cup Final against Nashville Predators

May 25, 2017

PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh Penguins beat Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime to set up Stanley Cup Final against Nashville Predators.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL notebook: Ducks' Lindholm, Vatanen need surgery
May 25, 2017

In their season wrap-up availability after being eliminated by the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final, the Anaheim Ducks announced that defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen will require torn labrum surgery.

"We're almost positive Hampus is having shoulder surgery," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "Sami needs surgery. He's deciding where to do it. Some can rehab these things, but we're not suggesting they do that.

"Those two guys have bad shoulders and they played through them. You've got to give them (credit)."

Lindholm is expected to miss four-to-five months, making his return around the end of September. Vatanen's injury is apparently more serious, and his recovery is expected to take longer.

--The St. Louis Blues named Steve Ott an assistant coach.

The 34-year-old played 848 NHL games from 2002 through this season, scoring 109 goals and 179 assists along with 1,555 penalty minutes using an abrasive style.

A day earlier, the Blues tabbed another NHL veteran, Darryl Sydor, as an assistant coach. Those moves come after the Blues announced that assistant coaches Ray Bennett, Rick Wilson and Steve Thomas had been let go, along with goalie development coach Ty Conklin.

--The Columbus Blue Jackets signed goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to a three-year entry-level contract, the team announced.

Kivlenieks, 20, went 36-7-4-2 with a 1.85 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and five shutouts in 49 games to help the Sioux City Musketeers capture the 2016-17 Anderson Cup as the league's regular season champions.

He was named the United States Hockey League's Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year.