Announcement

**Udog** · 04-22-2017, 07:31 AM

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

— Thunder 115, Rockets 113— Four of five Thunder starters scored in double figures.

— Clippers 111, Jazz 106— Chris Paul had 34 points, 10 assists. LA leads series, 2-1.

— Bruins 3, Ottawa 2, 2OT— Boston staves off elimination with a goal 30:19 into overtime.

— Capitals 2, Maple Leafs 1, OT— Four of five series games have gone to OT.

— Arizona 13, Dodgers 5— Diamondbacks scored nine runs in bottom of the 8th.

— Blue Jays 8, Angels 7 (13)— Game ended at 3:46am here in New York.

**********

Armadillo: Saturday's List of 13: Random thoughts with weekend here……..

13) Madison Bumgarner is on the DL with rib/shoulder injuries he got in a dirt-bike accident on an off-day in Denver. Rough news for the Giants.

12) Giants were already 0-4 in Bumgarner’s starts (0-3, 3.00) this season- they scored a total of five runs in the four games.

11) Eric Thames hit 21 homers in 684 plate appearances for Toronto/Seattle in 2011-12, then his career tailed off- he wound up playing three years in Korea. Now he is back in the majors with the Brewers, and he is batting .415 with 8 homers in 62 PA’s, making him an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Century.

10) Cincinnati Reds have to be thrilled with rookie pitcher Amir Garrett, who at one time was a basketball player at St John’s. In his first three big league starts, Garrett is 2-1, 1.83, with 21 strikeouts and only 14 hits allowed in 19.2 IP.

9) Thursday nite, the Pacers led Cleveland 74-49 at halftime; a daring gambler at Ellis Island Casino in Las Vegas wagered $55 at 25-1 odds on the Cavaliers to win this game. He cashed in for $1,375. Not a bad hour’s work.

8) Russell Westbrook was 4-18 in the 4th quarter of Game 2 in Houston; he was 13-25 in first three quarters. Thunder are hard to watch- they have no real second scoring option.

7) Bulls PG Rajon Rondo has a broken thumb, is out indefinitely for the Bulls, who lead Boston 2-0 in their first round series.

6) When you see a baseball game where there are no walks and 26 strikeouts, you assume that:

Randy Johnson and Dwight Golden were pitching
There was a pitchers’ umpire behind the plate.Since the starting pitchers were Patrick Corbin/Clayton Richard, we can safely assume that umpire Gerry Davis is a pitchers’ umpire.

5) NBA referee Danny Crawford has worked 293 playoff games in his career, 33 Finals games.

4) NFL centralized instant replay this season, under assumption that Dean Blandino would lead the effort in New York City to make the replay process more streamlined.

Then Blandino bolted the NFL for a TV job with a yet-to be-named network, leaving the NFL without a logical replacement for him. Mike Pereira would be ideal, but he already has a good job.

3) I wanted to watch a TV show on the IFC channel this week, then I realized I had never seen a show on this channel and had no idea what channel it was on DirecTV (it is 333). You learn something new every day.

2a) Mike D’Antoni was 279-161 as coach of the Phoenix Suns; since he left, the Suns are 332-390 in regular season games.

2b) Oakland A’s were 256-176 while they had Yoenis Cespedes on their roster; since they traded him on July 31, 2014, they are 165-229.

Sometimes you’re better off keeping things the way they are. Not all change is positive.

1— Hope it doesn’t rain in LA in early September; Rams play Colts/Redskins at home on Sept 10th/17th, day after USC plays Stanford/Texas on the 9th/16th. Field will take a beating.

If it were to rain during that time, you’ll get a quagmire like the 1977 playoff game in the Coliseum when the Rams lost 14-7 to a very inferior Minnesota team. It was so muddy it was hard to tell which players were on which team.

Why did I remind myself of that?

**Udog** · 04-22-2017, 07:42 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 22

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

MONTREAL (49-28-0-10, 108 pts.) at NY RANGERS (51-29-0-7, 109 pts.) - 4/22/2017, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 51-36 ATS (+7.1 Units) in all games this season.
NY RANGERS are 11-4 ATS (+6.3 Units) on Saturday games this season.
MONTREAL is 17-9 ATS (+6.9 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
MONTREAL is 16-6 ATS (+8.3 Units) on Saturday games this season.
NY RANGERS are 9-14 ATS (-11.1 Units) in home games second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 191-226 ATS (-136.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 8-15 ATS (-12.2 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 9-5 (+3.5 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 9-5-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.7 Units)

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

ST LOUIS (49-30-0-7, 105 pts.) at MINNESOTA (50-27-0-9, 109 pts.) - 4/22/2017, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 50-21 ATS (+21.1 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive unders since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 108-80 ATS (+0.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 42-30 ATS (+11.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 8-2 ATS (+10.3 Units) in road games in April games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 30-19 ATS (+7.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 21-9 ATS (+11.0 Units) in road games on Saturday games over the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 12-4 ATS (+7.4 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 56-42 ATS (+9.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 12-8 ATS (+21.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
MINNESOTA is 90-84 ATS (-0.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 47-55 ATS (-18.9 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 6-12 ATS (-8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 13-11 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 13-11-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.1 Units)

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

EDMONTON (50-27-0-10, 110 pts.) at SAN JOSE (48-31-0-8, 104 pts.) - 4/22/2017, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 13-2 ATS (+9.7 Units) on Saturday games this season.
EDMONTON is 11-3 ATS (+7.9 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
SAN JOSE is 45-44 ATS (-16.5 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 25-25 ATS (-8.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 23-24 ATS (-18.1 Units) in home games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 167-144 ATS (-81.2 Units) in home games after a division game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 10-9 (+3.8 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 10-9-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
9 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.5 Units)

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

NHL
Short Sheet

Saturday, April 22

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – Best of 7 – Game 6 – NYR Leads 3-2

Montreal at NY Rangers, 8:05 PM ET
Montreal: 16-6 SU on Saturday games
New York: 9-14 SU in home games

Western Conference Quarterfinals – Best of 7 – Game 5 – STL Leads 3-1

St Louis at Minnesota, 3:05 PM ET
St Louis: 14-10 SU as a road underdog
Minnesota: 10-16 SU in home games after having lost 3 of their last 4

Western Conference Quarterfinals – Best of 7 – Game 6 – EDM Leads 3-2

Edmonton at San Jose, 10:35 PM ET
Edmonton: 11-3 SU in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game
San Jose: 3-10 SU off a close road loss by 1 goal

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, April 22

Road team in 3-2 in this Ranger-Montreal series, 7-3 in last ten meetings overall; New York can wrap up series with home win here, but Canadiens won four of last five visits to Manhattan (under 3-0-1 in last four). Montreal scored 3-4 goals in its two series wins, 2-1-0 in three losses- they’re 3-14 on power play in series, Rangers are 0-13. Under is 9-3-1 in last 13 Montreal games, 3-1-1 in this series. New York won three of last four home games; under is 6-1-1 in heir last eight games overall.

Blues own 3-1 series lead, are 8-3 in last 11 games overall vs Minnesota, can wrap series up here on road; all four series games stayed under (12 goals scored total in whole series). St Louis is 4-2 in last six visits here, winning last three by identical 2-1 scores. Wild is 1-12 on power play in series, Blues are 1-11. Minnesota hasn’t scored a third period goal since Game 1. Under is 6-3-1 in last ten series games. Blues won nine of last 12 games overall, winning last four on road. Minnesota has scored only five goals in series so far- their last five games stayed under the total.

Edmonton won 15 of its last 19 games, can wrap up series with road win here; over is 5-2-2 in their last nine games. Oilers outshot San Jose 48-30 in Game 5 but needed OT for win, scoring at 18:15 of extra time. Edmonton is 2-15 on power play in series, Sharks 5-21 (5-14 in two wins, 0-7 in three losses). San Jose split its last eight home games, losing three of last four at home to the Oilers. Under is 3-1-1 in Sharks’ last five wins, 2-3 in their last five losses.

First round series:
East
Washington-Toronto
Wash 3-2 OT
Tor 4-3 2OT
Tor 4-3 OT
Wash 5-4
Wash 2-1 OT
Pittsburgh-Columbus
Pitt 3-1
Pitt 4-1
Pitt 5-4 OT
CBJ 5-4
Pitt 5-2
Penguins win series, 4-1
Montreal-NY Rangers
NYR 2-0
Mtl 4-3 OT
Mtl 3-1
NYR 2-1
NYR 3-2 OT
Ottawa-Boston
Bos 2-1
Ott 4-3 OT
Ott 4-3 OT
Ott 1-0
Bos 3-2 OT

West
Chicago-Nashville
Nash 1-0
Nash 5-0
Nash 3-2 OT
Nash 4-1
Predators win series, 4-0
Minnesota-St Louis
StL 2-1 ot
StL 2-1
StL 3-1
Minn 2-0
Anaheim-Calgary
Ana, 3-2
Ana 3-2
Ana 5-4 OT
Ana 3-1
Ducks win series, 4-0
Edmonton-San Jose
SJ 3-2 ot
Edmonton 2-0
Edmonton 1-0
SJ 7-0
Edmonton 4-3 OT

Home teams: 19-18
Over: 12-18-7

NHL

Saturday, April 22

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

3:00 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. MINNESOTA
St. Louis is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of St. Louis's last 14 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis

8:00 PM
MONTREAL vs. NY RANGERS
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Montreal's last 10 games
NY Rangers are 4-8 SU in their last 12 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 6 games when playing at home against Montreal

10:30 PM
EDMONTON vs. SAN JOSE
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Edmonton's last 12 games when playing on the road against San Jose
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 8 of San Jose's last 12 games when playing at home against Edmonton
San Jose is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Edmonton

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

**Udog** · 04-22-2017, 07:46 AM

NHL

Saturday, April 22

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (-185, 5)

Blues lead series 3-1

ABOUT THE BLUES (49-30-5-2 SU, 37-49 ATS, 34-39 O/U): St. Louis needs leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko to get things going after he managed two assists and no goals despite topping the team with 16 shots on net in the first four games. “There’s no question, we need our best players to play their best,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo told reporters. “That’s not just in the playoffs, that’s anytime, it’s certainly magnified right now.” Tarasenko’s linemate Jaden Schwartz does have a pair of goals and an assist to share the team lead with Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen at three points each.

ABOUT THE WILD (50-27-7-2 SU, 46-40 ATS, 42-35 O/U): Power forward Charlie Coyle stepped up with goals in each of the last two games and center Martin Hanzal netted his first of the postseason in Wednesday’s victory. Zach Parise leads the team with three points while fellow wing Jason Zucker, who scored a career-best 22 times in the regular season, has yet to post a point despite pacing the Wild with 18 shots. Forward Erik Haula (upper-body) is expected to rejoin the lineup, perhaps in place of rookie Joel Eriksson Ek (five shots, zero points, three games), after missing Game 4.

LINE HISTORY: The Wild opened Game 5 as -167 home favorites and bettors think they'll extend the series another game, moving the number to as high as -185. It has since come back down to the current number of Wild -180. The total hit the board at the low 4.5, but it was quickly moved up to 5.

INJURY REPORT:

Blues - C Paul Stastny (Questionable Saturday, foot), C Robby Fabbri (Out for season, knee).

Wild - C Erik Haula (Questionable Saturday, undisclosed), G Darcy Kuemper (Questionable Saturday, illness), D Victor Bartley (Questionable, Saturday, tricep).

TRENDS:

* Blues are 4-1 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Wild are 1-4 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 16-3-3 in Blues last 22 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-0 in Wild last 5 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.

Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (-105, 5)

Rangers lead 3-2

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (49–28-8-2 SU, 44-43 ATS, 30-41 O/U): Captain Max Pacioretty scored a team-high 35 goals during the season but has been blanked in the series, including a stop of a third-period breakaway in Game 5. "In order to get through this, we'll need more from a lot of guys," coach Claude Julien said. "It's time for certain players to elevate their game and have that confidence and desire to be better. There's no doubt when you lose games and you're behind 3-2 you can't be satisfied as a team." Montreal's power play also is stuck in neutral, failing on all 14 chances.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (51-29-3-4 SU, 41-46 ATS, 41-39 O/U): After a lackluster effort in Game 3 in which New York managed a series-low 21, coach Alain Vigneault traded sandpaper for skill by inserting rookie Pavel Buchnevich on a line with Chris Kreider and Zibanejad, which combined for the game-winner Thursday. The coach also shifted Michael Graebner to a line alongside Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast, who also tallied in Game 5. "There's speed, but you also have Jesper and Oscar who really compete hard for loose pucks and really battle hard," Vigneault noted. "It makes for a good mix."

LINE HISTORY: The Rangers opened Game 6 as slight -115 home favorites, but bettors think this first round series is going the distance and now it's the Habs who are the -115 chalk. The total opened at a low 4.5, but has moved to up to 5.

INJURY REPORT:

Canadiens - No injuries to report

Rangers - No injuries to report

TRENDS:

* Canadiens are 4-0 in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Under is 15-3-3 in Canadiens last 21 road games.
* Under is 6-1-1 in Rangers last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Canadiens are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in New York.

Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks (-140, 5)

Oilers lead series 3-2

ABOUT THE OILERS (50-27-5-5 SU, 46-41 ATS, 34-44 O/U): David Desharnais, who was acquired from Montreal on Feb. 28, saw only 13 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time in Game 5 - the third-lowest amount among Edmonton forwards in Game 5 but his highest in the series thus far. Kris Russell entered Game 5 with a league-leading 22 blocked shots this postseason but failed to record one in the victory. The 29-year-old defenseman, who topped the NHL during the regular season with 213 blocks, was overtaken for first place in the playoffs as San Jose's Justin Braun recorded a game-high 10 to increase his postseason total to 26.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (48-31-7-1 SU, 37-50 ATS, 24-39 O/U): Mikkel Boedker let coach Peter DeBoer know he previously had made a bad decision with his performance in Game 5. The 27-year-old Boedker, who was a healthy scratch for Games 3 and 4, scored midway through the first period to forge a 1-1 tie and set up defenseman David Schlemko's goal 8:38 into the second as San Jose took a 3-1 lead. After a franchise record-setting performance in the previous contest (4-for-8), the Sharks received only one power-play opportunity in Game 5 and failed to cash in, dropping to eighth among the 16 playoff teams (5-for-23, 21.7 percent).

LINE HISTORY: The Sharks opened as -137 favorites with their season on the line and have been bet up to the current number of -140. Oddsmakers set the total for Game 6 at 5.

INJURY REPORT:

Oilers - D Andrew Ference (Out for season, hip), RW Tyler Pitlick (Out for season, knee)

Sharks - No injuries to report

TRENDS:

* Oilers are 10-4 in their last 14 games following a win.
* Sharks are 5-12 in their last 17 vs. Western Conference.
* Over is 5-1-1 in Oilers last 7 road games.
* Oilers are 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
* Over is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings in San Jose.

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

**Udog** · 04-22-2017, 09:57 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, April 22

Edmonton @ San Jose

Game 57-58
April 22, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Edmonton
12.921
San Jose
9.506
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Edmonton
by 3 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-150
5
Dunkel Pick:
Edmonton
(+130); Under

St. Louis @ Minnesota

Game 55-56
April 22, 2017 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
11.616
Minnesota
10.771
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
-180
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(+160); Over

Montreal @ NY Rangers

Game 51-52
April 22, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Montreal
12.638
NY Rangers
9.615
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montreal
by 3
3
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Montreal
-115
5
Dunkel Pick:
Montreal
(-115); Under

Announcement

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/22

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/22

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment