Announcement

**Udog** · 04-26-2017, 07:37 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Big East basketball has been re-configured for four years now; here are cumulative standings:

Villanova 63-9 conference play: 9-3 in NCAA’s
Xavier 42-30, 6-4
Providence 41-31, 1-4
Butler 38-34, 4-3
Creighton 37-35, 1-2
Seton Hall 34-38, 0-2
Georgetown 32-40, 1-1
Marquette 31-41, 0-1
St John’s 28-44, 0-2
DePaul 14-58, 0-0

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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Mid-week musings……..

13) “There are no coincidences.” Friend of mine used to say that a lot.

So when Saints @ Vikings shows up as a Week 1 Monday Night Football game, and then five days later, former Viking Adrian Peterson signs a two-year, $7M contract with the Saints, you have to think the league knew about it in advance and had them delay the announcement until after the schedule was released.

12) Tuesday was a rainy night in the northeast; games in Boston, NYC, Philly were all rained out, which screws up fantasy league owners who had two-start (Tues/Sun) pitchers this week, but now will only make one start.

11) Detroit 19, Seattle 9— I wish it rained in Detroit, seeing as how Felix Hernandez is on my fantasy team; he got shelled in two lousy innings of work. Mariners are now 2-10 on the road. Detroit had 19 hits, just in the first five innings.

10) St Bonaventure is 35-19 in conference play the last three basketball seasons; look at a map and find Olean, NY- it is in the middle of freakin’ nowhere, on the Southern Tier of New York. There aren’t any big-time basketball high schools anywhere near Olean.

How has no big money college not hired Bonnies’ coach Mark Schmidt to run their program? This guy is a very good coach who should be working on a bigger stage.

9) Dodgers 2, Giants 1: Dodgers are 5-17 in their last 22 games in San Francisco, losing last six of last seven games there.

Dodgers called up top outfield prospect Cody Bellinger, who is expected to play almost every day while Joc Pederson (groin strain) is on the DL.

8) PGA Tour event in New Orleans this week is a team event; two-man teams, first time there has been one on the PGA Tour since 1981.

7) Los Angeles Angels traded for Atlanta minor league pitcher David Hernandez, who was immediately added to the Halos’ big league roster. Hernandez was at a Faith Hill/Tim McGraw concert when he was notified of the trade.

6) Astros star Jose Altuve left Tuesday’s game in Cleveland in the 8th inning with what looked like a sore jaw after he collided with RF Teoscar Hernandez, who looked like he had a much more severe injury to his left leg.

5) Kansas has three hoop transfers who will be sitting out next year, then will be eligible to play in 2018-19; the Lawson brothers from Memphis and PG Charlie Moore from Cal. That reduces their eligible scholarship players for next year to 10 at the most- their bench could be thin.

4) When TNT replays NBA playoff games in the middle of the night, they replay the whole game, even the halftime shows. ESPN cuts a decent amount of their NBA game replays: “Due to time constraints we move ahead to further action”. Not sure why they do that.

3) ESPN was supposed to show Tigers-Indians this coming Monday night, but after the Red Sox threw at Manny Machado Sunday, they dropped that game and added Orioles-Red Sox to their Monday night programming.

2) 182 underclassmen (137 college, 45 foreign) have declared for the NBA Draft, in which only 60 players are drafted. Lot of the kids do not have agents and can go back to school, but there will also be several players heading to the D-League or Europe, having gotten poor advice.

You can make good money playing in Europe, but it ain’t the NBA.

1— I’ve whined a decent amount this year about NBA players needing “maintenance days” to rest up, either mentally/physically, from the grind of a long season.

Then there is the NHL; it came out after they lost to Edmonton in the playoffs that San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton played four games, with a torn ACL and MCL.

Let me repeat that: he played four hockey games WITH AN ALMOST TOTALLY SHREDDED KNEE!!! No maintenance days in pro hockey. Just really tough guys.

**Udog** · 04-26-2017, 07:54 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, April 26

Edmonton @ Anaheim

Game 3-4
April 26, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Edmonton
11.468
Anaheim
12.243
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Anaheim
by 1
3
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
Anaheim
(-130); Under

Nashville @ St. Louis

Game 1-2
April 26, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Nashville
10.242
St. Louis
13.357
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 3
3
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-120
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(-120); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, April 26

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NASHVILLE (45-29-0-12, 102 pts.) at ST LOUIS (50-30-0-7, 107 pts.) - 4/26/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NASHVILLE is 13-19 ATS (-10.1 Units) after a division game this season.
NASHVILLE is 11-17 ATS (-11.0 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
NASHVILLE is 11-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
NASHVILLE is 6-12 ATS (-10.5 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 109-80 ATS (+27.3 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 8-2 ATS (+5.0 Units) in April games this season.
ST LOUIS is 31-19 ATS (+10.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 23-17 ATS (+0.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 13-8 ATS (+4.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
NASHVILLE is 236-193 ATS (+27.6 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 25-15 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NASHVILLE is 17-8 ATS (+25.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 8-12 ATS (+8.0 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 8-7-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.0 Units)

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EDMONTON (51-27-0-10, 112 pts.) at ANAHEIM (50-23-0-13, 113 pts.) - 4/26/2017, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ANAHEIM is 20-7 ATS (+11.1 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ANAHEIM is 8-1 ATS (+6.4 Units) in April games this season.
ANAHEIM is 32-16 ATS (+12.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
ANAHEIM is 22-11 ATS (+5.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
ANAHEIM is 17-4 ATS (+10.5 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
ANAHEIM is 24-14 ATS (+24.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
ANAHEIM is 25-15 ATS (+5.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ANAHEIM is 15-7 ATS (+7.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 32-18 ATS (+7.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
EDMONTON is 24-11 ATS (+8.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
EDMONTON is 8-3 ATS (+11.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 10-4 (+4.8 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 10-4-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.5 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Wednesday, April 26

Western Conference Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 1

Nashville at St Louis, 8:00 PM ET
Nashville: 13-30 SU as a road underdog of +100 to +150
St Louis: 26-14 SU after 2 consecutive division games

Western Conference Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 1

Edmonton at Anaheim, 10:30 PM ET
Edmonton: 19-29 SU in a road game where where the total is 5 or less
Anaheim: 31-12 SU in home games

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, April 26

There are no NHL playoff games tonight.

Second round NHL series
NY Rangers (-$150) vs Ottawa (+$130)
Pittsburgh (+$110) vs Washington (-$130)
St Louis (+$110) vs Nashville (-$130)
Anaheim (-$135) vs Edmonton (+$115)

NHL 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
Wash 2-1 OT
Capitals win series, 4-2

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
NYR 3-1
Rangers win series 4-2

Ottawa-Boston
Bos 2-1
Ott 4-3 OT
Ott 4-3 OT
Ott 1-0
Bos 3-2 OT
Ott 2-1 OT
Senators win series, 4-2

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
StL 4-2 OT
Blues win series, 4-1

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
Edmonton 3-1
Oilers win series, 4-2

Home teams: 20-22
Over: 13-21-8

NHL

Wednesday, April 26

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
NASHVILLE vs. ST. LOUIS
Nashville is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing St. Louis
Nashville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Nashville

10:30 PM
EDMONTON vs. ANAHEIM
Edmonton is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Anaheim is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Edmonton
Anaheim is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

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**Udog** · 04-26-2017, 07:57 AM

NHL playoff betting cheat sheet: Pens and Caps highlight second round
By: Monty Andrews

The opening round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs provided plenty of drama and plenty of surprises. Will the upsets continue in Round 2?

Predators Eye Second Sweep

The Nashville Predators came into the Stanley Cup playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference - but bettors are taking them much more seriously after a stunning four-game sweep of the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1. Nashville (-138) is a slight favorite in the second round of the postseason despite opening on the road against the St. Louis Blues (-102), who were also impressive in rolling past the Minnesota Wild in five games. The Predators won three of five meetings between the Central Division rivals in the regular season, with those games going 1-3-1 O/U.

Can Ducks Avoid Oil Spill?

The Anaheim Ducks weren't seriously challenged on the way to a four-game first-round sweep of the Calgary Flames. The Ducks (-135) will look to make it 2-for-2 against Alberta-based teams as they open their second-round series against the visiting Edmonton Oilers (-103) on Wednesday night. The Oilers, who last made the postseason in 2006, are proving they're not just happy to be here, orchestrating a six-game victory over the San Jose Sharks despite not getting a multi-point game from league scoring champion Connor McDavid. Anaheim owned a 2-1-2 edge in the season series, with the teams going 1-2-2 O/U.

Best of the Best

The NHL's playoff structure is full of quirks - and a second-round meeting between the teams with the two best regular-season records in the league is one of them. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals (-121) host the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins (-116) in Game 1 on Thursday night after surviving a six-game battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs that included five overtime games. The Penguins had a much easier time of it in their first-round series with Columbus, cruising past the Blue Jackets in five games. The Capitals went 2-0-2 in the season series, with the teams going 3-0-1 O/U.

A Sens-ational Showing

The Ottawa Senators overcame long odds - and a painful injury to their best player - to get past the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Now the Senators (+109) look to make it two upset wins in a row as they entertain the New York Rangers (-152) in the series opener Thursday night. Ottawa is coming off a six-game triumph over the Bruins, but learned Monday that defenseman Erik Karlsson is playing with two fractures in his left heel. The Senators won two of three meetings with the Rangers in the regular season, with the teams combining to go 1-2-0 O/U.

Injury News

* The Penguins might be getting some reinforcements up front for their second-round tilt with Washington. Winger Chris Kunitz (lower body) is considered a game-time decision for Game 1, while center Carl Hagelin (lower body) has resumed skating drills and could return sometime in the series.

* The Ducks will have one of their most important players back in the lineup in time for Game 1 of their second-round series with the Oilers. Defenseman Cam Fowler is expected to return Wednesday night after missing Games 3 and 4 of the series against the Flames with a right knee injury.

Player Notes

* The Capitals will need to be wary of the Penguins' firepower after Pittsburgh placed four players in the top 10 in scoring in Round 1. Center Evgeni Malkin leads all scorers in the postseason with 11 points in five games, while linemate Phil Kessel is tied for second with eight points. Sidney Crosby (seven) and Jake Guentzel (six) also had terrific series.

* Don't expect much scoring in the Predators-Blues second-round series - at least, if first-round trends hold up. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne and Blues netminder Jake Allen combined to allow just 11 goals in their nine games played, with Rinne recording a pair of shutouts against the Blackhawks. Game 1 has a total of 5.

Stanley Cup Futures (odds provided by Sports Interaction)

* The Capitals remain the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup at +350, but the Penguins are right on their heels at +400. Whoever survives their second-round series will likely see those odds drop significantly, as both teams will be considered heavy favorites against either the Senators (+1,000) or Rangers (+750).

* They aren't favored to win their second-round series against the Ducks, but the Oilers do have the best odds of winning the Stanley Cup among Western Conference teams (+500). The Ducks are a close second at +550, while both the Predators and Blues are installed at +650 to win the championship.

Over/Under Trends

* It was a tale of two trends in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, during which teams went 13-20-9 O/U. The playoffs opened with an under bonanza, as teams went 1-9-2 O/U over the first three days of competition - but things stabilized considerably after that, as the league combined to go 12-11-7 O/U from the fourth day onward.

**Udog** · 04-26-2017, 08:47 AM

NHL

Wednesday, April 26

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Wednesday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds
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Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (-120, 5)

Series tied 0-0

ABOUT THE PREDATORS (45-29-8-4, 41-36 O/U): Nashville finished as the eighth seed in the West but turned up its game in the postseason with a stunning four-game sweep of the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks. Pekka Rinne posted his fewest wins (31) in a full season since 2008-09 but the veteran netminder turned back the clock against the Blackhawks, stopping 123 of 126 shots and coming within 5 1/2 minutes of posting three shutouts in the series. Nashville's No. 1 line features 31-goal scorers Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson flanking center Ryan Johansen, who tied for the team lead in scoring during the regular season and torched Chicago with a goal and five assists. The Predators also feature an elite blue-line corps headed by the pairings of Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis and P.K. Subban-Mattias Ekholm, who each logged at least 20 minutes in all four games versus the Blackhawks.

ABOUT THE BLUES (50-30-5-2, 35-39 O/U): The Blues were not as dominant in the opening round as the Predators, but they continued their stellar play since Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock behind the bench and needed only five games to dispatch the Minnesota Wild, which finished seven points above St. Louis in the Central. Like Rinne, Jake Allen had his share of rocky moments in net during the regular season - to the point where he was left home during a road trip just prior to the All-Star break. Allen set the tone against the Wild with a 51-save performance on the road in Game 1 and turned aside 174 of 182 shots in the series, boosting his save percentage to .942 since Yeo took over for Hitchcock. While St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko is the most dangerous offensive player on the ice for either side with 116 goals over the past three seasons, the return of linemate Paul Stastny from a month-long injury absence and the late-season addition of Vladimir Sobotka from the Kontinental Hockey League bolsters the team's balance.

LINE HISTORY: The Blues opened as -135 home favorites for Game 1 but that moneyline was quickly bet down to -120. The total opened at 5 and has not moved.

INJURY REPORT:

Predators - LW C. Wilson (Questionable, lower body), RW C. Smith (Questionable, undisclosed), LW V. Fiddler (Out Indefinitely, upper body).

Blues - C R. Fabbri (Out For Season, knee).

TRENDS:

* Predators are 1-6 in their last 7 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Central.
* Over is 4-0-3 in Predators last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
* Under is 5-1 in Blues last 6 overall.
* Predators are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings in St. Louis.

Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks (-130, 5)

Series tied 0-0

ABOUT THE OILERS (51-27-5-5, 34-45 O/U): Coach Todd McLellan took issue with the notion that Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid was seemingly held in check with just four points (two goals, two assists) versus the Sharks. "It's not about winning a scoring title in the playoffs," McLellan told reporters. "Connor was tremendous. His line was excellent. They played with tenacity and wore the other team down so the other lines could go out and create some offense." McDavid collected two goals, five assists and a plus-4 rating versus the Ducks this season, and that's with five-time Selke Trophy finalist Ryan Kesler shadowing his every move.

ABOUT THE DUCKS (50-23-10-3, 29-37 O/U): After making short work of one Alberta representative, the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks would love to take the first step in repeating the feat against the other on Wednesday as they begin their second-round series against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf has been blistering hot with 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists) in his last 22 games overall. Although Anaheim's defense received a jolt from the offensive contributions of rookie Shea Theodore (two goals, three assists) in the first round, the back line is expected to be strengthened all the more by the potential returns of All-Star Cam Fowler and top-four Sami Vatanen. "They should be made available to us if they continue to heal the way they are. We're happy to have them back in the fold," coach Randy Carlyle told reporters. Fowler, who has been sidelined since April 4 with a knee injury, admitted to "no restrictions" following his second straight day of skating on Tuesday and Vatanen is ready to go after playing in just one game versus the Flames due to an upper-body injury.

LINE HISTORY: The Ducks opened as -135 favorites for Game 1 but that number was bet down slightly to -130. The total hit the betting board at 5 and has not moved.

INJURY REPORT:

Oilers - D O. Klefbom (Probable, flu), D A. Ference (Out For Season, hip), RW T. Pitlick (Out For Season, knee).

Ducks - D C. Fowler (Probable, knee), D H. Lindholm (Probable, undisclosed), C N. Thompson (Probable, upper body), D S. Vatanen (Probable, upper body), D C. Stoner (Out Indefinitely, abdominal), D S. Despres (I-R, concussion).

TRENDS:

* Oilers are 4-0 in their last 4 Conference Semifinals games.
* Ducks are 15-2 in their last 17 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Under is 9-2 in Oilers last 11 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 3-0-2 in Ducks last 5 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Oilers are 2-9 in the last 11 meetings in Anaheim.

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Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/26

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/26

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