Announcement

**Udog** · 04-27-2017, 07:10 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

ACC basketball has been re-configured for four years; here are cumulative standings:

Virginia 56-16 conference games, 7-4 NCAA games
North Carolina 52-20, 14-3
Duke 50-22, 9-3
Louisville 48-18, 4-2 (only 3 years)
Notre Dame 43-29, 7-3
Syracuse 42-30, 5-2
Miami 40-32, 2-2
Florida State 37-35, 1-1
Clemson 34-38, 0-0
Pittsburgh 32-40, 1-2
NC State 28-44, 3-2
Georgia Tech 25-47, 0-0
Virginia Tech 24-48, 0-1
Wake Forest 22-50, 0-1
Boston College 10-62, 0-0

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but………

13) Sometimes there are no good options, something I’m sure OKC Thunder coach Billy Donovan is thinking about now that his team was eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Houston Rockets in five very interesting games.

Fact #1: In the five games, Oklahoma City was +15 with Russell Westbrook on the floor, -58 when he was off the floor. Donovan tried very hard to find spots to rest Westbrook, but when he did, the team suffered.

Know-it-alls like myself suggested that Westbrook never come out of the game, but in the series, (Fact #2) Westbrook shot 14-49 in the 4th quarter- thats 28.6%, which is dismal.

He needed rest, he needed better teammates, and in the end, without those, they just were not gonna beat Houston, no matter what strategy Donovan used.

12) I’m not always crazy about TNT’s Reggie Miller as an analyst, but thought he did an excellent job on the Game 5 Houston-OKC telecast— he stated a definitive opinion about playing/sitting Westbrook, said why he thought that way and then let the game unfold. Well done.

11) Trea Turner hit for the cycle in Denver Tuesday nite, had seven RBI; he is the first player since Troy Tulowitzki in 2009 to hit for the cycle and also knock in 7+ runs in that game.

10) I’m sure the organizers at the Zurich Classic are thrilled that Jordan Spieth is playing in their event in New Orleans this week; I’m not sure they’re thrilled that word got out that the reason that Spieth is playing is because he lost a bet with partner Ryan Palmer’s caddy.

9) Miami Marlins are playing the Phillies this week, but the NFL bought up all the hotel rooms to Philly this week for their Draft, so the Marlins are staying in Wilmington, Delaware, which according to MapQuest, is 32.6 miles away.

8) Michigan Wolverines are having spring football practice in Italy; I’m not sure why, but that has to be pretty expensive.

7) Odd college basketball stat: over the last three years, Hofstra is 5-22 vs spread in CAA home games, which is awful; during same time, they’re 17-9-1 vs spread on CAA road, 9-1-1 as road underdogs the last two seasons.

6) Kansas City Chiefs haven’t drafted a QB in the first round since Todd Blackledge in 1983.

5) Big week for UNLV’s basketball program; they’ve bagged three excellent recruits, including a 5-star center, Brandon McCoy. Rebels will be back near the top of the Mountain West next winter, helped by Steve Fisher retiring as coach at San Diego State.

4) A’s get good news; Kendall Graveman will be activated and pitch for Oakland Thursday in Anaheim against the Angels.

3) Sounds like a group of 5+ investors, which includes Jeb Bush/Derek Jeter, are going to buy the Miami Marlins for $1.3B from hideous Jeffrey Loria, who won’t be missed.

Sounds like Jeb Bush won by losing; I’d rather own the Marlins than be President.

2) NBA fined Houston Rockets’ owner Les Alexander $100,000 after he left his court side seat during live game action to yell at referee Bill Kennedy during Game 5 Tuesday nite.

When you look at how close fans are to the action in NBA games, it really is surprising that stuff like this doesn’t happen more often.

1— ESPN fired around 100 people this week, many of them people we’ve seen on TV for several years- tough day in the TV industry.

My question is this: How did they decide who they kept, and who they told to take a hike?

For the foreseeable future, every time I watch ESPN, I’ll be wondering why they kept the person on my TV screen instead of someone they fired. Human nature, I guess.

**Udog** · 04-27-2017, 07:15 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, April 27

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NY RANGERS (52-29-0-7, 111 pts.) at OTTAWA (48-30-0-10, 106 pts.) - 4/27/2017, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 16-29 ATS (+45.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 4-10 ATS (-9.4 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 95-108 ATS (-50.3 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
OTTAWA is 48-40 ATS (+90.3 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 28-24 ATS (+53.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
OTTAWA is 21-14 ATS (+38.9 Units) after a division game this season.
OTTAWA is 24-15 ATS (+24.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OTTAWA 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.
NY RANGERS are 52-36 ATS (+5.7 Units) in all games this season.
NY RANGERS are 16-9 ATS (+26.1 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
NY RANGERS are 25-12 ATS (+10.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NY RANGERS are 25-19 ATS (+48.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 5-4-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.9 Units)

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PITTSBURGH (54-22-0-11, 119 pts.) at WASHINGTON (59-20-0-9, 127 pts.) - 4/27/2017, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 28-39 ATS (-23.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 78-97 ATS (-46.8 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 59-29 ATS (+24.2 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 38-15 ATS (+11.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 71-37 ATS (+109.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 25-11 ATS (+4.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 118-75 ATS (+5.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 16-6 ATS (+8.3 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 75-43 ATS (+11.5 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 51-25 ATS (+15.4 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 1-6 ATS (-9.7 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 10-9 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 10-9-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.5 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Thursday, April 27

Eastern Conference Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 1

NY Rangers at Ottawa, 7:00 PM ET
New York: 17-6 SU revenging a loss vs opponent of 2 goals or more
Ottawa: 0-8 SU in home games after having won 4 of their last 5

Eastern Conference Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 1

Pittsburgh at Washington, 7:30 PM ET
Pittsburgh: 28-39 SU in a road game where where the total is 5.5
Washington: 34-10 SU in home games

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, April 27

Ottawa won three of its last four games with the Rangers; teams split last four gams played in this building. Under is 8-2 in last ten series games. Rangers won five of last seven games but are 2-3 in last five road tilts. Under is 7-1-1 in their last nine games overall. Ottawa won four of its last five games- four of those games went to OT. Over is 3-2-2 in their last seven games. New York won three of its last four series in this round; in its franchise history, Ottawa is 2-4 in this round- last time they won second round series was 2007, when they made the Cup Finals.

Home team won last eight Penguin-Cap games; Pittsburgh lost its last three games in this building by a combined score of 15-4. Over is 4-0-1 in last five series games. Penguins lost three of last four road games but just beat Columbus in five games. Washington split its last four home games; last three went to OT- five of their six games vs Toronto in last round went OT. Penguins won Stanley Cup LY; they’re 5-2 in last seven second round series. Pittsburgh Washington is 0-5 in its last five second round series; last time they to past this point was 1998, when they lost Cup final to Detroit.

Second round NHL series
NY Rangers (-$150) vs Ottawa (+$130)
Pittsburgh (+$110) vs Washington (-$130)
St Louis (+$110) vs Nashville (-$130)
Nashville 4-3
Anaheim (-$135) vs Edmonton (+$115)
Edmonton 5-3

Home: 0-2 (20-24)
Over: 2-0 (15-21-8)

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

Thursday, April 27

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
NY RANGERS vs. OTTAWA
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the NY Rangers last 7 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 7 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Ottawa's last 7 games when playing NY Rangers
Ottawa is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against NY Rangers

7:30 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games
Washington is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home

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**Udog** · 04-27-2017, 07:18 AM

NHL

Thursday, April 27

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Thursday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds
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The Rangers posted a league-high 27 road wins this season while Ottawa won all three road games at Boston in the first round.

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators (-105, 5)

Series tied 0-0

ABOUT THE RANGERS (52-29-3-4, 41-40 O/U): It speaks to the depth of New York that it eliminated Montreal despite getting one assist each from two of its leading goal scorers - Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller, while Zibanejad's four points represented a team high. One positive was the late arrival of leading overall scorer Mats Zuccarello, who scored twice in the Game 6 clinching win over Montreal. Still, the Rangers will pin their hopes on goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who bounced back superbly after surrendering seven goals in back-to-back losses to the Canadiens. "Hank has been through this before," Vigneault told reporters. "I think he's really thriving on the pressure and the opportunity. ... He wants to be a difference-maker and he's looking forward to this series."

ABOUT THE SENATORS (48-29-7-4, 34-49 O/U): Karlsson made a surprising revelation following the series with Boston that he was playing with two hairline fractures in his left heel, but it certainly did not appear to hinder the star defenseman, who collected six assists against the Bruins and played nearly 42 minutes in Game 5. Forward Bobby Ryan followed up a 13-goal regular season by scoring four times against the Bruins, and with Clarke MacArthur back in the lineup after missing most of the past two seasons due to concussions, Ottawa can counter New York's outstanding balance with four solid lines of its down. Craig Anderson allowed three goals in half of the six games against Boston but won both starts versus New York this season, yielding one goal.

LINE HISTORY: Game 1 of this series in Ottawa opened as a Pick 'Em but by Wednesday night the moneyline edged in the Rangers' direction to -115. The total hit the betting board at 5.

INJURY REPORT:

Rangers - RW R. Nash (Probable, undisclosed).

Senators - D E. Karlsson (Probable, foot), LW T. Pyatt (Questionable, lower body), D M. Borowiecki (Out, lower body).

TRENDS:

* Rangers are 3-10 in their last 13 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Senators are 4-1 in their last 5 overall.
* Under is 3-0-1 in Rangers last 4 overall.
* Under is 17-4-1 in Senators last 22 Thursday games.
* Home team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals (-145, 5.5)

Series tied 0-0

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (54-22-6-5, 50-32 O/U): While the Capitals posted a 2-0-2 mark in the season series, Pittsburgh traditionally has gotten the better of its division rival in the playoffs - most notably in both 2009 and 2016 on its way to hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of those tournaments. Evgeni Malkin had an NHL-best 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the first round and six (five goals, one assist) versus Washington this season while linemate Phil Kessel added eight (two goals, six assists) and four (one goal, three assists), respectively. While plenty is expected from those proven names, rookie Jake Guentzel (NHL-best five goals) and Bryan Rust (four goals) also made their presence known in the first round. Coach Mike Sullivan has gone as far to label Rust "a high-stakes player" after the 24-year-old recorded 10 goals in 28 career playoff games, including eight in his past 13.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (59-19-5-5, 39-34 O/U): While the clubs are set to open their Eastern Conference second-round series Thursday in Washington, Ovechkin was quick to insist that there's more on the line than just one-on-one bragging rights. "We respect each other," Washington's three-time Hart Trophy winner said of his rival, who has received the honor on two occasions. "That battle between me and him, it's great. I think me and him enjoy it, (the media) enjoy it, fans enjoy it. But right now it's not about me and him. It's about (the Capitals) and Penguins." T.J. Oshie matched Ovechkin in goals this season with a club high-tying 33 and was knotted with the Russian Olympian as well as Justin Williams and Tom Wilson with three in the first round. Oshie erupted for six points (five goals, one assist) in last year's Eastern semifinal loss to Pittsburgh and 10 (three goals, seven assists) in four regular-season encounters, a total that was eclipsed by Nicklas Backstrom's 12 (four goals, eight assists). "It's a perfect scenario," the 29-year-old Backstrom said of the upcoming series versus the Penguins. "Even if we finish first in the regular season, they're the Stanley Cup champs, so we're the underdogs. It's perfect for us."

LINE HISTORY: The Capitals opened as -135 monetline favorites at home for Game 1 and by Wednesday night that number was up to -145. The total hit the betting board at 5.5 and has not moved.

INJURY REPORT:

Penguins - LW C. Kunitz (Probable, lower body), D C. Ruhwedel (Questionable, upper body), G M. Murray (Doubful, lower body), LW C. Hagelin (Doubful, lower body), D C. Letang (Out For Season, neck).

Capitals - RW T. Wilson (Probable, foot), C L. Eller (Probable, undisclosed), D N. Schmidt (Probable, lower body), D K. Alzner (Out, upper body).

TRENDS:

* Penguins are 4-0 in their last 4 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
* Capitals are 14-3 in their last 17 vs. Metropolitan.
* Over is 5-1 in Penguins last 6 road games.
* Under is 6-1 in Capitals last 7 home games.
* Home team is 8-0 in the last 8 meetings.

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**Udog** · 04-27-2017, 09:29 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, April 27

Pittsburgh @ Washington

Game 7-8
April 27, 2017 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
12.542
Washington
9.813
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh
by 2 1/2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-145
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh
(+125); Over

NY Rangers @ Ottawa

Game 5-6
April 27, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Rangers
12.534
Ottawa
11.430
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NY Rangers
by 1
3
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Rangers
-115
5
Dunkel Pick:
NY Rangers
(-115); Under

Announcement

Thursday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/27

Thursday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/27

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