Announcement

**Udog** · 03-05-2018, 08:32 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

— Last five years, five different teams have won the World Series.

— Guy that played Mr Chow in the Hangover movies was at the Duke-UNC game Saturday, wearing a Duke sweatshirt.

— Michigan 75, Purdue 66— Wolverines win Big 14 tourney for second year in a row.

— Tampa Bay Rays signed Carlos Gomez for $4M to play right field this year.

— For the record, Phil Mickelson’s last PGA win was 97 starts ago.

— Tickets to sit on the hill behind the OF fence at Braves-Cardinals spring training game Saturday were $25. Wow. $25 to sit on a grassy hill and watch an exhibition game.

**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend

13) Cincinnati 62, Wichita State 61— Intense, high level game; Bearcats win the AAC regular season title. Cincy PG Evans was hobbling around most of the game; they need him to be healthy 11 days from now.

12) Loyola Chi 65, Illinois State 49— Ramblers are in NCAA’s for first time since 1985; this was their 5th year in the MVC- it is first time they’ve had a winning conference record since 2007.

As for Illinois State, they lost in finals of Arch Madness for 4th time in six years, losing to four different schools, two of whom (Creighton, Wichita) aren’t even in the MVC anymore.

11) Think about it, conference realignment has made coaches millionaires who work at schools that didn’t even move. Andy Enfield broke the bank at USC because of his success at Florida Gulf Coast, where his team made the Sweet 16 in 2013.

But Florida Gulf Coast became the best team in the Atlantic Sun only because Belmont moved up to the OVC; Bruins won the A-Sun title five of the last seven years they were in the league. Enfield should send the Belmont AD a gift every year.

FGCU is 70-22 in A-Sun play since Belmont moved on.

Wichita State became a MVC power after Creighton went to the Big East.

10) Lipscomb 108, Florida Gulf Coast 96— Speaking of which, you play the conference title game on your home floor, its not good if you’re down 60-31 at halftime. Lipscomb was 32-47 on the foul line, and this was a true road game for them. 47 free throws is an awful lot.

FGCU made a wild comeback in the second half, got within five points, but ran out of gas at the end and Lipscomb is in the NCAA’s for the first time ever.

Lipscomb won its last eight games and 12 of last 13- they play 7th-fastest tempo in country. Some of their high-profile non-conference games:
— Lost 86-64 at Alabama
— Lost 80-57 at Texas
— Lost 81-71 at Tennessee
— Lost 98-66 at Purdue

Lipscomb turns ball over 20+% of time out of conference, which is a red flag; at times they looked awful when Florida Gulf Coast was pressing them.

9) Phil Mickelson won a playoff over Justin Thomas in this week’s PGA event; Mickelson got his first Tour win in January 1991; Thomas was born in April, 1993

8) Over the last 30 years, this was just 23rd out of 1,355 PGA tournaments that was won by a golfer who was 47+ years old.

7) Virginia won the ACC by four games; 3rd-place teams were six games behind Virginia.

6) Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann is 49-23 in conference games wth Butler/Ohio State the last four years, but he is 0-4 in conference tournament games in those seasons.

When he was at Gardner-Webb, Holtmann’s teams were 23-29 in conference games, 1-3 in the conference tournaments, so he is 1-7 overall as a head coach in conference tourneys.

5) Radford 55, Liberty 52— Carlik Jones, a 31.1% 3-point shooter coming in, drained a walk-off, conference-winning 3-ball at the buzzer to send Radford dancing for first time since 2009, when they got waxed 101-58 by North Carolina as a 16-seed in first round.

This year’s Radford team had these high-profile pre-conference games:
— Lost 82-72 at Ohio State.
— Lost 74-62 at Vanderbilt
— Lost 95-68 at Virginia Tech
— Lost 77-62 at Nevada

They play the 5th-slowest tempo in America.

4) Interesting note: Some NFL teams at the Combine scheduled 15:00 interviews with UCLA players, only to grill that player about QB Josh Rosen. Teams will do anything they can to mine out information about players they might potentially select.

3) From MMQB.com: “…….there’s a favorite question employed by almost every team in the NFL when quizzing a prospect about his teammates: If you could take one teammate with you to your future NFL team, who would it be?”

It is straight out of the movie Draft Day, where the Browns don’t draft a QB prospect in part because his teammates didn’t go to his 21st birthday party. A quarterback has to be a leader, a person his teammates believe in. Doesn’t work any other way.

2) We had 8.5 inches of snow in Albany the other day; in Cobleskill, which Mapquest says is 45 miles away from here, they had 39 inches of snow, over three feet!!! No bueno.

1— Kawhi Leonard and Jordan Brand were working on a new four-year extension worth more than $20 million, but now talks have stalled.

According to ESPN.com: “…….discussions broke down abruptly because representatives for Leonard didn’t feel that the new deal reflected the forward’s accomplishments and standing within the league.” Oh boy.

Leonard has been cleared by the Spurs’ doctors to play, but has chosen not to; he’s played in nine games this season- he currently makes $500,000 a year on his Jordan endorsement deal, is being paid $18,868,625 by the Spurs this season.

**Udog** · 03-05-2018, 09:20 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, March 5

Calgary @ Pittsburgh

Game 1-2
March 5, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Calgary
11.385
Pittsburgh
10.393
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Calgary
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-170
6 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Calgary
(+150); Over

Toronto @ Buffalo

Game 3-4
March 5, 2018 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
10.550
Buffalo
11.971
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Buffalo
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
-175
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Buffalo
(+155); Under

Ottawa @ Dallas

Game 5-6
March 5, 2018 @ 8:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Ottawa
10.553
Dallas
12.019
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
-220
6
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(-220); Under

Arizona @ Edmonton

Game 7-8
March 5, 2018 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Arizona
10.064
Edmonton
11.163
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Edmonton
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Edmonton
-155
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Edmonton
(-155); Under

NY Islanders @ Vancouver

Game 9-10
March 5, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Islanders
9.407
Vancouver
10.992
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Vancouver
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Vancouver
-120
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Vancouver
(-120); Under

NHL

Monday, March 5

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Trend Report
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CALGARY @ PITTSBURGH
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Calgary's last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games at home
Pittsburgh is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Calgary

TORONTO @ BUFFALO
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games
Toronto is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
Buffalo is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Buffalo is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Toronto

OTTAWA @ DALLAS
Ottawa is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Ottawa's last 11 games when playing on the road against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Dallas's last 11 games when playing at home against Ottawa
Dallas is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Ottawa

ARIZONA @ EDMONTON
Arizona is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games on the road
Edmonton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Edmonton's last 5 games when playing at home against Arizona

NY ISLANDERS @ VANCOUVER
NY Islanders is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Islanders's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 7 games

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**Udog** · 03-05-2018, 09:37 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, March 5

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CALGARY (32-25-0-9, 73 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (37-25-0-4, 78 pts.) - 3/5/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 12-2 ATS (+8.5 Units) in home games second half of the season this season.
CALGARY is 15-4 ATS (+11.0 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
CALGARY is 17-12 ATS (+32.6 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
CALGARY is 7-2 ATS (+9.2 Units) in road games after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
CALGARY is 110-109 ATS (+243.6 Units) in road games after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
CALGARY is 47-44 ATS (+104.3 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 12-16 ATS (-7.4 Units) in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 5-0 (+7.2 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 5-0-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)

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TORONTO (39-21-0-7, 85 pts.) at BUFFALO (20-34-0-11, 51 pts.) - 3/5/2018, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 377-395 ATS (-111.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
BUFFALO is 285-257 ATS (+7.1 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
BUFFALO is 217-227 ATS (+498.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
BUFFALO is 20-45 ATS (-48.2 Units) in all games this season.
BUFFALO is 5-17 ATS (+24.2 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BUFFALO is 5-4 (+1.7 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
BUFFALO is 5-4-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.7 Units)

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OTTAWA (22-32-0-10, 54 pts.) at DALLAS (37-23-0-5, 79 pts.) - 3/5/2018, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OTTAWA is 22-42 ATS (+72.9 Units) in all games this season.
OTTAWA is 0-8 ATS (+10.0 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 13-2 ATS (+9.7 Units) in home games after a division game this season.
DALLAS is 38-12 ATS (+21.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
OTTAWA is 46-46 ATS (+104.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 3-1 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 3-1-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.2 Units, Under=-0.2 Units)

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ARIZONA (20-34-0-10, 50 pts.) at EDMONTON (27-34-0-4, 58 pts.) - 3/5/2018, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARIZONA is 20-44 ATS (+81.2 Units) in all games this season.
ARIZONA is 4-15 ATS (+23.1 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
ARIZONA is 35-88 ATS (+168.5 Units) after a non-conference game since 1996.
EDMONTON is 27-38 ATS (-11.7 Units) in all games this season.
EDMONTON is 12-24 ATS (-14.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
EDMONTON is 9-15 ATS (-7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ARIZONA is 7-6 (+2.9 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
ARIZONA is 7-6-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.5 Units)

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NY ISLANDERS (29-29-0-8, 66 pts.) at VANCOUVER (24-32-0-9, 57 pts.) - 3/5/2018, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY ISLANDERS are 32-18 ATS (+11.8 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 236-243 ATS (-130.6 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 0-8 ATS (+9.1 Units) in home games in March games over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 122-128 ATS (-54.3 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 377-357 ATS (+788.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 13-30 ATS (+46.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 4-1 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 4-1-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.9 Units)

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

**Udog** · 03-05-2018, 09:48 AM

NHL Betting Cheat Sheet and Odds: Predators plant their flag atop Western Conference standings
Monty Andrews

Nashville's incredible surge has moved it past the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Predators are now +550 to win their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.

The Nashville Predators have won eight games in a row and are beginning to open up a bit of a cushion at the top of the Western Conference standings between themselves and the Vegas Golden Knights. Monty Andrews dangles at the hash and goes bar down to give NHL bettors a breakdown of what to watch for this week on the ice.

Renewing Their Rivalry

It's strange that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres have yet to face each other this season - but they'll make up for lost time in a big way over the final stretch of the season. Toronto and Buffalo square off Monday night at KeyBank Center in the first of four meetings - all of which will take place over the next four weeks. The Maple Leafs enter the week at +1,200 on Bet365 to end their 51-year Stanley Cup championship drought - the sixth-best odds in the league. The Sabres, meanwhile, are headed for another seat at the draft lottery as they find themselves languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Sunshine Showdown

Two of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference happen to play in the same state - and those teams also happen to be facing off Tuesday night. The Tampa Bay Lightning look to protect their lead atop the conference as they welcome the Florida Panthers to Amalie Arena. The Panthers have reeled off six consecutive wins, including a 4-1 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers, to seize the second East wild-card spot. It's the last of four regular-season meetings between the teams; they split a home-and-home encounter to open the season, while Tampa Bay pulled out a wild 8-5 win in their previous game Oct. 30.

Keystone Battle

There's plenty at stake Wednesday night as the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins renew hostilities at Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia. The teams enter the week separated by just point in the Metropolitan Division, though the second-place Flyers have dropped three in a row while the third-place Penguins are coming off an overtime triumph over the New York Islanders. Bettors are getting identical +1,450 odds on Bet365 for either team to win the Stanley Cup; Wednesday marks the third of four meetings this season between the Pennsylvania rivals, with the Penguins having won the first two.

Nashville No. 1

There's a new top team in the Western Conference - and it doesn't look like the Nashville Predators plan on relinquishing that title anytime soon. The Predators extended their winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 overtime triumph over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night, and will look to continue piling up the victories as they host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Nashville's incredible surge has moved it past the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Predators are now +550 to win their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. The Ducks find themselves on the periphery of the Western Conference wild-card picture.

Player News

* Winnipeg Jets netminder Steve Mason is embarking on a conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League as he looks to work his way back to the big club. Mason has missed the last 20 games with a concussion; he's 3-6-1 with Winnipeg this season.

* Alex Ovechkin is in rarefied air after scoring his 40th goal of the season Saturday against Toronto. Ovechkin is just sixth player in league history with nine 40-goal seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Mike Gartner.

* New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist has become just the third netminder in NHL history to make 50 saves in back-to-back games. Lundqvist won both games (against Calgary and Vancouver) after having lost his previous five starts.

Injury Updates

* Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel has resumed skating and is hoping to return before the end of the season. Eichel, who leads the team with 53 points, has missed the past 10 games with a high ankle sprain; Buffalo is 12-13-7 SU when he records a point.

* The Edmonton Oilers have welcomed back center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins after he had missed the previous 18 games with an upper-body injury. The Oilers struggled mightily in Nugent-Hopkins' absence, going just 7-10-1 SU over that stretch.

* Montreal Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty was forced to miss his first game of the season over the weekend after suffering a leg injury Friday against the New York Rangers. It isn't known when Pacioretty, who sat out Saturday vs. Boston, will return.

Stanley Cup Futures

* Nashville might be the hottest team going, but Tampa Bay remains the club to beat according to oddsmakers. The Lightning come into the week at +450 to win their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, according to Bet365.

* The Eastern Conference dominates the top end of the odds ledger, placing six teams among the top nine. Boston (+675) is the second-best East play behind Tampa, with Toronto (+1,200), Washington (+1,400), Pittsburgh and Philadelphia close behind.

* The New Jersey Devils are a solid live underdog play at +2,500. Not only do they boast an MVP candidate in winger Taylor Hall, but they welcomed starting netminder Cory Schneider back to the fold after he had missed 16 games with a groin injury.

Betting Trends

* Home teams have had a dominant seven-day stretch, winning better than 65 percent of games in that span as of Saturday night. That gives the home side a 55.6-percent win rate on the season.

* Totals setters are patting themselves on the back after yet another great week; the league saw 23 overs over the seven-day period ending Saturday night, compared to 22 unders. Overs have an ever-so-slight 492-489 edge on the season.

* The St. Louis Blues have joined the Anaheim Ducks as the only teams in the league with 40 unders to date. The Blues reached the 40-under plateau in Saturday's 3-2 OT loss to Dallas; they've gone below the total in six of their previous nine games.

Announcement

Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 3/5

Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 3/5

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