Da Bum's 2018 NHL Picks/News/Trends/Best Bets - Thru The Stanley Cup !

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY MAY 9, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Carolina Hurricanes Boston Bruins TD Garden


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DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

05/08/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/07/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/06/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -11.55
05/05/2019 1-0-1 100.00% +5.45
05/04/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00
05/03/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -13.00
05/02/2019 2-2-0 50.00% +0.35
05/01/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00

Totals..............12-13-1 ......48.00% -11.25


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BEST BETS:


DATE........................ATS................... ..UNITS..................O/U..................UNITS.............TOTALS

05/08/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/07/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................0 - 1..................-5.50..............-0.50
05/06/2019..............0 - 1......................-5.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50..............-5.50
05/05/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.45..................0 - 0................. -0.00.............+5.45
05/04/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00
05/03/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50...............-0.50
05/02/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.85..................1 - 1..................-0.50 ..............+0.35
05/01/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00


Totals..................... 4 - 2.....................+11.30................4 - 8..................-24.00.............-12.70


*************************************


APRIL'S NHL BEST BETS


Totals....................10 - 12.................+3.00..................30 - 19.............+45.50...............+48.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

— Indians are 14-7 outside their division, but only 5-9 vs AL Central rivals.

— Warriors 104, Rockets 99— Kevin Durant strained a calf muscle, will probably miss Game 6.

— Bucks 116, Celtics 91— Milwaukee is in Final Four for first time since 2001.

— Hey, sports betting is legal in Indiana now. It isn’t legal yet here in New York.

— UConn, Louisville, Indiana, and Texas Tech will be the four teams at the 2019 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in December.

— NBA teams that win Game 5 of a playoff series with a 2-2-1-1-1 format have won that series 162 of 189 times (85.7%).


**********

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

13) Kawhi Leonard has played in all ten of Toronto’s playoff games this spring, playing 36.6 minutes a game; no nights off for “load management” He has been great.

During the regular season, Leonard sat out 22 games, played 34 mpg when he did play; is this a hint of things to come? Stars taking periodical days off to reduce the stress of a long season?

Steve Kerr suggested the regular season be cut back from 82 to 75 games, for that reason. As long as the players’ salaries get reduced by the same %age as the games are reduced, I’d be OK with it.

Taking games off when you’re not hurt is BS— people might be spending lot of money to take their kids to see a guy play, and then he doesn’t, for no reason. It is bad business.

12) Texas Rangers’ DH Joey Gallo is first big leaguer ever to hit 100 home runs before he hit 100 singles; he hit his 100th homer Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

11) From Baylor’s Twitter account:

“Baylor Athletics is thrilled to announce a lead gift for the Baylor Basketball Pavilion. This new facility will be made possible thanks to recently publicized $100 million anonymous gift as a part of Baylor University’s Give Light Campaign.”

Someone gave Baylor $100M; 100 million freakin’ dollars. Wow.

10) One of the funny things about watching baseball on TV every night is when a team is doing badly, their TV guys quickly transition to other stuff, like the local team’s NBA/NHL playoff games, or the team’s concessions stands, or the bobblehead giveaway next week, or next month.

Can’t be easy for these guys when a team sucks or is struggling; they travel with the team, with social media nowadays, any criticism they say on air gets back to the players quickly, but the job is to tell the truth, too. Delicate balance that some do way better than others.

9) “If I ain’t starting, then I’ll be departing….”

Matthew Baldwin could’t beat Justin Fields out for the QB job at Ohio State, so he is gone to TCU, where he will sit out this season, meaning he will have sat out for two years in a row after he started for only one year in high school in Lake Travis, TX.

8) We talked yesterday about CBSSports.com‘s ranking the power 5 college football coaches; they listed #1-25 Wednesday, with Washington’s Chris Petersen #3, behind Saban/Swinney. Lincoln Riley was #4, Jimbo Fisher #5.

7) They somehow list Duke’s David Cutcliffe at #21; if Cutcliffe is such a great coach, how come he can’t recruit competent WR’s? All I heard in the New York media during/after the draft was how terrible Duke’s WR’s were. Shouldn’t the #21 coach in the country be able to coach ‘em up better than they’ve been?

6) College basketball transfer portal:
— DJ Harvey bolts from Notre Dame to Vanderbilt.
— Vermont lands grad transfer Daniel Giddens from Alabama.

5) Florida Gators inked a home/home football series with Colorado; Buffs will visit Gainesville in 2028, the Gators will visit Boulder in 2029. What is interesting about this? It will be the first time Florida has left the Sunshine State for a true non-conference road game (non-bowl game) since losing at Syracuse in 1991.

4) Paul George had rotator cuff surgery since Oklahoma City was eliminated from the NBA playoffs, is going to have another operation on the other shoulder, and is expected to miss at least part of training camp next fall.

3) Toronto’s Trent Thornton used to be on my fantasy team; he was cut during his horrendous start last night against the Twins.
His four starts when he was in my lineup: 0-3, 9.00 ERA, 2.13 WHIP
His four starts when he was on my bench: 0-1, 2.42 ERA, 0.85 WHIP
Enough already.

2) Mike Fiers has started 162 major league games; he finished two of them, both of them no-hitters, throwing 134-131 pitches. Hell of a performance late Tuesday night.

1) Doug Kern came up with some great no-hitter knowledge:

Mike Fiers: First pitcher to throw his second no-hitter since Jake Arrieta 2015-16.

Fiers’ second one was against the Reds.
Arrieta’s second one was against the Reds.

Final out of Fiers’ second one: Eugenio Suarez.
Final out of Arrieta’s second one: Eugenio Suarez.

[StarDust Bum]

[StarDust Bum]

1Carolina -2 Boston
CAROLINA is 31-13 ATS (15.3 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.




NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 9

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CAROLINA (54-31-0-8, 116 pts.) at BOSTON (57-29-0-9, 123 pts.) - 5/9/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 67-102 ATS (-44.9 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
CAROLINA is 27-55 ATS (+88.7 Units) in road games after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
CAROLINA is 19-47 ATS (+80.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 24-8 ATS (+11.2 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 38-17 ATS (+16.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 27-11 ATS (+12.9 Units) after a division game this season.
BOSTON is 294-247 ATS (-106.3 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 6-3 (+2.9 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 6-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.0 Units)

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NHL

Thursday, May 9

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Trend Report
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Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 7 games
Carolina is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Carolina is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 7 games on the road
Carolina is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Carolina's last 7 games when playing Boston
Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
Boston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games
Boston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games at home
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 7 games when playing Carolina
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina


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NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, May 9


Carolina @ Boston

Game 1-2
May 9, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
12.068
Boston
13.619
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-155
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-155); Under

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Hurricanes vs Bruins series preview, odds and best bets
Rohit Ponnaiya

Torrey Krug and the Boston Bruins are favorites to win their NHL Eastern Conference Finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Boston Bruins eliminated the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and play the Carolina Hurricanes in a best-of-seven series. We break down the NHL series odds and give you in-depth trends and notes so you can make the best bets on the road to the Stanley Cup.

BOSTON BRUINS VS CAROLINA HURRICANES

Series Winner Odds: Boston -208/Carolina +145 @ Sports Interaction
Stanley Cup Winner Odds: Boston +180/Carolina +375 @ Sports Interaction
Regular Season Head to Head: Boston 2-1

SCHEDULE

Game 1: TD Garden, Boston, MA. Thursday, May 9, 8:00 p.m ET

The rest of the schedule will be confirmed later this week.

BACKGROUND

Both Boston and Carolina had brutal seven-game tests in the opening round but Carolina swept the Islanders in the second round and Boston came back from down 0-1 to win four of the next five games in its series with the Blue Jackets. The Bruins have home-ice advantage for the conference finals.

Boston won two of three games against Carolina during the regular season with each team scoring a total of 10 goals. But backup Jaroslav Halak played in both of those Bruins wins, while Tuukka Rask has been in nets for Boston in every minute of the playoffs.

Carolina could have goalie Petr Mrazek back for Game 1 after he returned to practice with no restrictions Monday. But if backup Curtis McElhinney has to start, he's proven to be more than capable after closing out the series against the Islanders with three straight wins, a GAA of 1.56 and a .947 save percentage.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Boston and Carolina have allowed the fewest goals per game in the playoffs, with the Bruins allowing just 2.15 goals per contest and the Canes giving up just 2.27. Rask has been terrific in between the pipes for Boston with a GAA of 2.02 and save percentage of .938.

Carolina, on the other hand, has made things as easy as possible for its goaltenders, holding opponents to just 27.8 shots per game and 22.8 scoring chances per 60 minutes (both the second-best marks in the playoffs).

These teams have also been two of the highest-scoring squads during the playoffs, with Carolina averaging 3.09 goals and the Bruins right behind them with 3.08 per outing.

YOU MISS 100% OF THE SHOTS YOU DON'T TAKE

The Hurricanes easily had the best shot differential in the league during the regular season at plus-479 but their goal differential of plus-22 ranked just 13th. They'll need to capitalize on their scoring chances against a Bruins squad that had the third-best goal differential at plus-44.

FAST STARTS/SLOW STARTS

Boston has scored 13 first-period goals this postseason while allowing just five in the opening frame. Carolina has managed just six goals in the opening period while allowing 13. Taking the Bruins to score first could be a smart bet. Falling behind against Boston early would be terrible news for Carolina, with the Bruins going 41-9-5 when drawing first blood during the regular season and playoffs.

SPECIAL TEAMS ADVANTAGE

Boston has the clear edge on special teams. During the playoffs it has converted on 28.6 percent of its power plays (best in the NHL) while killing penalties at a rate of 83.8 percent. The Hurricanes have scored on just 10.5 percent of their power plays and kill just 75 percent of their penalties, with both marks being the worst in the league among teams that made it past the first round of the playoffs.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SEBASTIAN AHO, CAROLINA HURRICANES

Aho absolutely wrecked the Bruins during the regular season, scoring four goals and adding three assists in three games. He has four goals and five helpers through 11 games so far in the postseason. Taking Aho to score the most goals in this series pays out at +750.

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, MAY 9
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CAR at BOS 08:00 PM
CAR +127
U 5.5

[StarDust Bum]

Bruins' score 4 goals in 3rd, beat Hurricanes 5-2 in Game 1
May 9, 2019
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BOSTON (AP) Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron scored power-play goals 28 seconds apart, and Boston scored four times in the third period to rally from a one-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Tuukka Rask stopped 29 shots for Boston, which trailed 2-1 before capitalizing on back-to-back power plays. With about three minutes left, Brandon Carlo deflected a slow-rolling puck into the empty net to make it 4-2, and then 11 seconds later Chris Wagner skated in on Petr Mrazek to clinch it.

Steven Kampfer, starting for suspended defenseman Charlie McAvoy, also scored for Boston - his first career postseason goal - with about three minutes gone in the game.

Back in the net for the first time since Game 2 of the second-round series against the Islanders, Mrazek made 23 saves for the Hurricanes. Curtis McElhinney finished off New York, but coach Rod Brind'Amour went back to Mrazek when he was clear by doctors after the five-day break between series.

Sebastian Aho and Greg McKegg scored for Carolina.

It was still 2-1 when Jordan Staal was sent off for roughing in the opening minute of the third period. Johansson slammed home a rebound of Brad Marchand's shot to tie it, and just 15 seconds later the Bruins were back on the power play when Dougie Hamilton was given 2 minutes for roughing.

Boston set up in the Hurricane's zone, Jake DeBrusk sent the puck across the ice to Marchand, who tipped it back into the slot for Bergeron, and he slid it through Mrazek's pads to make it 3-1.

Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour called his timeout to settle things down, but Hamilton picked up another penalty less than three minutes later.

The Bruins failed to score.

THE BIGGER THEY ARE

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara took a wrist shot from Aho off the right foot late in the first period and left for the locker room, but he was back in the second.

The shot hit Chara on the outside of his right foot and the 6-foot-9 defenseman buckled over and went to the ice. He struggled to make it to the bench, and once he got there he was in obvious pain. He missed the rest of the first period but returned for the start of the second.

Boston was already without Chara's defense partner, Charlie McAvoy, who was suspended one game for a shoulder to the head of Columbus forward Josh Anderson. McAvoy was averaging a team-high 24:26 ice time, and Chara was third.

AHO THERE

Aho led the Hurricanes with 38 goals and 83 assists in the regular season, but he was even better against Boston. In three games, he had four goals and three assists.

In his first career playoffs, Aho now has five goals and 10 points in 12 games.

McKegg scored when he shot the puck off Rask's shoulder and then barreled into the goalie as the puck bounced behind him and into the net. A review confirmed that the puck crossed the line before McKegg ran into Rask.

NOTES: The franchises met in the playoffs for the fifth time, with two of those coming before the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh in 1997. Boston is 3-1. ... The Hurricanes reassigned forward Patrick Brown and defenseman Jake Bean to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Sunday at 3 p.m.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY MAY 11, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY MAY 12, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:08 PM Carolina Hurricanes Boston Bruins TD Garden

SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY MAY 13, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
9:08 PM St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY MAY 14, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Boston Bruins Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 15, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM San Jose Sharks St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY MAY 16, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Boston Bruins Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena


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DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

05/09/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/08/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/07/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/06/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -11.55
05/05/2019 1-0-1 100.00% +5.45
05/04/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00
05/03/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -13.00
05/02/2019 2-2-0 50.00% +0.35
05/01/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00

Totals..............12-15-1 ......44.44% -21.75


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BEST BETS:


DATE........................ATS................... ..UNITS..................O/U..................UNITS.............TOTALS

05/09/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00.................. 0 - 1.................-5.50..............-10.50
05/08/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/07/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................0 - 1..................-5.50..............-0.50
05/06/2019..............0 - 1......................-5.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50..............-5.50
05/05/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.45..................0 - 0................. -0.00.............+5.45
05/04/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00
05/03/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50...............-0.50
05/02/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.85..................1 - 1..................-0.50 ..............+0.35
05/01/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00


Totals..................... 4 - 3.....................+6.30..................4 - 9..................-29.50.............-23.20


*************************************


APRIL'S NHL BEST BETS


Totals....................10 - 12.................+3.00..................30 - 19.............+45.50...............+48.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

— Iona College is getting $6M in renovations to its basketball arena.

— Hard to believe, but Washington is 1-7 this season when Max Scherzer starts.

— Mariners started the season 13-2, are now 20-20.

— Arizona Cardinals signed QB Kyler Murray to a 4-year, $35M deal.

— Have they announced which NFL team is going to be on Hard Knocks this summer?

— RIP Jim Fowler, 89, Marlon Perkins’ sidekick on Wild Kingdom, the old TV show about animals all over the world.


**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here…….

13) Albert Pujols got his 2,000th career RBI when he homered Thursday in Detroit. 1,029 of his 2,000 RBI have come via home runs.

A 33-year old law student caught Pujols’ historic home run, but refused four offers to sell the keepsake baseball back to Pujols— both the Tigers/Angels made multiple offers to the guy.

“I don’t want money. I don’t care.” Alrighty then.

12) Pretty fitting that Billy Joel spent his 70th birthday doing a concert in Madison Square Garden; that must’ve been a great night.

Long time ago, back in the 90’s sometime, Billy Joel booked a couple of concerts here in Albany- they sold out in about a half hour. They added a couple more dates- they sold out, too. Don’t remember the exact number, but pretty sure he wound up with 8-10 concerts here that month, all sellouts. I went to one of them, just a terrific show.

11) Every baseball telecast should announce which umpires are in the replay center in New York City. Gary Cohen does it sometimes on Met games; never heard anyone else do it.

10) South Carolina appears ready to offer $120M in tax breaks to the Carolina Panthers to move their practice fields and team headquarters out of North Carolina, and into the Palmetto State.

Rock Hill, SC is only 15 miles from Charlotte, which is what makes all this feasible.

Must be nice to be rich; people line up to give you even more money.

9) Westgate SuperBook took 46 bets on Tony Romo to win the Byron Nelson at 10,000/1; he shot a 5-over par 76 in the first round Thursday, even with an eagle on one hole.

8) 76ers 112, Raptors 101— Game 7 is in Toronto Sunday.

Trailblazers 119, Nuggets 108— Game 7 is in Denver Sunday.

7) Baseball injuries:
— Giants put C Buster Posey on 7-day concussion list.
— Mets put P Steven Matz on the IL.

6) Watching Rangers-Astros game, being played in a dome, but there are open spaces in the walls in left-center field and it was pouring rain in Houston, so when they showed pitches from the centerfield camera, you could see a steady downpour of rain that wasn’t coming down on the field, but some of the fans were getting drenched.

5) Wednesday night, Orioles lost a tough 2-1 game in 12 innings to Boston; saw something in the boxscore that I don’t think I’ve seen before.

Baltimore hitters struck out 22 times, with zero walks. Thats really terrible.

Jackie Bradley Jr made an amazing catch to rob Mancini of a homer that would’ve ended the game. Tremendous catch.

4) Doug Eddings has umpired home plate in seven games this season; the underdog won all seven games.

3) Minnesota Twins’ new replay coordinator Nate Dammann spent the last 12 years as one of their bullpen catchers, an interesting change/upgrade in career.

2) Astros 4, Rangers 2— Hunter Pence has 17 RBI in his last nine games for Texas.

1) NFL recently cut $20M from the NFL Network budget less than two years from a potential work stoppage, which may be a bad omen for the 2021 season taking place.

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s 6-pack

— Warriors 118, Rockets 113— Curry had 0 points in first half, 33 in the second.

— Since 1999-00, James Harden has been fouled shooting a 3-pointer 429 times; next highest during that time is Jamal Crawford, with 249.

— Jose Altuve (hamstring) left the Astros’ game in first inning Friday.

— Tampa Bay P Tyler Glasnow (forearm) left Friday’s game in 6th inning.

— Mets 11, Marlins 2— Mets scored eight runs in 1st inning, their most runs in any first inning since June 16, 1989 at Philadelphia.

— Travis d’Arnaud batted once for the Dodgers after they acquired him from the Mets Sunday; now d’Arnaud has been traded to Tampa Bay for cash, probably not a lot of cash.

Quote of the Day
“Whatever you are, be a good one.”
Abraham Lincoln

Saturday’s quiz
Who was Golden State’s coach the last time they didn’t make the playoffs?

Friday’s quiz
Kawhi Leonard played his college basketball at San Diego State.

Thursday’s quiz
George Karl was the Milwaukee Bucks’ coach the last time they played in Eastern Conference finals, in 2001.

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Saturday’s List of 13: Random Lists of 3……

13) Three favorite dinners:
— Pizza, just a plain cheese thin pizza. Excellent.
— Spaghetti and meatballs
— Scrambled eggs with sausage

12) Three underrated things:
— NHL playoffs
— Taking the train from Albany to NYC (as opposed to driving)
— Pinball Museum in Las Vegas; 250 vintage pinball machines under one roof

11) Favorite TV shows:
— CSI
— Law and Order
— Odd Couple

10) Favorite Bob Seger songs:
— Turn the Page
— Travelin’ Man
— Against the Wind

9) I watch a ton of baseball every day, thanks to the Extra Innings package on DirecTV. These are my favorite announce crews to listen to, if there are no games on that I have rooting interest in:

— Milwaukee Brewers: Brian Anderson/Matt Lepay with analyst Bill Schroeder
— Texas Rangers: Dave Raymond with CJ Nitkowski or Tom Grieve.
— Colorado Rockies: Drew Goodman, moreso when Jeff Huson is the analyst, but Ryan Spilborghs is getting better.

8) Three movies I’ve never seen:
— Star Wars
— Rocky V, or any of the Rocky movies after that
— Godfather II or Godfather III

7) Three favorite sporting events I’ve been to:
— 2000 NFC title game, Rams-Bucs in St Louis
— 2008 World Series game, Rays-Phillies
— AHL playoff game in Glens Falls that went triple OT, sometime in mid-80’s. Game ended around 12:50am; the concession stand ran out of food.

6) Favorite three non-sports movies:
— Rounders
— The Bodyguard
— Begin Again

5) Three favorite Billy Joel songs:
— Piano Man
— Vienna
— She’s Got a Way

4) Three favorite basketball movies:
— Blue Chips
— One on One
— Fast Break

3) Favorite Kevin Costner movies:
— For Love of the Game
— The Bodyguard
— Bull Durham

2) Three best Oakland A’s managers:
— Dick Williams
— Bob Melvin
— Tony LaRussa

1) Three best head coaches for the Rams:
— Dick Vermeil
— Sean McVay
— Chuck Knox

[StarDust Bum]

Marchand staying out of trouble
May 10, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) There's a dust-up in the corner, the referee raises his arm to signal a penalty, and Brad Marchand is right in the middle of it.

Only this time, he's trying to keep the peace.

The face-licking, stick-stomping Bruins forward moved quickly to pull rookie Connor Clifton away before he could retaliate for an illegal hit by Carolina's Jordan Staal. Instead of matching minors, Boston wound up with a power play that led to the tying goal, and the Bruins went on to beat the Hurricanes 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

''He's turning over a new leaf, eh?'' Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said with a smile after the Bruins moved three wins from returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2013.

A 5-foot-9 gadfly nicknamed ''The Little Ball of Hate,'' Marchand is a two-time All-Star who helped Boston lift the Cup as a rookie in 2011 and scored 100 points this season for the first time. He leads all players with 15 points this postseason.

But his antics have angered other teams and sometimes overshadowed his skills.

During last year's postseason, he developed a tendency to lick opponents' faces; the NHL told him to knock it off. This year, even Cassidy has praised him for the maturity that has kept that behavior to a minimum; Marchand was caught stomping on Blue Jackets' forward Cam Atkinson's stick before a faceoff.

Later in the series, he sucker-punched Columbus' Scott Harrington from behind. More important for the Bruins, after going scoreless in the first three games of the East semifinals, Marchand had a goal and three assists over the next two to help them rally from a 2-1 deficit and win the series in six.

''Listen, he's been in these big games,'' Cassidy said. ''He's a Stanley Cup champion. So he understands maybe a little more than meets the eye sometimes.''

Perhaps nobody understands better than Marchand what was going through Clifton's mind when he saw Staal hit Wagner from behind in the conference finals opener on Thursday night. Clifton gave Staal a cross-check and grabbed him around the back of the head.

But, before things could go any further, Marchand was pulling him away.

''When someone gets hit like that, you stand up for him,'' Marchand told WEEI.com.

As for playing peacemaker, Marchand said: ''You know, it's not often I'm in that position. But, obviously, it was an important power play and we scored on it, so he did a great job of getting in there but staying disciplined.''

Marchand said he didn't know how far Clifton was going to take it; he just wanted to make sure that he stopped.

''I would expect that. He's a leader,'' Clifton said. ''We had a power play and it was a bad hit, but he stopped me pretty fast.''

After keeping Clifton out of trouble, Marchand assisted on Marcus Johansson's goal during the Staal penalty that tied the score 2-2. He also set up Patrice Bergeron's power-play goal 28 seconds later that gave Boston the lead for good.

''Good for Brad,'' Cassidy said. ''We've put an `A' on his shirt at times this year for a reason, and I'm glad to see that he made that decision tonight with a younger guy.''

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Friday that his team is aware of Marchand's tendencies, but he didn't spend any time figuring out ways to goad the Bruins forward into a dumb penalty.

''We know all the players in this league,'' the coach said. ''Sometimes it's better just to go and play the game and not be worried about what someone may or may not do.''

[StarDust Bum]

Goalies helped spark Blues, Sharks
May 10, 2019
By The Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) St. Louis' season started to turn around as soon as goalie Jordan Binnington came up from the minors to help lead the Blues from the bottom of the standings.

The key moment for their opponent in the Western Conference final came much later in the year when San Jose coach Peter DeBoer made the decision to stick with struggling Martin Jones in net midway through the first round. Jones found his game and has helped carry the Sharks into the final four.

The decision to change goalies in St. Louis and stick with one in San Jose now has these two star-crossed franchises eight wins away from a first Stanley Cup title.

''When we put him in Philly as the starter, we haven't looked back,'' Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Friday on the eve of Game 1. ''It would be disingenuous to say that this was anywhere part of the plan. This is the Jordan Binnington story in the sense that he's made the best of the opportunity.''

Binnington was called up from the minors in December and then had a shutout in his first start against the Flyers on Jan. 7, becoming a big reason why the team in last place in the NHL on Jan. 2 is still alive.

He helped anchor an 11-game winning streak that got the Blues back into contention and became a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie at age 25. He's been steady in the playoffs with a .915 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average.

''There were some years there where I wasn't sure,'' Binnington said when asked if he ever doubted he'd become an NHL goalie. ''It took a lot of maturing and experience. I was in the right place.''

Jones came into the season with much pedigree, having led the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final just three years ago. But he was one of the worst goalies in the league this season with an .896 save percentage and then was pulled twice in the first four games of the opening round against Vegas.

But he rebounded from there with a .928 save percentage in the last 10 games, including a franchise-record 58 in a double-overtime win at Vegas that helped spark a comeback from 3-1 down in the series.

''There was never a doubt in anybody's mind that he'd go out and play well,'' teammate Logan Couture said.

DeBoer said all Jones needed was a few small adjustments as he had overcompensated from being too passive late in the season to being overly aggressive in the first four games against the Golden Knights.

Having found the happy medium and getting better support from his teammates, who have limited odd-man rushes, Jones is playing at a high level once again.

''It's tough as a goalie, you want to go out and make a difference and make a big save,'' he said. ''You just have to be a little bit more patient and wait for the game a little bit more.''

Here are some things to watch in the series:

CHECKERED HISTORY: Both franchises have had their share of playoff disappointments. The Blues reached the Cup final their first three years as the top team in the all-expansion Western Conference but were swept all three times. They haven't been back to the Cup final despite making the postseason 39 times since.

They lost in the conference final in 1986 to Calgary, in 2001 to Colorado and three years ago to the Sharks as they've too often had quality teams that just weren't good enough.

''Over the last eight years we've averaged 99 points, we've been a solid team,'' Armstrong said. ''But we haven't gone to the promised land of winning a championship.''

The Sharks have also been one of the most consistent teams in the league without winning the ultimate prize. They lost in the conference finals in 2004, 2010 and 2011 before finally breaking through with the win against the Blues. But they fell to Pittsburgh in six games in the Cup final and are running out of time to deliver a title for 39-year-old star Joe Thornton.

''It's not just win one for Joe, it's win one for all of us. Win one for San Jose,'' captain Joe Pavelski said. ''It would be a cool story.''

CAPTAIN COMEBACK: Pavelski has also provided inspiration this postseason. He was knocked out with a bloody concussion in Game 7 against Vegas, leading to a major penalty and four power-play goals that erased a 3-0 deficit in the third period. Pavelski then made it back on the ice for Game 7 last round against Colorado where he had a goal and an assist in the first period to spark the win.

WHERE'S VLAD?: Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues with 33 goals in the regular season but has struggled so far in the playoffs, especially at even strength. Tarasenko has four power-play goals but only one point at even strength through 13 games. Tarasenko was shut down by Marc-Edouard Vlasic when these teams met in the conference final three years ago. He had no points the first five games before scoring two late goals in San Jose's decisive Game 6 victory after the game had been decided.

STICKING AROUND: Coach Craig Berube still has the interim tag after taking over early in the season from the fired Mike Yeo. But after leading the Blues to the conference final, Armstrong said a long list of candidates for the full-time job has been whittled down.

''Now we're at a list of one,'' he said. ''When the season is over and the right time comes, we'll sit down and discuss it.''

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Blues (45-28) at Sharks (47-27)
Date: May 11, 2019 8:00 PM EDT

The road to winning the Stanley Cup is only halfway over, yet both combatants in the Western Conference final are truly battle tested.

When the San Jose Sharks play host to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night to kick off the third round of the NHL playoffs -- a rematch of the 2016 Western Conference final won by the Sharks -- both teams have already overcome so much.

The Sharks first beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the opening round -- their Game 7 comeback that featured four third-period power-play goals, a blown final-minute lead and then an overtime win will undoubtedly go down in hockey lore -- before surviving a gut-wrenching series with the Colorado Avalanche in the second round.

The Blues have impressively overcome their challenges, too. After upsetting the favored Winnipeg Jets in a six-game set to kick off the second season, in which they won all three road games, St. Louis knocked off the Dallas Stars in double-overtime in Game 7 of the second round. Throw in the oft-recorded tale of how the Blues were last in the league on Jan. 3, and there's no doubt adversity doesn't impact this club.

"I'm really proud of this group more and more every single day," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo told NHL.com. "A lot of people say we have a close room, and we do because that's a resilient effort from where we were in December to get to where we are now. Sometimes you've just got to look back and be proud of the effort. It's been a long road, but we just keep on pushing. ... We're finding a way."

The Sharks can tell a similar tale.

"It's good to have some adversity, and I think that we definitely have had that," San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson said. "In both Game 7s, I think we played with no fear. You know, we haven't thought about the end result. We've just stayed in the moment and tried to take care of each shift, and that's what it takes. If you do that, I think with the group that we have and the talent that we have in here, the end result is going to go our way."

For what it's worth, San Jose won two of three regular-season meetings, one of those in overtime. Considering the Sharks finished two points ahead of the Blues in the standings, it stands to reason fans should expect another long series featuring a pair of clubs with plenty of experience.

Both teams feature all kinds of key players who were involved in the last playoff meeting three years ago: Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic for the Sharks; Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Pietrangelo for the Blues.

That series has no bearing on today, but makes for an interesting sidebar. San Jose's only trip to the Stanley Cup Final was in 2016. The Blues last reached the final round in 1970 -- which is remembered for Bobby Orr's overtime winning goal.

"I've been lucky enough to play in a few Western Conference finals in my career and you realize you can't take them for granted because you never know when the next one is going to come," Couture said. "That's basically the message that's been passed on to me and we're trying to pass on to these other guys in this room. You have to really cherish these moments and take advantage of them, because they don't come around often."

Pavelski returned from an apparent head injury for Wednesday night's Game 7 against Colorado and he scored the game's first goal.

--Field Level Media


**********************************


NHL HEAD TO HEAD

Mar 9, 2019 Score ATS Results
STL 2 Under: 5
SAN « 3 Cover: 226
Tools: Recaps

Nov 17, 2018 Score ATS Results
STL 0 Under: 4
SAN « 4 Cover: 164
Tools: Recaps

Nov 9, 2018 Score ATS Results
SAN 0 Cover: 271
STL « 4 Under: 4
Tools: Recaps

Mar 27, 2018 Score ATS Results
SAN 2 Under: 5
STL « 3 Cover: 241
Tools: Recaps

Mar 8, 2018 Score ATS Results
STL 0 Under: 2
SAN « 2 Cover: 242
Tools: Recaps

Feb 20, 2018 Score ATS Results
SAN « 3 Push: 5
STL 2 Cover: 219
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Western Conference Finals: Blues vs Sharks series preview, odds and best bets
Rohit Ponnaiya

Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blues are underdogs for their Western Conference Finals series against the San Jose Sharks.

The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues have seen their share of struggles this season but will face each other in the Western Conference Finals with the winner advancing to play for the Stanley Cup.

The Sharks open as the series favorite thanks to a deep lineup filled with playmakers but the Blues are riding red-hot rookie netminder Jordan Binnington. We break down the series odds and give you in-depth trends and notes so you can make the best bets on the road to the Stanley Cup.

St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks

Series Winner Odds: San Jose -175/St. Louis +120 @ Sports Interaction
Stanley Cup Winner Odds: San Jose +225/St. Louis +330 @ Sports Interaction
Regular Season Head to Head: San Jose 2-1

SCHEDULE

Game 1: SAP Center, San Jose, CA - Saturday, May 11, 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 2: SAP Center, San Jose, CA - Monday, May 13, 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 3: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Wednesday, May 15, 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 4: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Friday, May 17, 8:00 p.m. ET
*Game 5: SAP Center, San Jose, CA - Sunday, May 19, 3:00 p.m. ET
*Game 6: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Tuesday, May 21, 8:00 p.m. ET
*Game 7: SAP Center, San Jose, CA - Thursday, May 23, 8:00 p.m. ET

* If necessary

BACKGROUND

Both teams are coming off a grueling seven-game series, with the Blues coming off a 2-1 double overtime win against the Stars while the Sharks held off the Avalanche 3-2 in Game 7.

The Sharks were on the ropes to Vegas in Round 1, down three games to one after three straight losses where they allowed at least five goals. Since then their defense and goalie Martin Jones have played much better.

The Blues have been led by backstopper Binnington. The Calder Trophy candidate went 24-5-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage during the regular season, and saved 51 of 53 shots in the last two games against Dallas.

The regular season matchups between these two sides don't tell us much. Each team won 4-0 at home back in November (well before Binnington got his first start) and then the Sharks squeezed out a 3-2 overtime victory at home in March.

SWEATING BETTORS

The Blues have played a ton of close games, with eight of their last 10 games being decided by a single goal. The Sharks have played three consecutive games that were decided by just one goal. Taking the puckline on the underdog could prove to be a profitable play.

VULNERABLE BETWEEN THE PIPES?

I mentioned that Jones has played much better in the net lately, but that uneven play earlier in the playoffs has to worry Sharks backers. San Jose has easily allowed the most even strength and overall goals during the playoffs and their goals allowed per game of 3.07 is the highest of any team to make it past the first round.

FURIOUS FINISHES

St. Louis has scored more goals in the third period (18) than in the first two periods combined (15). The Sharks have allowed 16 goals in the final period, compared to 11 in the opening period and 15 in the second. Taking the third period to be the highest scoring might be a sharp bet.

ANOTHER PERIOD TREND

The Blues have scored just six postseason goals in the second period, while allowing only nine. The second has also been the Sharks lowest scoring period with 11 goals. Lean towards the second period Under.

PLAYER TO WATCH: JADEN SCHWARTZ, ST. LOUIS BLUES

In a series featuring plenty of big-name forwards inluding Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Vladimir Tarasenko, Schwartz might be the hottest one entering Game 1. Schwartz has scored eight goals in his last nine games, and has found the back of the net in four of the last six contests against Dallas. Taking Schwartz to score the most goals in the series pays out at +1850.