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

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY OCTOBER 13, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
1:05 PM Edmonton Oilers New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
1:05 PM Vegas Golden Knights Philadelphia Flyers Wells Fargo Center
2:05 PM Los Angeles Kings Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
3:05 PM Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins TD Garden
6:05 PM Carolina Hurricanes Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
7:05 PM Columbus Blue Jackets Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
7:05 PM Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
7:05 PM Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
7:05 PM Vancouver Canucks Florida Panthers BB&T Center
8:05 PM Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars American Airlines Center
8:05 PM New York Islanders Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
8:35 PM St. Louis Blues Chicago Blackhawks United Center
9:05 PM Buffalo Sabres Arizona Coyotes Gila River Arena
10:05 PM Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center


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Nhl October Best Bets & Opinions

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

10/11/2018 9-12-0 42.86% -12.15
10/10/2018 3-3-0 50.00% +0.90
10/09/2018 3-8-0 27.27% -29.35
10/08/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +12.80
10/07/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.50
10/06/2018 0-2-1 0.00% -11.30
10/05/2018 2-1-0 66.67% +6.30
10/04/2018 9-7-1 56.25% +7.50

Totals............35-38-1.......47.94%......-15.80


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Best Bets:

Date......................Ats...................Un its......................O/U.................Units...............Total

10/11/2018..........3 - 4.................+3.70.....................4 - 7.................-18.50............-14.80
10/10/2018..........1 - 1.................+1.90.....................1 - 2.................-5.00..............-3.10
10/09/2018..........2 - 2.................+1.45.....................1 - 5.................-22.50............-21.05
10/08/2018..........2 - 1.................+8.80.....................2 - 2.................-1.00..............+7.80
10/07/2018..........0 - 1..................-5.00.....................2 - 1.................+4.50..............-0.50
10/06/2018..........0 - 0..................+0.00....................0 - 1.................-5.50...............-5.50
10/05/2018..........1 - 0.................+6.80.....................1 - 1.................-0.50...............+6.30
10/04/2018..........0 - 2..................-10.00...................4 - 5..................-7.50..............-17.50

Totals..................9 - 11................+7.65...................15 - 24................-56.00.............-48.35

[StarDust Bum]

Friday’s six-pack

NFL trends for Week 6:

— Texans are 2-8 vs spread in their last ten games.

— Pittsburgh is 3-8 vs spread in its last 11 games.

— Tennessee is 11-3-1 vs spread coming off its last 15 losses.

— New England is 17-6-3 in last 26 games as home favorites.

— Buccaneers are 8-3 vs spread in last 11 post-bye games.

— Kansas City covered its last nine games.

Quote of the Day
“Ron Adams told me that Tex (Winter) knew more about the history of the game and the fundamentals of the game than anybody he had ever met in his life. I was lucky enough to play for Tex for five years and learn from him.

A lot of what I do here with the Warriors is patterned from things I learned from Tex. What a life he lived. He was a unique individual and touched thousands of lives. Today, the news was tough. Tex was a special person to me and everyone that played for him.”
Steve Kerr

Friday’s quiz
Who did the Cincinnati Bengals beat the last time they won a playoff game, in 1990?

Thursday’s quiz
Milwaukee Brewers were last in a World Series in 1982, losing to St Louis in 7 games.

Wednesday’s quiz
Cam Newton played college football for both Florida and Auburn.

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

13) If you like/love basketball, the specials that ESPN is putting out on the history of the game seem to be very well done; saw a couple of them this week, one piece about the finals of the 1972 Olympic basketball tournament, another on the first ABA dunk contest. Lot of history there; it is well worth your time if you’re a basketball person.

12) My hotel room at the Golden Nugget had free earplugs on the nightstand; didn’t come close to needing them until tonight, when there was a concert in the park next to the hotel. Very loud, but music from the 80’s, so I passed on using the earplugs.

There is also a tattoo convention at the hotel this weekend, and a ton of motorcyclists; not sure if those two things are related, but the hallways look like a Duck Dynasty class reunion.

11) Highly recommend the Golden Nugget by the way; great pool, food places are real good and people here are real nice. Its been a fun vacation.

10) New restaurants I’ve tried/enjoyed for the last eight days in Las Vegas:
— The Grotto (in Golden Nugget). Very good pizza and meatball sliders
— Claim Jumper (in Golden Nugget). Open 24 hours, lot of good choices.
— Chicago Joe’s. Old-fashioned Italian place that actually used to be someone’s house. Very good food, excellent prices; it is right next to a very sketchy-looking apartment complex.
— Pizza Rock— Really good pizza, lot of TV’s, a little expensive.
— Hash House a Go-Go (in Plaza Hotel). Big portions, very good scrambled eggs.

9) Lakers-Warriors was an unusually intense exhibition game Wednesday; was watching end of the game in the sportsbook— guy on the Lakers stole the ball, went in for a dunk, and the only other guy in there with me says excitedly “That put the game over the total!!!”

If you’re wagering on totals in NBA exhibition games, you’ve got a better stomach than I do.

8) Doug McDermott is playing for the Indiana Pacers this season, 5th team he’ll play for in his fifth NBA season; he was also traded by the Nuggets the night he got drafted in 2014, so thats six teams for him in 4+ years.

7) Eagles 34, Giants 13— Philly evened its record at 3-3 in game where their first two TD drives were only 16-44 yards. Giants have a porous offensive line, an aging, immobile QB and a 1-5 record, which should make the back page of the NY tabloids interesting.

6) Why teams win/lose; looking back at the 2009 NBA Draft:

2nd pick— Memphis, Hasheem Thabeet
3rd pick— Oklahoma City, James Harden

6th pick— Minnesota, Jonny Flynn
7th pick— Golden State, Stephen Curry

9th pick— New York, Jordan Hill
10th pick— Toronto, DeMar DeRozan

5) One weekend each year, the NBA should use red, white and blue basketballs in its games to honor the ABA, which closed shop after the 1975-76 season.

Lot of terrific players in the ABA (George Gervin, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, even Wilt Chamberlain briefly). Their teams played an exciting style of ball.

4) Shahid Khan owns the Jacksonville Jaguars; he is trying to buy Wembley Stadium in London and if he does, he may have the Jaguars play half their home games there every year. Would this be a good thing for the NFL? For the Jaguars? We may find out.

3) Chicago Cubs fired hitting coach Chili Davis Thursday; if the Phillies or some other team has half a brain, they’ll sign Davis— he’s a damn good hitting coach.

2) NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves cancelled practice and team activities Thursday, after the circus that was Wednesday, with Jimmy Butler taking the four worst players in camp and then beating the five starters in a scrimmage, while he yelled at the team’s coach and GM.

1) Former Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze will be offensive coordinator for the Arizona team in the new AAF next spring. Lot of big names will be coaching in the 8-team league.

[StarDust Bum]

EVENING PUCKS:


PIT at MON 07:00 PM
PIT -155
U 6.0

CLB at TB 07:00 PM
TB -169
O 6.0

VAN at FLA 07:00 PM
FLA -196
O 6.5

TOR at WAS 07:00 PM
TOR -101
U 6.5

ANA at DAL 08:00 PM
ANA +144
U 5.5

NYI at NAS 08:00 PM
NAS -214
U 6.0

STL at CHI 08:30 PM
CHI +102
O 6.0

BUF at ARI 09:00 PM
ARI -135
O 5.5

CAL at COL 10:00 PM
COL -120
O 6.0

[StarDust Bum]

THIS WAS THE MORNINGS PICKS.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

EDM at NYR 01:00 PM
NYR +104
O 6.0

VEG at PHI 01:00 PM
VEG -100
U 6.0

LA at OTT 02:00 PM
LA -144
U 6.0

DET at BOS 03:00 PM
DET +214
O 6.0

CAR at MIN 06:00 PM
MIN -152
O 6.0

[StarDust Bum]

SCORES

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS @ PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
51 VGK « -105 6 0 0 1 1 Cover: +100
52 PHI -115 0 0 0 0 Under: 1
Line Movements · Recap

EDMONTON OILERS @ NEW YORK RANGERS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
53 EDM « -110 6 1 0 1 2 Cover: +100
54 NYR -110 1 0 0 1 Under: 3
Line Movements · Recap


LA KINGS @ OTTAWA SENATORS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
55 LOS -150 6 0 1 0 1 Push: 6
56 OTT « +130 3 1 1 5 Cover: +130
Line Movements · Recap

CAROLINA HURRICANES @ MINNESOTA WILD
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 4 T ATS
57 CAR « +115 6 1 1 2 1 5 Cover: +115
58 MIN -135 1 0 3 0 4 Over: 9
Line Movements · Recap


TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS @ WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
59 TOR « -105 6.5 0 2 2 4 Cover: +100
60 WAS -115 1 1 0 2 Under: 6
Line Movements · Recap

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS @ TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
61 COB +150 6 0 2 0 2 Over: 10
62 TAM « -170 3 1 4 8 Cover: +100
Line Movements · Recap


PITTSBURGH PENGUINS @ MONTREAL CANADIENS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 4 5 T ATS
63 PIT -155 6 2 1 0 0 0 3 Over: 7
64 MON « +135 0 3 0 0 1 4 Cover: +135
Line Movements · Recap

VANCOUVER CANUCKS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
65 VAN « +170 6.5 0 2 1 3 Cover: +170
66 FLA -200 0 2 0 2 Under: 5
Line Movements · Recap


DETROIT RED WINGS @ BOSTON BRUINS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
67 DET +220 6 0 0 2 2 Over: 10
68 BOS « -260 1 3 4 8 Cover: +100
Line Movements · Recap

ANAHEIM DUCKS @ DALLAS STARS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
69 ANA +145 5.5 2 1 0 3 Over: 8
70 DAL « -165 0 4 1 5 Cover: +100
Line Movements · Recap


NEW YORK ISLANDERS @ NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
71 NYI +190 6 0 2 0 2 Over: 7
72 NAS « -230 3 0 2 5 Cover: +100
Line Movements · Recap

ST. LOUIS BLUES @ CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 4 T ATS
73 STL -115 6 0 1 2 0 3 Over: 7
74 CHI « -105 2 0 1 1 4 Cover: +100
Line Movements · Recap


BUFFALO SABRES @ ARIZONA COYOTES
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 T ATS
75 BUF « +125 5.5 2 0 1 3 Cover: +125
76 ARI -145 0 0 0 0 Under: 3
Line Movements · Recap

CALGARY FLAMES @ COLORADO AVALANCHE
Final Score Line Score
Teams ML O/U 1 2 3 4 T ATS
77 CGY « +110 6.5 0 1 1 1 3 Cover: +110
78 COL -130 2 0 0 0 2 Under: 5
Line Movements


Updated Sun, Oct 14 1:16 AM EST

[StarDust Bum]

Nhl October Best Bets & Opinions

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

10/13/2018 11-16-1 40.74% -43.50
10/11/2018 9-12-0 42.86% -12.15
10/10/2018 3-3-0 50.00% +0.90
10/09/2018 3-8-0 27.27% -29.35
10/08/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +12.80
10/07/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.50
10/06/2018 0-2-1 0.00% -11.30
10/05/2018 2-1-0 66.67% +6.30
10/04/2018 9-7-1 56.25% +7.50

Totals............46-54-1.......46.00%......-59.39


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Best Bets:

Date......................Ats...................Un its......................O/U.................Units...............Total

10/13/2018..........1 - 4.................-15.00.....................6 - 7................-8.50..............-23.50
10/11/2018..........3 - 4.................+3.70.....................4 - 7.................-18.50............-14.80
10/10/2018..........1 - 1.................+1.90.....................1 - 2.................-5.00..............-3.10
10/09/2018..........2 - 2.................+1.45.....................1 - 5.................-22.50............-21.05
10/08/2018..........2 - 1.................+8.80.....................2 - 2.................-1.00..............+7.80
10/07/2018..........0 - 1..................-5.00.....................2 - 1.................+4.50..............-0.50
10/06/2018..........0 - 0..................+0.00....................0 - 1.................-5.50...............-5.50
10/05/2018..........1 - 0.................+6.80.....................1 - 1.................-0.50...............+6.30
10/04/2018..........0 - 2..................-10.00...................4 - 5..................-7.50..............-17.50

Totals................10 - 15................-7.35...................21 - 31................-64.50.............-71.85

[StarDust Bum]

Sunday’s six-pack

Top 6 picks in Week 6 of Westgate SuperBook NFL handicapping contest (3,123 entries)

1) Steelers +2.5 (1,092)

2) Patriots -3.5 (1,004)

3) Jaguars -3 (838)

4) Bears -3 (799)

5) Colts +2.5 (773)

6) Falcons -3.5 (766)

Season record: 13-15-2

Quote of the Day
“If it was easy, everyone would be rich.”
Sean Higgs, talking about sports betting

Sunday’s quiz
Which current ACC football coach was Eli Manning’s college coach at Ole Miss?

Saturday’s quiz
Dodgers’ P Clayton Kershaw was the center on his HS football team; Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford was under center.

Friday’s quiz
Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Oilers the last time they won a playoff game, in 1990.

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Sunday’s List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday

13) Michigan State 21, Penn State 17— To paraphrase Bill Raftery, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio has onions; MSU tried a fake FG with 5:31 left, down 17-14- it didn’t work, but they got the ball back and didn’t just play for tying FG- they threw a GW TD pass with 0:19 left.

If you remember, Michigan State beat Notre Dame a few years back by scoring a TD on a fake FG in OT. You can’t play scared and be a great coach.

12) Tennessee 30, Auburn 24— Vols snapped an 11-game SEC losing streak, ending a six-game skid vs Auburn- their last win over the Tigers was in 1999.

Auburn is 1-3 in SEC play and obviously, they haven’t played Alabama yet; Auburn has fired coaches for less- they canned Gene Chizik in 2012, two years after he won a national title.

11) Virginia Tech 22, North Carolina 19— What is a quarterback? You can use all the numbers you want, but the essence of what a QB is/should be was summed up by Hokies’ QB Ryan Willis, who led an 18-play, 98-yard drive that wound up with Tech scoring the game-winning TD with 0:19 left in Chapel Hill.

Willis scrambled for a first down on 4th-and-7 when their situation looked hopeless- thats what good QB’s do, whatever needs to be done.

10) Florida 37, Vanderbilt 27— Vandy was up 21-3 in 2nd quarter- Florida turned ball over three times, but Gators stormed back to win- they had 576-336 yardage edge, ran 92 plays compared to 58 for the Commodores. Gators were 12-19 on third down, Vanderbilt 3-12.

In 2nd quarter, there was war of words between two head coaches while a Vandy player was hurt; benches almost emptied. After the game, the coaches talked for 20-30 seconds and all seemed peaceful then.

9) Northwestern 34, Nebraska 31 OT— Cornhuskers’ season from hell continues; they’re 0-6 for the first time ever, losing game here when they led 31-21 with 3:00 left- Northwestern tied game with 0:12 left in regulation.

Clayton Thorson threw for 455 yards for the Wildcats. Dating back to last year, Nebraska has now lost ten games in a row. Rough start to the Scott Frost era in Lincoln.

8) Maryland 34, Rutgers 7— Scarlet Knights threw 17 passes in this game; seven of them were caught, five by Maryland defenders, only two by Rutgers receivers. This is not good.

Rutgers lost its last six games (1-4 vs spread), five of them by 21+ points.

7) Upsets of the Week:
Tennessee (+14.5) 30, Auburn 24
Liberty (+9.5) 22, Troy 16
Texas Tech (+7.5) 17, TCU 14
LSU (+7) 36, Georgia 16
Kansas State (+7) 31, Oklahoma State 12

6) Eastern Michigan 28, Toledo 26— Eagles led 28-3 at the half, hung on for dear life as they snapped a 4-game losing skid- EMU’s last four games were decided by total of 11 points.

5) Central Florida 31, Memphis 30— Tigers were driving for winning FG in last minute, but after WR caught pass to the UCF 35 with 0:38 left, he strutted around for few seconds before realizing he had to line up again, because Memphis had no timeouts left. He had to sprint to other side of field and it took a few seconds.

Finally Memphis got lined up, but left tackle moved before the snap, which resulted in both a 10-second runoff and the 5-yard penalty- things unraveled from there- they never even got a FG try off.

4) Oregon 30, Washington 27 OT— Huskies missed a 37-yard FG on last play of regulation, Oregon scored TD in OT and improved to 5-1. Teams combined to go 15-31 on third down, as offenses controlled the day, while a kicker ruined Washington’s day.

3) Iowa State 30, Oklahoma State 14— ISU coach Matt Campbell makes $3.5M a year; I hope Cyclone fans are enjoying this, because Campbell is about to get a really big raise, whether it is from a bigger-$$$ school or an NFL team— this guy is really good.

I’ve never been to Iowa, but people in Ames seem happier when they win than most people when they win. Fans at Iowa State were really, really happy after this game.

2) Dodgers 4, Brewers 3— Justin Turner hit the GW homer in the 8th inning.
Astros 7, Red Sox 2— Justin Verlander allowed two hits in six IP; imagine that, a starting pitcher actually finishing the sixth inning. Revolutionary.

1) Ole Miss 37, Arkansas 33— Razorbacks led 30-17 with 8:00 left in third quarter, but let this game slip away and lost their sixth game in a row.

Rebels gained 613 yards on a rainy night in Little Rock, averaged 11.1 yds/pass attempt.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, October 14

San Jose @ New Jersey

Game 1-2
October 14, 2018 @ 1:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
13.091
New Jersey
11.300
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Jose
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-115
6
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose
(-115); Under

Carolina @ Winnipeg

Game 3-4
October 14, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
9.573
Winnipeg
12.863
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Winnipeg
by 3 1/2
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Winnipeg
-175
6
Dunkel Pick:
Winnipeg
(-175); Over

Anaheim @ St. Louis

Game 5-6
October 14, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Anaheim
10.797
St. Louis
9.907
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Anaheim
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Anaheim
N/A




NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, October 14

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SAN JOSE (2-2-0-1, 5 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/14/2018, 1:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 3-15 ATS (-14.8 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 48-42 ATS (-3.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 24-16 ATS (+6.4 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 91-69 ATS (+18.2 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 217-229 ATS (+487.8 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 195-147 ATS (+30.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 4-0 (+4.0 Units) against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 4-0-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)

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CAROLINA (4-0-0-1, 9 pts.) at WINNIPEG (2-2-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/14/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 70-131 ATS (+229.2 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1996.
CAROLINA is 23-49 ATS (+78.6 Units) in road games after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
WINNIPEG is 15-4 ATS (+9.1 Units) in home games first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 3-1 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 3-1-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.1 Units)

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ANAHEIM (3-1-0-1, 7 pts.) at ST LOUIS (1-1-0-2, 4 pts.) - 10/14/2018, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 3-3 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 3-3-0 straight up against ANAHEIM over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.1 Units)

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NHL

Sunday, October 14

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
San Jose is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 6 games
San Jose is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
San Jose is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 6 games when playing New Jersey
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of New Jersey's last 18 games
New Jersey is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games at home
New Jersey is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New Jersey's last 9 games at home
New Jersey is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
New Jersey is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 6 games when playing San Jose
New Jersey is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against San Jose


Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Anaheim is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Anaheim's last 17 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing St. Louis
Anaheim is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games
St. Louis is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing Anaheim
St. Louis is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 7 games when playing at home against Anaheim


Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Carolina is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Carolina's last 9 games on the road
Carolina is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Winnipeg
Carolina is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
Carolina is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games when playing on the road against Winnipeg
Carolina is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Winnipeg
Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Winnipeg is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 6 games
Winnipeg is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Winnipeg is 15-4 SU in its last 19 games at home
Winnipeg is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 6 games at home
Winnipeg is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
Winnipeg is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 5 games when playing Carolina
Winnipeg is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina
Winnipeg is 8-15 SU in its last 23 games when playing at home against Carolina

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Ducks (3-1) at Blues (1-1)

ST. LOUIS -- Two teams with little time to shore up their defensive play will meet Sunday night when the St. Louis Blues host the Anaheim Ducks in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams at Scottrade Center.

Both teams lost road games Saturday night when the Blues fell 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime and the Ducks dropped a 5-3 decision to the Dallas Stars.

The back-to-back set is the first of the season for each team.

The loss Saturday was a particularly dispiriting one for the Ducks, who raced out to a 3-0 lead before the midway point of the second period but allowed four goals in a span of fewer than seven minutes before intermission. The Stars racked up a franchise-record 30 shots in the second period.

The Ducks, who pulled John Gibson after the second period, limited the Stars to one goal -- an empty netter by Radek Faksa with 1:28 remaining -- on seven shots in the third.

"Our team performance, obviously, in the second period wasn't good, but in the third, we played more of the way we need to play," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "But it takes 60 minutes to win in the NHL. We only played 40 minutes."

As far as defenseman Cam Fowler was concerned, Saturday night was a long time coming for the Ducks, who allowed opponents to fire 134 shots at Gibson in their first four games but still opened 3-0-1.

"I feel terrible," Fowler said. "He's been phenomenal all year. He's the reason why we even have a chance most nights. As bad as tonight was, if you look at our shot totals for us in the first five games, it has not been good. And he's been our best player, by far, so I feel awful for him."

The Blues rode a roller coaster as well Saturday when they fell behind 2-0 before scoring three straight goals spanning the second and third periods. But Blackhawks right winger Alex DeBrincat scored the tying goal with 6:54 left in regulation before he collected the game-winner with nine seconds left in overtime.

"It's good that the guys battled back, we got a point," Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. "But still, there's some areas that need to improve here."

The Blues have given up at least four goals in three of their first four games.

"You have to play smart to be good defensively," Yeo said. "And I think that when we start to have sort of an internal pride in our locker room, that when you're on the ice, that it matters as much not to have anything bad happen as it does for something good to happen, then when we start to come together a little bit more as a team."

The Blues announced Saturday night that backup goalie Chad Johnson will make his season and St. Louis debut Sunday. Johnson, who signed as a free agent on July 1, is 3-2-0 in six career appearances against the Ducks.

Miller is likely to get his first start of the season for the Ducks. He is 2-7-0 in nine career games against the Blues.

[StarDust Bum]

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

SJ at NJ 01:00 PM
SJ -111
O 6.0

ANA at STL 07:00 PM
ANA +134
U 5.5

CAR at WIN 07:00 PM
WIN -165
U 6.0

[StarDust Bum]

Kyle Palmieri has 3rd straight 2-goal game, Devils win
October 14, 2018
By The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Kyle Palmieri scored two goals for the third straight game and the New Jersey Devils rallied from their first deficits of the season to beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Sunday.

Jean-Sebastien Dea capped the two-goal, third-period outburst with the winner at 3:25. Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves to help the Devils open 3-0 for the second straight year.

Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks in the final game of a five-game trip.

Palmieri, who had 24 goals last season, scored on a rebound in the crease 37 seconds into the third period to tie it. After Kinkaid made a save in close minutes later, Dea stuffed a loose puck into the net after Jones let a shot by former Sharks defenseman Mirco Mueller slip between his pads.

DUCKS 3, BLUES 2.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Ben Street and Andrew Cogliano scored third-period goals, and Ryan Miller made 29 saves in Anaheim's comeback victory over St. Louis.

Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Ducks. Alexander Steen and Tyler Bozak scored for the Blues and Chad Johnson made 28 saves in his St. Louis debut.

JETS 3, HURRICANES 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) - Bryan Little broke a tie with 2:09 left and Winnipeg beat Carolina to open a six-game homestand.

Patrick Laine opened the scoring for the Jets at 4:14 of the third period, and Kyle Connor added an empty-net goal with a second left. Backup goalie Laurent Brossoit stopped 42 shots for the victory, allowing only Micheal Ferland's tying goal.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:35 PM Dallas Stars Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
7:35 PM Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
7:35 PM Los Angeles Kings Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
8:05 PM Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena


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


Nhl October Best Bets & Opinions

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

10/14/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +10.65
10/13/2018 11-16-1 40.74% -43.50
10/11/2018 9-12-0 42.86% -12.15
10/10/2018 3-3-0 50.00% +0.90
10/09/2018 3-8-0 27.27% -29.35
10/08/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +12.80
10/07/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.50
10/06/2018 0-2-1 0.00% -11.30
10/05/2018 2-1-0 66.67% +6.30
10/04/2018 9-7-1 56.25% +7.50

Totals............50-56-1.......47.16%......-48.74


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

Best Bets:

Date......................Ats...................Un its......................O/U.................Units...............Total

10/14/2018..........1 - 0.................+6.70.....................2 - 1................+4.50.............+11.20
10/13/2018..........1 - 4.................-15.00.....................6 - 7................-8.50..............-23.50
10/11/2018..........3 - 4.................+3.70.....................4 - 7.................-18.50............-14.80
10/10/2018..........1 - 1.................+1.90.....................1 - 2.................-5.00..............-3.10
10/09/2018..........2 - 2.................+1.45.....................1 - 5.................-22.50............-21.05
10/08/2018..........2 - 1.................+8.80.....................2 - 2.................-1.00..............+7.80
10/07/2018..........0 - 1..................-5.00.....................2 - 1.................+4.50..............-0.50
10/06/2018..........0 - 0..................+0.00....................0 - 1.................-5.50...............-5.50
10/05/2018..........1 - 0.................+6.80.....................1 - 1.................-0.50...............+6.30
10/04/2018..........0 - 2..................-10.00...................4 - 5..................-7.50..............-17.50

Totals................11 - 15................-0.65...................23 - 32................-60.00.............-60.65

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Top 6 picks in Week 6 of Westgate SuperBook NFL handicapping contest (3,123 entries)

1) Steelers +2.5 (1,092)- W

2) Patriots -3.5 (1,004)- L

3) Jaguars -3 (838)- L

4) Bears -3 (799)- L

5) Colts +2.5 (773)- L

6) Falcons -3.5 (766)- W

Season record: 15-19-2


**********

Armadillo: Monday's Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday

Patriots 43, Chiefs 40— This was 37th game in NFL history where losing team scored 40+ points; three of those games have been this year. Kansas City scored 31 points in the second half and still lost. Chiefs covered seven of last 10 games as road underdogs; they’re 6-0 vs spread this season. New England scored 38-38-43 points in its last three games.

Steelers 28, Bengals 21— Marvin Lewis has coached the Bengals for 16 years; Pittsburgh is 16-2 in Cincinnati during that time (two playoff games). Antonio Brown scored the winning TD with 0:10 left on a 31-yard pass from Roethlisberger, who threw for 369 yards. Steelers are 10-6-1 vs spread in last 16 games as road dogs. Bengals play in Kansas City Sunday; they’ve lost their last five Sunday night games.

Dolphins 31, Bears 28 OT— Chicago’s three road games were decided by total of six points; Miami’s backup QB Brock Osweiler emerged from obscurity to throw for 380 yards as Dolphins survived a goal line fumble in OT to improve to 4-2. Osweiler is a surprising 4-0 in OT games; his overall career record is 14-12.

Bears turned ball over twice in the red zone, missed a 52-yard FG in OT.

Chase Daniel is the Bears’ backup QB; he’s 32 and has been in the NFL for nine years- the guy has started two NFL games, but has banked $28,304,317. He’s completed 51 of 78 passes, with one TD, one INT in his career, and he’s made $28M+. Its good to be him.

Falcons 34, Buccaneers 29— Tampa Bay outgained Atlanta 512-416 but lost its third game in a row, allowing 38 ppg. Reality for Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter is that he’s probably going to get fired unless his team turns things around soon— the face of the franchise is a QB who was suspended three games for groping a Uber driver, and they went 2-1 while he was out. No bueno.

Here is a breakdown of Atlanta’s offense:
2 road games, both on grass fields: 22 drives, three TD’s, 14.5 ppg
4 home games, all indoors on turf: 40 drives, 17 TD’s, 34.5 ppg

Texans 20, Bills 13— Buffalo backup QB Nathan Peterman is the worst NFL QB I’ve seen since Jerry Golsteyn played for four teams from 1977-83, going 2-7 as a starter. Golsteyn threw two career TD passes, 13 INT’s, but Peterman may be worse— he threw a pick-6 in this game with 1:30 left as Texans have now won consecutive games by 3-3-7 points after an 0-3 start.

Both teams scored one offensive TD in this game, on drives of 32-29 yards. Buffalo threw for 129 yards, giving them a total of 295 PY in their last three games. Deshaun Watson got sacked seven times; if the Texans don’t improve their pass blocking, Watson won’t last much longer.

Redskins 23, Panthers 17— Since 2015, Redskins are now 16-7 vs spread coming off a loss; they had a 14-yard edge in field position in this game, converted on 7-16 3rd down plays, compared to 3-9 for Carolina. Washington allowed 9-14-17 points in its wins, 24-31 in its losses. Panthers are 3-0 at home, 0-2 on the road; they threw 40 passes, ran ball only 18 times in this game.

Rams 23, Broncos 20— Denver is first team since the ’78 Buffalo Bills to give up 270+ rushing yards in consecutive games; in today’s pass-happy era, thats terrible. This was a hard-hitting game; lot of players limped off on both sides.

On a cold day in Denver where the snow mostly stopped before the game, Rams ran the ball down the Broncos’ throats when it mattered most, on a 13-play, 72-yard drive that took 5:39 off the clock and ended with a FG that gave LA an insurmountable 23-13 lead.

Jared Goff celebrated his 24th birthday with a win, but looked uncomfortable in sub-freezing temps; Rams play in Chicago December 9.

Minnesota 27, Arizona 17— Cardinals are 3-0-1 vs spread in their last four games; they scored six TDs in last two games, but two of them are scored by their defense. Minnesota ran ball for 185 yards here and outgained Arizona, 411-269. Redbirds lost last nine visits to the Twin Cities; their last win here was in 1977, the Don Coryell era.

NFL has seven new head coaches this year; they’re a combined 12-28 so far- three of those seven teams were .500 or better LY- Tennessee was in the damn playoffs, and they fired their coach.

Chargers 38, Browns 14— Quietly, the Chargers are 4-2, with losses to Rams/Chiefs, who are a combined 11-1. Bolts ran ball for 246 yards and averaged 9.2 yds/pass attempt- they had seven plays of 20+ yards, five of them on first down.

Chargers are 2-0 outside California, winning/covering in Buffalo/Cleveland- they like Lake Erie, but coach Anthony Lynn mustn’t like kickers- Sunday he used his 7th different kicker in his 22 games as a head coach.

Jets 42, Colts 34— Gang Green scored 48-34-42 points in their two wins, 12-17-12 in their losses; Jet fans have to be fired up that they’ve scored 34+ points three times already with a rookie QB under center. Under Bowles, Jets are 17-9-1 vs spread at home.

Andrew Luck threw for 301 yards and four TD’s, but he doesn’t get much help; on their second offensive play, Indy tried a screen pass that any high school team could execute, but instead it bounced off the Colts’ receiver and the Jets had an easy pick-6 to start their day with.

Seahawks 27, Raiders 3— If I owned an NFL team and was paying my coach $100M over the next 10 years (yikes!!!), I’d expect more than the sorry performances the Raiders have been producing, especially since the last coach was 12-4 two years ago.

Seattle ran ball for 171-190-155 yards in its last three games; they’ve won three of last four games and evened their record at 3-3. Oakland is 1-6-1 vs spread in its last eight pre-bye games.

The last six NFL games in England/Mexico were won by an average of 26 points (32-6).

Cowboys 40, Jaguars 7— Jacksonville’s uniforms looked like the old Memphis Maniax from the XFL; thats not a compliment, and their play was uglier than their uniforms. In their last three games, Jaguars are minus-8 in turnover ratio- not good.

Dallas is 3-0 at home, 0-3 on the road; they scored four TD’s on 11 drives, after scoring total of three TD’s on 31 drives in previous three games. Cowboys had a 12-yard advantage in field position. Jaguars never had a snap in the Dallas red zone.

Ravens 21, Titans 0— Not often an NFL team gets 11 sacks in a game, but Baltimore did here. while Tennessee had zero sacks. Total yardage in this ugly game was 361-106; Tennessee had only seven first downs, was 1-10 on 3rd down and ran only 40 plays- Baltimore ran 72.

Only once in six games has Tennessee scored more than six points in the first half; 12-20-2 in last 34 games where spread was three or fewer points.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, October 15

Dallas @ Ottawa

Game 51-52
October 15, 2018 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
9.697
Ottawa
12.310
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Ottawa
by 2 1/2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
-160
6
Dunkel Pick:
Ottawa
(+140); Over

Detroit @ Montreal

Game 53-54
October 15, 2018 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Detroit
11.012
Montreal
8.953
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit
N/A

Los Angeles @ Toronto

Game 55-56
October 15, 2018 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
10.109
Toronto
13.370
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 3
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
-200
6
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(-200); Over

Minnesota @ Nashville

Game 57-58
October 15, 2018 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
11.971
Nashville
10.485
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
N/A


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

NHL

Monday, October 15

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

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Detroit is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Detroit's last 13 games
Detroit is 1-15 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit's last 7 games on the road
Detroit is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Montreal
Detroit is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing Montreal
Detroit is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Montreal
Detroit is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Montreal
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Montreal is 6-16 SU in its last 22 games
Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Montreal is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 6 games at home
Montreal is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
Montreal is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing Detroit
Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
Montreal is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Detroit


Dallas Stars
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Dallas is 8-15 ATS in its last 23 games
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games
Dallas is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Ottawa
Dallas is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Dallas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games
Ottawa is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Ottawa is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Ottawa's last 9 games at home
Ottawa is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Ottawa is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games when playing Dallas
Ottawa is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas


Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Los Angeles is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 7 games on the road
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Los Angeles's last 12 games when playing Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games
Toronto is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games at home
Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 12 games when playing Los Angeles


Minnesota Wild
Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Minnesota is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing Nashville
Minnesota is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville Predators
Nashville is 5-12 ATS in its last 17 games
Nashville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Nashville is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Nashville's last 13 games at home
Nashville is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Nashville's last 6 games when playing Minnesota
Nashville is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Nashville's last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota


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


NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, October 15

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

DALLAS (3-1-0-0, 6 pts.) at OTTAWA (2-2-0-1, 5 pts.) - 10/15/2018, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 15-29 ATS (-20.1 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS is 21-30 ATS (-16.8 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
OTTAWA is 52-51 ATS (+116.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS is 55-39 ATS (+94.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more since 1996.
OTTAWA is 2-11 ATS (+15.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 6 or more over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 14-28 ATS (-16.5 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 101-112 ATS (-75.7 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1996.
OTTAWA is 5-13 ATS (-9.8 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
OTTAWA is 165-149 ATS (-118.6 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 4-0 (+5.3 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 4-0-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.9 Units)

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

DETROIT (0-3-0-2, 2 pts.) at MONTREAL (2-1-0-1, 5 pts.) - 10/15/2018, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 7-2 (+4.3 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 7-2-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.5 Units)

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

LOS ANGELES (2-2-0-1, 5 pts.) at TORONTO (5-1-0-0, 10 pts.) - 10/15/2018, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 200-246 ATS (-83.4 Units) after a non-conference game since 1996.
LOS ANGELES is 16-29 ATS (-16.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 4-13 ATS (-10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 69-102 ATS (-45.2 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
TORONTO is 384-398 ATS (-72.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 3-1 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 3-1-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)

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

MINNESOTA (1-1-0-2, 4 pts.) at NASHVILLE (4-1-0-0, 8 pts.) - 10/15/2018, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 6-4 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 6-4-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.2 Units)

[StarDust Bum]

Penguins D Schultz out 4 months with fractured left leg
October 15, 2018
By The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz will miss the next four months because of a fractured left leg.

Schultz injured the leg in the first period of a shootout loss to Montreal on Saturday after getting tangled up with Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec. The team announced Monday that Schultz underwent surgery Sunday and will be out until February.

The 28-year-old Schultz has four assists in four games this season for Pittsburgh.

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


Marijuana legalization in Canada won't change NHL - yet
October 15, 2018
By The Associated Press

As Riley Cote took and delivered countless punches over more than a decade of junior and pro hockey, he was eager to avoid painkillers.

Early on, marijuana was touted to the enforcer as a healing option.

''I started noticing some therapeutic benefits,'' Cote said. ''It helped me sleep, helped with my anxiety and general well-being.''

Now a handful of years into retirement, Cote is a proponent of cannabis and its oils as an alternative to more addictive drugs commonly used by athletes to play through pain. Marijuana can be detected in a person's system for more than 30 days, is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency without a specific therapeutic use exemption and is illegal in much of the United States.

Canada on Wednesday will become the largest country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana. That means it will be available under the law in seven more NHL cities (it's been legal to adults in Denver since 2012). The move is a step forward for those who, like Cote, believe marijuana has been stigmatized and should be accepted as a form of treatment.

''It was so tainted for a long time,'' Ottawa Senators forward Matt Duchene said. ''And now people are starting to learn a little bit more about it and there is definitely some positive uses to different elements of it.''

The NHL and NHL Players' Association plan no changes to their joint drug-testing policy, under which players are not punished for positive marijuana tests. It is the most lenient approach to cannabis by any major North American professional sports league.

''The Substance Abuse & Behavioral Health Program for decades has been educating players on using drugs, legal or illegal,'' Commissioner Gary Bettman said. ''That process will continue and we will consider what changes, if any, in our program have to be made. But right now, we think based on the educational level and what we do test for and how we test, at least for the time being, we're comfortable with where we are.''

While the NFL and NBA can suspend and MLB can fine players for multiple marijuana infractions, only a significantly high amount of the drug found in NHL/NHLPA testing triggers a referral to behavioral health program doctors. Cote estimated about half of players during his NHL career from 2007-2010 used some sort of cannabis for medicinal purposes, though players suggest use in hockey currently is lower than the population at large.

More than two dozen U.S. states allow marijuana use for a variety of ailments, but the federal government has not approved it for any medical use. Some players have already done research into the benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) oils. There's a curiosity about whether marijuana could one day replace or limit painkillers like oxycodone, even if players aren't yet ready to make that leap.

''There's not a lot of science out there yet in terms of long-term effects,'' said Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, who is still on the fence about cannabis use for medical reasons. ''I think it's something that still needs to be thought really clearly about in terms of understanding the long-term effects.''

Through his Hemp Heals Foundation and work with Lehigh Valley University in Pennsylvania, Cote is doing his part to increase the information available. He's quick to point to studies on cannabis that suggest it can help people after PTSD or head trauma. And yet he acknowledges there's a long way to go.

''There's a lot of different things that point to the fact that the science is now backing it up,'' Cote said. ''There's probably billions of anecdotal stories, but those don't mean anything unless it's backed by science, unless it follows the order of the way it's supposed to be.''

Bettman contends the mainstream medical community has not concluded that cannabis prevents or heals injuries, and said an argument could be made to the contrary. NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said it's a subject that is ''at best in its infancy and is going to develop over time.''

Given the looming Wednesday legalization in Canada, the league and union opted for education over policy changes.

''What we feel was an important element is at least educating the players better on the current marijuana landscape both from a legal and illegal perspective and what's permitted and not permitted,'' Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. ''But also `What are the products out there?' because there's probably publicly a great misconception of what marijuana is, how it's used, what it's used for to what the reality is.''

Players who aren't yet educated about marijuana are willing to ask around about potential benefits as more studies are done.

''I say this more talking about the CBD side of it, obviously: You'd be stupid not to at least look into it,'' Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. ''When your body's sore like it is sometimes, you don't want to be taking pain stuff and taking Advil all the time. There's obviously better ways to do it. ... You're seeing a lot of smart guys look into it. You're seeing a lot of really smart doctors look into it. If all the boxes are checked there and it's safe and everything like that, then I think you would maybe hear them out.''

The possibility of experimenting with cannabis extracts is more possible in the NHL than for players with the NBA's Toronto Raptors or MLB's Toronto Blue Jays because of the regulations in those sports.

In the NBA, a second positive test carries a $25,000 fine and each subsequent test a suspension of five games, then 10 and so on. In baseball, a player on a 40-man roster could be fined up to $35,000, while a player not on a 40-man roster is subject to a 50-game suspension for a second positive test and 100 for a third.

A Raptors spokeswoman said it's business as usual for the team because the new laws in Canada don't change NBA drug policy. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins also largely deferred to the league office.

''Major League Baseball does a good job on educating players across the game on risk in and around that,'' Atkins said. ''It's a complex situation that is very personal. I'd need more information to say if we'd just tolerate it or not.''

For now, marijuana is technically a banned substance as a drug of abuse in the NHL. Cote would love to see marijuana removed from NHL/NHLPA testing to open the doors to widely accepting it, though players say it would take years for hockey culture to welcome such a change - if it ever would.

''I played in Colorado where it was legal for a while and I thought it was going to change society a little bit, and it didn't, really,'' Duchene said. ''I don't think it's going to be as big a thing as people might think.''