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

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, APRIL 25
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CLB at BOS 07:00 PM
CLB +129
O 5.5

DAL at STL 09:30 PM
DAL +139
U 5.0

[StarDust Bum]

Coyle scores twice, Bruins beat Blue Jackets 3-2 in OT
April 26, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) Charlie Coyle tied it in the final five minutes of regulation and scored again with 5:15 gone in overtime on Thursday night to lead the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Tuukka Rask stopped 20 shots for Boston, which took a 1-0 lead on Noel Acciari's short-handed goal in the first period, but then fell behind in the third after Brandon Dubinsky and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in a span of 13 seconds.

Coyle tied it when he one-timed a backhanded centering pass from Marcus Johansson into the net with 4:35 left to force overtime. He ended it in the extra period by deflecting a shot from Johansson into the net.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves for the Blue Jackets, who swept the Presidents Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Boston before the best-of-seven series moves to Columbus for Games 3 and 4.

BLUES 3, STARS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals and St. Louis beat Dallas in first game of the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.

Robby Fabbri also scored and Jordan Binnington made 27 saves for the Blues, who had lost three of four to Dallas during the regular season.

It was Tarasenko's seventh career multi-goal game in the postseason, tying him with Bernie Federko for second-most in franchise history.

Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars. Ben Bishop made 17 saves.

Game 2 will be Saturday in St. Louis, before the series moves to Dallas for the third and fourth games of the best-of-seven series.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY APRIL 26, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:08 PM Carolina Hurricanes New York Islanders Barclays Center
10:08 PM Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose


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


NHL PLAYOFF RECORD OPINIONS AND BEST BETS !


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

04/25/2019 0-3-1 0.00% -15.50
04/24/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -2.25
04/23/2019 4-0-0 100.00% +20.00
04/22/2019 3-1-0 75.00% +10.00
04/21/2019 3-1-0 75.00% +12.50
04/20/2019 3-3-0 50.00% +0.85
04/19/2019 2-1-1 66.67% +5.50
04/18/2019 4-2-0 66.67% +9.85
04/17/2019 1-4-0 20.00% -17.00
04/16/2019 3-5-0 37.50% -10.35
04/15/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.40
04/14/2019 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
04/13/2019 5-1-0 83.33% +20.00
04/12/2019 1-7-0 12.50% -42.60
04/11/2019 1-2-0 33.33% -5.50
04/10/2019 5-2-1 71.43% +14.95


Totals.............38-37-3..... 50.66%.... -11.99


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


BEST BETS:

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

04/25/2019..............0 - 2....................-10.00...................0 - 1..............-5.50...................-10.50
04/24/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................1 - 0..............+5.00.................+5.00
04/23/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................2 - 0..............+10.00.................+10.00
04/22/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................2 - 0..............+10.00.................+5.00
04/21/2019..............2 - 0....................+13.00.................1 - 1...............-0.50...................+12.50
04/20/2019..............1 - 1....................+1.85...................1 - 1...............-0.50...................+1.35
04/19/2019..............1 - 0....................+7.50...................1 - 0...............+5.00.................+12.50
04/18/2019..............1 - 1....................+0.35...................2 - 1...............+4.50.................+4.85
04/17/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.50....................1 - 2................-6.00..................-11.50
04/16/2019..............2 - 1....................+8.35...................1 - 3...............-11.50.................-3.15
04/15/2019..............1 - 0....................+5.10...................0 - 1...............-5.50...................-0.40
04/14/2019..............1 - 0....................+8.25...................2 - 2...............-1.00..................+7.25
04/13/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00...................4 - 0..............+20.00................+15.00
04/12/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 3..............-11.50..................-11.50
04/11/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00...................1 - 2...............-6.00..................-11.00
04/10/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.10..................4 - 0..............+20.00...............+20.10


Totals....................10 - 10.....................+14.00............24 - 17.............+26.50.................+45.50

[StarDust Bum]

Friday’s 6-pack

Odds to win the two North Divisions in the NFL this year:

NFC North:
8-5: Chicago Bears
2-1: Minnesota Vikings
2-1: Green Bay Packers
14-1: Detroit Lions

AFC North:
5-4: Cleveland Browns
8-5: Pittsburgh Steelers
3-1: Baltimore Ravens
25-1: Cincinnati Bengals

Quote of the Day
“It’s not the shots you block, it’s the shots they think you’re going to block.”
Bill Russell

Friday’s quiz
What city is Texas Tech University located in?

Thursday’s quiz
1995 was the last time a QB from the Big 14 (Michigan, Ohio St, etc…) was taken in the first round of the NFL Draft……Kerry Collins from Penn State.

Wednesday’s quiz
USC is the only college football program in country that has had the #1 pick in NFL Draft two years in a row; Ron Yary/OJ Simpson, back in the late 60’s.

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

Friday’s List of 13: Notes from watching the NFL Draft

13) Washington Redskins stayed at pick #15 and got QB Dwayne Haskins without trading up; Haskins is from Maryland, but grew up in New Jersey and was a Giant fan. Most people didn’t think Haskins would drop to the 15th pick; the Giants-Redskins games for the next decade should be pretty interesting.

This pretty much clinches fact that Case Keenum won’t be a Redskin in 2020; Washington will be his 4th team in four years this season, and 2020 figures to make it five teams in five years.

12) Bruce Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999. Here is how many head coaches each NFC East team has had since then:
— Washington 7
— Dallas 4
— NJ Giants 4
— Philadelphia 3

When I think of a team with a coach on the hot seat taking a rookie QB, I think of Jeff Fisher getting canned during Jared Goff’s rookie year. Keenum was the Rams’ starting QB before Goff took over in Game 10. You wonder if this is good news for Jay Gruden.


11) New Jersey Giants took Duke QB Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the draft. Here is what the Giants have done with drafting QB’s the last three years:

2017: Davis Webb, California, 3rd round
2018: Kyle Lauletta, Richmond, 4th round
2019: Daniel Jones, Duke, 1st round

Meanwhile, they keep starting 38-year old Eli Manning, who had the same college coach as Jones (David Cutcliffe). Most draft pundits liked Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins better than Jones.

Last six years, Giants are 38-59, 0-1 in playoff games. Hard to get better when you waste 3rd and 4th round draft picks on guys you never use.

10) Pittsburgh Steelers traded with Denver to move up ten spots, from #20 to #10 in the first round; this is something the Steelers rarely do. Pittsburgh took LB Devin Bush from Michigan.

Steelers switched 1st round picks with Denver, and also gave the Broncos a 2nd-round and a 3rd-round pick, so it was expensive- they really wanted/needed a linebacker.

9) Last three years, the draft averaged six first-round trades per year; there were seven trades during Thursday’s first round.

— Green Bay traded with Seattle to move up seven spots, from #28 to #21.
— Eagles traded a 4th and 6th-round pick to Baltimore to move up from 25th to 22nd.
— Washington traded to the Colts to move up to the 26th pick.
— Chiefs acquired DE Frank Clark from Seattle, send the Seahawks the 29th pick, plus a couple of other picks.
— Giants acquired the 30th pick in the draft from Seattle so they could take CB Deandre Baker from Georgia.
— Rams traded the 31st pick to Atlanta so the Falcons could take T Kaleb McGary from Washington.

8) Only six of 22 Seahawks starters remain from when Seattle lost the Super Bowl to New England four years ago.

7) Only twice in the common draft era (1990, 2008) had the first round ended with no WR’s taken. This was the third time. Iowa had two tight ends taken in the first round. Baltimore finally took Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown with the 25th pick.

This is the longest any NFL Draft has gone with neither a WR or a RB being taken. Oakland took RB Josh Jacobs from Alabama with the 24th pick.

6) Seven of the top ten players taken were defensive players.

5) As of 1:00 Thursday afternoon, 18 of 32 teams had already traded their 7th-round pick in this draft. Three picks were traded twice; one was dealt three times. 7th-round picks are throw-ins in lot of trades.

Then again, Marques Colston, Adam Timmerman, Shannon Sharpe and Gary Anderson (the kicker) were all 7th-round picks.

4) Bengals still have 37 of their own draft picks on their roster, most in NFL, six more than any other team; Buffalo has only 12 of its draft picks, least in the league.

3) People gamble on the NFL Draft, which makes me a little queasy, but thats their business. Haskins was a -$155 favorite to get drafted before Missouri QB Drew Lock.

Speaking of gambling, a guy on ESPN’s Daily Wager Thursday picked Starlin Castro to homer at 8-1 odds in the Marlins’ game in Philly, and sure enough, Castro homered in the 10th inning. Damn good call.

2) Not sure why ESPN and NFL Network both broadcast the draft, but they do. Mel Kiper Jr is worth listening to, and Louis Riddick is very good on ESPN. My man Kurt Warner is on NFL Network, but I prefer Trey Wingo to Rich Eisen as a host, so spent most of my time on ESPN.

The player interviews are generally all terrible, so if one is happening, automatically change to the other station or to a baseball game.

1) Looked like it might’ve been a good night to be a pickpocket in the streets of Nashville; thousands and thousands of people packed in the streets, lot of jostling. I’m just sayin’……..

[StarDust Bum]

[StarDust Bum]

5Colorado -6 San Jose
COLORADO is 23-30 ATS (-16.6 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.

7Carolina -8 Ny Islanders
NY ISLANDERS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.




NHL
Long Sheet

Friday, April 26

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COLORADO (42-31-0-14, 98 pts.) at SAN JOSE (50-30-0-9, 109 pts.) - 4/26/2019, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 18-53 ATS (+104.2 Units) in road games second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 0-7 ATS (-7.4 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
COLORADO is 12-20 ATS (-11.0 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
SAN JOSE is 136-89 ATS (-16.7 Units) in April games since 1996.
COLORADO is 96-85 ATS (+189.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 190-159 ATS (-82.9 Units) in home games after a division game since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 229-164 ATS (-79.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 6-2 (+3.6 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 6-2-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.0 Units)

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CAROLINA (50-31-0-8, 108 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (52-27-0-7, 111 pts.) - 4/26/2019, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 27-36 ATS (-13.3 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 17-47 ATS (+78.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 52-34 ATS (+17.0 Units) in all games this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 36-17 ATS (+53.2 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 6-1 ATS (+4.7 Units) in April games this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 31-17 ATS (+50.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 22-10 ATS (+33.1 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 22-9 ATS (+31.9 Units) after a division game this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 21-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 23-17 ATS (+43.4 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
CAROLINA is 34-17 ATS (+11.6 Units) second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 23-11 ATS (+8.6 Units) after a division game this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 54-86 ATS (+151.1 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 7-6 (+2.9 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 7-6-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.5 Units, Under=-1.2 Units)

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NHL

Friday, April 26

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Carolina is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Carolina's last 8 games
Carolina is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Carolina is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games on the road
Carolina is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing NY Islanders
Carolina is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
Carolina is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
Carolina is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
New York Islanders
NY Islanders is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
NY Islanders is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 7 games
NY Islanders is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
NY Islanders is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 8 games at home
NY Islanders is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Carolina
NY Islanders is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing Carolina
NY Islanders is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Carolina
NY Islanders is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games when playing at home against Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina

Colorado Avalanche
Colorado is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Colorado's last 20 games
Colorado is 13-4 ATS in its last 17 games on the road
Colorado is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Colorado's last 10 games on the road
Colorado is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
Colorado is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing San Jose
Colorado is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Colorado's last 9 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 4-15 ATS in its last 19 games
San Jose is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 8 games
San Jose is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games at home
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 5 games at home
San Jose is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Colorado
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games when playing Colorado
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 8 of San Jose's last 9 games when playing at home against Colorado

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, APRIL 26
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CAR at NYI 07:00 PM
NYI -133
O 5.0

COL at SJ 10:00 PM
COL +119
O 6.0

[StarDust Bum]

Staal lifts Hurricanes past Islanders 1-0 in OT in Game 1
April 26, 2019
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NEW YORK (AP) Jordan Staal got the Carolina Hurricanes off to a winning start in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Staal scored 4:04 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night in the series opener.

Nino Niederreiter sent a shot that caromed off the end boards and came out to the right side, where Staal quickly put it in off Robin Lehner's left skate.

''I had a little room to kind of get a quick-as-I-could shot off,'' Staal said about his first career playoff overtime goal. ''Honestly, I wasn't sure it went in. I just saw some people celebrating so I started celebrating, too. I'm not sure exactly how it went in or what.''

Petr Mrazek stopped 31 shots for his fifth career postseason shutout as Carolina won in New York just 48 hours after beating defending champion Washington on the road in double-overtime of Game 7 of their first round series. The Hurricanes have now won five of six since losing the first two against Washington.

The Hurricanes knew they needed to quickly put the victory over the Capitals behind.

''That was our biggest goal for this game, after that big emotion and happiness,'' Carolina's Sebastian Aho said. ''Try to push that aside and try to focus on this game, and we did it really well.''

Lehner also finished with 31 saves for New York. Back in Brooklyn at Barclays Center after opening the playoffs at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, the Islanders were playing for the first time in 10 days after finishing off their first-round sweep of Pittsburgh.

''Not the result we wanted,'' said Lehner, who has given up just one goal in four straight games. ''Small details - small margins in the playoffs. I thought we played a good game. ... You don't want to lose. But we're not going to win every game.''

Game 2 is back here Sunday.

Both teams had their chances and each goalie made plenty of nice saves throughout the game, the first in Carolina's playoff history to go to overtime tied 0-0.

''They defense really well,'' Aho said. ''On the flip side we want to play the same game and don't give them anything.''

Cal Clutterbuck stole the puck and fired a short-handed shot from the right circle that Mrazek gloved with 9:09 left in the third. Lehner made several saves on the Hurricanes' power play, including on a tip by Justin Williams with 8:05 left, to keep it scoreless.

''There was good goaltending,'' Clutterbuck said. ''I don't think it was a boring 0-0 game. It was a good hockey game.''

Ryan Pulock fired a slap shot from beyond the left circle that landed in the netting just outside the left goalpost with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation. The arena goal horn sounded and fans started cheering, but the officials immediately waved it off and announced it was no goal.

Jordan Eberle, who scored in each of the four games against Pittsburgh was denied by Mrazek on an odd-man rush less than two minutes into the second period. Lehner had a sensational save on Greg McKegg near the midpoint of the period as he did the split and slid to his left to stop the attempt with his left pad.

Mathew Barzal appeared to give the Islanders the lead with 2:53 left in the middle period, but the goal was immediately waved off and a penalty called on Anders Lee for goalie interference because he fell into Mrazek.

This was the Islanders' first time back at Barclays Center in more than two months. They split regular-season games between the Brooklyn arena, where they have played since 2015, and the Coliseum, their home the previous 43 years. The Islanders last played at Barclays on Feb. 16 and their two home games in the first round were also on Long Island with any subsequent games they host this postseason to be in Brooklyn.

NOTES: Carolina F Andrei Svechnikov skated in the morning but sat out again. He has not played since he suffered a concussion in a fight with Washington's Alex Ovechkin in Game 3 of the first round. ... The Hurricanes were also without F Micheal Ferland (upper body injury) and F Jordan Martinook (lower body). ... Niederreiter, who began his careere with the Islanders and spent parts of two seasons in New York before he was traded to innesota in 2013, faced his former team for the first time this season. The Hurricanes acquired him from the Wild on Jan. 17 - after all of Carolina's four regular-season meetings with the Islanders, and before New York and Minnesota played their two. ... Islanders coach Barry Trotz was announced as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the league's best coach. Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper and St. Louis' Craig Berube are the other finalists. Trotz previously won the award in 2016 with Washington. Al Arbour won it with the Islanders in 1979.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Sunday before the series shifts to Raleigh for Games 3 and 4.

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

Thornton sparks Sharks overs Avs in Game 1
April 26, 2019
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) After enduring a grueling seven-game series in the first round, the San Jose Sharks predictably needed some time to find their legs again at the start of round two. One key penalty kill proved to be just the kick start they needed.

Joe Thornton sparked a three-goal outburst in the second period after San Jose killed off a four-minute penalty, leading the Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 on Friday night.

''The first period was a struggle to be honest with you,'' Thornton said. ''I don't think we had too much early on but we kind of felt our groove as the middle of the game went on.''

San Jose trailed 2-1 when Brenden Dillon was called for a high-sticking double minor. The Sharks managed to kill both penalties and then took over the game with a strong performance from the third line.

''That was a game-changer,'' coach Peter DeBoer said. ''We needed that. We talked going into the playoffs and after the first round that our special teams were going to have to win us games. We won one with the power play last game and I thought our penalty kill was a big part of it tonight.''

Thornton tied it midway through the period off a feed from Marcus Sorensen on a 2-on-1 rush shortly after the penalty was killed. Kevin Labanc, the third member of that line, gave the Sharks the lead with an impressive sequence that featured him deking Mikko Rantanen by playing the puck through his legs before scoring from the slot.

Brent Burns added the fourth goal late in the period when his shot from the boards deflected past Philipp Grubauer with Sorensen in front of the net. Thornton got an assist on the play, giving him 100 career helpers in the postseason.

Gustav Nyquist scored the first goal for San Jose, Timo Meier added an empty-netter and Martin Jones made 26 saves to send the Sharks to their fourth straight win. Burns also had three assists.

''It can be tough obviously after a Game 7 like that, but we did a great job,'' Jones said. ''We hung in there early in the game, and I really liked the job we did in the third. We were grinding them in the o-zone and we didn't really give them much.''

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday in San Jose.

Gabriel Bourque and Colin Wilson scored for the Avalanche, who were unable to carry over the momentum from a dominant first-round win against Pacific Division champion Calgary. Grubauer made 22 saves.

''We took five or 10 minutes off in the second and it cost us,'' captain Gabriel Landeskog said.

The intensity in the Shark Tank had dropped a bit from Tuesday night, when San Jose rallied from three goals down in the third period before winning Game 7 in overtime against Vegas.

While the Sharks needed back-to-back overtime games to knock off the Golden Knights, Colorado was resting with six days off after a five-game win over the Flames that sent the Avalanche into the second round for the first time since 2008.

The impact of the reduced rest was felt as captain Joe Pavelski remained sidelined from his concussion in Game 7 and fellow forward Joonas Donskoi remained sidelined from a hard hit in Game 6.

The Avalanche had the edge early and capitalized with Bourque's goal on a rebound of Cale Makar's shot just 2:10 into the game.

Jones kept the deficit at one with a brilliant pad save against Carl Soderberg. The Sharks then got the equalizer when Logan Couture won an offensive zone draw to Burns, who maneuvered into the slot and put a shot on net. Grubauer stopped it but Nyquist knocked in the rebound.

Colorado had a goal wiped off later in the period when replays showed Rantanen kicked the puck into the net, and Jones robbed Soderberg again on a breakaway late in the first.

Rantanen helped the Avalanche get on the scoreboard early in the second when he fed Wilson in the slot for a goal on the power play. But the Sharks took over from there.

''We played really good for the first 30 minutes and then it got away from us in the last 10 minutes in the middle of the second,'' defenseman Tyson Barrie said. ''We just couldn't get it back. They took it to us at the end of the second period and they had the momentum.''

NOTES: Thornton is the 100th player with 100 career playoff assists. ... Colorado D Samuel Girard returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. ... Sharks F Dylan Gambrell made his playoff debut. He has played 11 regular-season games the past two seasons without recording a point.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY APRIL 27, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:08 PM Dallas Stars St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
8:08 PM Columbus Blue Jackets Boston Bruins TD Garden


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


NHL PLAYOFF RECORD OPINIONS AND BEST BETS !


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

04/26/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -12.15
04/25/2019 0-3-1 0.00% -15.50
04/24/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -2.25
04/23/2019 4-0-0 100.00% +20.00
04/22/2019 3-1-0 75.00% +10.00
04/21/2019 3-1-0 75.00% +12.50
04/20/2019 3-3-0 50.00% +0.85
04/19/2019 2-1-1 66.67% +5.50
04/18/2019 4-2-0 66.67% +9.85
04/17/2019 1-4-0 20.00% -17.00
04/16/2019 3-5-0 37.50% -10.35
04/15/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.40
04/14/2019 4-4-0 50.00% -2.00
04/13/2019 5-1-0 83.33% +20.00
04/12/2019 1-7-0 12.50% -42.60
04/11/2019 1-2-0 33.33% -5.50
04/10/2019 5-2-1 71.43% +14.95


Totals.............39-40-3..... 49.36%.... -24.14


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BEST BETS:

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

04/26/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.50....................1 - 1..............-0.50...................-6.00
04/25/2019..............0 - 2....................-10.00...................0 - 1..............-5.50...................-10.50
04/24/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................1 - 0..............+5.00.................+5.00
04/23/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................2 - 0..............+10.00.................+10.00
04/22/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................2 - 0..............+10.00.................+5.00
04/21/2019..............2 - 0....................+13.00.................1 - 1...............-0.50...................+12.50
04/20/2019..............1 - 1....................+1.85...................1 - 1...............-0.50...................+1.35
04/19/2019..............1 - 0....................+7.50...................1 - 0...............+5.00.................+12.50
04/18/2019..............1 - 1....................+0.35...................2 - 1...............+4.50.................+4.85
04/17/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.50....................1 - 2................-6.00..................-11.50
04/16/2019..............2 - 1....................+8.35...................1 - 3...............-11.50.................-3.15
04/15/2019..............1 - 0....................+5.10...................0 - 1...............-5.50...................-0.40
04/14/2019..............1 - 0....................+8.25...................2 - 2...............-1.00..................+7.25
04/13/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00...................4 - 0..............+20.00................+15.00
04/12/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 3..............-11.50..................-11.50
04/11/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00...................1 - 2...............-6.00..................-11.00
04/10/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.10..................4 - 0..............+20.00...............+20.10


Totals....................10 - 11...................+8.50..................25 - 18.............+26.00...............+34.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

— Arizona traded QB Josh Rosen to Miami for a 2nd round draft pick.

— Warriors 129, Clippers 110— Durant had 38 points at halftime.

— Bronx 7, Giants 3— SF scored its first 1st-inning run this season.

— There were 18 trades made at the NFL Draft Friday.

— 12 of 14 SEC teams had a player taken in rounds 1-3 of the draft; only Arkansas/Tennessee didn’t- Baylor WR Jalen Hurd started his career as a RB at Tennessee.

— Virginia’s national championship basketball team declined an invitation to visit the White House.


**********

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

13) Last winter, Texas Tech fired its football coach; just a few weeks ago, Arkansas fired its basketball coach. How did both of these guys wind up with better jobs?

Kliff Kingsbury is now head coach of the Arizona Cardinals; Mike Anderson jumps from the Razorbacks of the SEC to St John’s in the Big East.

Life can be strange.

12) This week, the governors of Indiana, Iowa, Montana all had sports betting bills on their desks; New Jersey has a thriving sports betting business going. Meanwhile, here in the state I live in, the state of New York (some say I live in a state of confusion, but they mean something else) is dragging its feet on sports betting. God forbid some of us have fun here.

11) Tuesday night, Damian Lillard hit a 30-footer to send Oklahoma City home for the summer; Paul George called it “…..a bad shot.” But was it?

Research shows that this season, Lillard is 20-54 (37%) from that distance, which is an unusually high %age for such a long shot (30-40 feet). I’m guessing Billy Donovan was happy enough with his defense when Lillard launched the shot, but then it went in and it was game over for the Thunder.

If you double-team Lillard and force him to pass, he’ll find the open man, but would you rather have that open (lesser shooter) person take the shot?

10) Portland’s Enes Kanter after the Trailblazers beat Oklahoma City: “First I would like to definitely thank the Knicks for waiving me.” Wow.

9) There is NOTHING in sports as dramatic as overtime in Game 7 of an NHL playoff series, and it really isn’t very close.

8) Eight teams left in NHL playoffs, but once again, no Canadian franchise will win the Stanley Cup. Last time a Canadian franchise won the Cup? Montreal in 1993.

7) From Howard Balzer: “Word is that small hands (9 inches) behind absence of QB Drew Lock from first round of the draft. Used smaller ball at Missouri. Hand size of Kyler Murray, 9 1/2; Dwayne Haskins 9 5/8; Daniel Jones 9 3/4.”

Jared Goff also has 9” hands, and he’s doing pretty well in the NFL.

6) Tampa Bay Rays’ utility guy Joey Wendle hit .300 LY with 61 RBI; he was a valuable guy. He had already missed 17 games this year with a hamstring injury, then he got hit with a pitch and broke his wrist Wednesday. Tough start to this season for him.

5) Blake Griffin played 28:00 in Game 4 of the Pistons’ playoff loss to Milwaukee Monday nite; less than 48 hours later, he had his knee scoped in Los Angeles.

4) Former Houston Texans’ QB David Carr was on NFL Network the other night, ranking the QB’s from this year’s draft AND last year’s draft. He ranked Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson 8th out of the nine QB’s ranked, which seems ridiculous to me.

Jackson started seven NFL games last year and was 6-1 as a starter; he may not be a great passer, but he started seven games and won six for a team that was 4-5 with Joe Flacco starting; Jackson ran for 95+ yards in three games. His talent is unique to the league; there is no bleeping way a college kid is better than he is right now.

3) Blue Jays’ 1B Justin Smoak was in the lineup last night when Vladimir Guerrero Jr made his MLB debut. When Smoak made his MLB debut for Texas in 2010, the Rangers’ DH that night was Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

2) Missouri, Oklahoma, Wichita State all offered QB Drew Lock basketball scholarships; he went to Missouri and played football, and last night Denver picked him in the second round.

1) Happy birthday to the great Al Pacino, who turned 79 this week. My three favorite Pacino movies: 1) Any Given Sunday 2) Heat 3) Frankie and Johnnie

[StarDust Bum]

[StarDust Bum]

41Dallas -42 St Louis
DALLAS are 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after scoring 2 goals or less in 2 straight games in the current season.

43Columbus -44 Boston
COLUMBUS are 21-11 ATS (13.9 Units) in road games against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the current season.




NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, April 27


Dallas @ St. Louis

Game 41-42
April 27, 2019 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
12.885
St. Louis
11.470
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-140
5
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+120); Over

Columbus @ Boston

Game 43-44
April 27, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Columbus
11.408
Boston
12.758
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-145
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-145); Under




NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 27

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

DALLAS (47-34-0-8, 102 pts.) at ST LOUIS (50-29-0-10, 110 pts.) - 4/27/2019, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 35-17 ATS (+8.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 29-18 ATS (+6.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 17-6 ATS (+10.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
DALLAS is 220-242 ATS (+513.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 7-7-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.1 Units)

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

COLUMBUS (51-31-0-5, 107 pts.) at BOSTON (54-27-0-9, 117 pts.) - 4/27/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 293-246 ATS (-151.3 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 6-4 (+1.7 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 6-4-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.4 Units)

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




NHL

Saturday, April 27

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

Dallas Stars
Dallas is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Dallas is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games on the road
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
Dallas is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing St. Louis
Dallas is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
Dallas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
St. Louis is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
St. Louis is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
St. Louis is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of St. Louis's last 21 games at home
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Dallas
St. Louis is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 7 games when playing Dallas
St. Louis is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Dallas
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Dallas

Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Columbus is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Columbus's last 22 games
Columbus is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Columbus is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Columbus's last 16 games on the road
Columbus is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Columbus is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Columbus's last 11 games when playing Boston
Columbus is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
Columbus is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Boston is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Boston is 15-4 SU in its last 19 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games at home
Boston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Columbus
Boston is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Boston's last 11 games when playing Columbus
Boston is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Columbus
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing at home against Columbus

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY, APRIL 27
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

DAL at STL 03:00 PM
STL -145
O 5.0

CLB at BOS 08:00 PM
BOS -135
U 5.5

[Udog]

NHL Stanley Cup playoffs best bets and prop predictions: Goalies take center stage

Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets will need to be at their best if they want to beat the Boston Bruins as +120 underdogs in TD Garden tonight.

Both the Stars-Blues series in the West and the Blue Jackets-Bruins matchup out East started off with 3-2 decisions in Game 1. As the puck drops for Game 2 on Saturday we break down the odds to see if another pair of close, defensive battles will take place. We bring you the best-betting notes in the NHL, so you can crack the odds on the ice.

DALLAS STARS AT ST. LOUIS BLUES

Moneyline Odds: Dallas +131/St. Louis -145

Over/Under: 5

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET, Enterprise Center, St. Louis

Series Price: St. Louis leads 1-0 (Dallas +235/St. Louis -357)

The Blues have won three in a row, closing out the Winnipeg Jets and taking Game 1 over the Stars, with a trio of 3-2 victories. St. Louis is built for the postseason, with an incredible record in one-goal games, but could have avoided those dramatics in the series opener by not allowing Dallas star Jamie Benn to score late in the third period.

While the Blues came away with the win, it was far from an impressive victory and if not for a softy that got past Stars netminder Ben Bishop, the outcome might have swung in Dallas’ favor. The Stars offense was aggressive and active, topping St. Louis in shots on goal and shots attempted. Desperation will fuel them in Game 2, and there’s value with Dallas at +131.

As for a prop to pop in Game 2, oddsmakers and bettors are expecting another low-scoring affair. The full-game total dropped from 5.5 to 5 goals with action on the Under. If Dallas is going to crack Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, it will need to put the netminder on the ropes early and see if it can shake his stonewall confidence in the crease. NHL bettors should brace for offensive aggression from the Stars and take a look at them to win the race to two goals at +110.


COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS AT BOSTON BRUINS

Moneyline Odds: Columbus +120/Boston -140

Over/Under: 5.5 goals

Start Time: 8 p.m. ET, TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

Series Price: Boston leads 1-0 (Columbus +235/Boston -300)

Game 1 of this series was expected by many to be a tight, low-scoring battle and it lived up to expectations. The Blue Jackets had a 2-1 lead late in the third before Charlie Coyle tied it up. Then Coyle potted the game-winner in overtime as well.

During the regular season Boston allowed the third-fewest goals in the league with 2.59 per game, while Columbus was 11th with 2.82. So far in the playoffs the Blue Jackets have given up just 2.20 GPG while the Bruins have yielded 2.38 GPG.

Both teams tied for the sixth-fewest shots allowed in the league with just 29.5 per game during the regular season and have matched each other in that category during the playoffs as well with 30.8 SPG. Fewer scoring opportunites makes things easier for their netminders who are two of the best in the business. Sergei Bobrovsky has won two Vezina trophies, with the last coming in 2017, while Tuukka Rask took home a Vezina of his own in 2014.

Don't expect special teams to help out these offenses much either, Columbus was the fourth-worst team in the NHL on the powerplay this season. Boston was third in the league with the man advantage they'll be going up against a stellar Blue Jackets penalty kill unit that was second best.

The Under has hit in 13 of the Blue Jackets last 16 games on the road, and four of the Bruins last five at home. Take the Under again tonight.

With Boston allowing just 56 goals during the first period during the regular season (second fewest in the league), and giving up just 3 goals during the opening frame through the first eight games of the playoffs, also consider taking the first period Under 1.5.

[StarDust Bum]

Jackets nip B's in OT, tie series 1-1
April 28, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) Matt Duchene scored on a power play at 3:42 of the second overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins early Sunday morning, tying the second-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Artemi Panarin scored twice and assisted on the winner and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots. The Blue Jackets twice gave up a lead and twice came back to tie it.

Matt Grzelcyk and David Pastrnak scored and Tuukka Rask made 36 saves for Boston. The Bruins won the opener - also in overtime.

The series moves to Columbus for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Panarin's second goal made it 2-2 with 12 minutes left in the second period, and it stayed that way through a scoreless third and a first overtime in which the Bruins killed off one penalty. But when Patrice Bergeron was sent off for tripping in the second OT, the Blue Jackets made them pay.

Less than a minute later, Duchene kicked the puck onto his stick and slid it through Rask's legs to end it. As the Columbus players celebrated against the boards, the Bruins filed off the ice and many fans threw the giveaway yellow towels onto the ice.

STARS 4, BLUES 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Ben Bishop made 32 saves, Roope Hintz scored twice and Dallas beat St. Louis in Game 2 to even the Western Conference semifinal series.

Miro Heiskanen and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Stars.

Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves. The Blues had won three straight.

Game 3 is Monday night in Dallas