Sunday Trends and Indexes 10/5 (MLB, WNBA, NHL, Misc.)

[pm530]

Trends and Indexes
Sunday, October 5

Good Luck on day #279 of 2008!


For the NFL, see separate thread:

• “NFL Week 5 Trends and Indexes 10/5 and 10/6”


For now, the balance of the sports menu in this thread will consist of Major League Baseball, the Canadian Football League, the WNBA, and the NHL until their seasons are played out. Also, general sports news and notes will still be posted here.

NOTE:
As information becomes available, we will attempt to post the trends and indexes as soon as possible.
Information is posted from what we believe are reliable sources.
Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the posting member or BettorsChat.
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[pm530]

Daily Sports Roundup

Sunday, October 5

All three of the NFL's remaining unbeaten teams are in action on Sunday afternoon. Here's a look at those three games and everything else in your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The New York Giants. The Tennessee Titans. The Buffalo Bills. Those are the last three perfect teams in the National Football League, and each will be looking to stay out of the loss column again on Sunday when they take to the field for their Week 5 games.

The Giants are 3-0 on the season, but in the tough NFC East that doesn't give them much breathing room atop the standings. New York is listed as a 7-point home favorite (with the total at 43.5) for their 1:00pm ET game against the 1-2 Seahawks. The Titans and Bills are both 4-0 and on the road on Sunday. Tennessee is a 3-point favorite against the Ravens, while Buffalo is listed as a pick'em in their game against the Cards.

Elsewhere on the NFL's Sunday schedule it's Kansas City at Carolina (-9.5), Chicago (-3.5) at Detroit, San Diego (-6.5) at Miami, Washington at Philadelphia (-6), Indianapolis (-3) at Houston, Tampa Bay at Denver (-3), Atlanta at Green Bay (-3.5), New England (-3) at San Francisco, Cincinnati at Dallas (-17), and finally Pittsburgh at Jacksonville (-4).

Other Notable Events

The Red Sox and Angels are set for Game 3 of their ALDS in Boston on Sunday, with Josh Beckett (12-10, 4.03 ERA) expected to take on Joe Saunders (17-7, 3.41 ERA). Beckett couldn't start Game 1 because of an oblique injury, and he hasn't pitched since September 22 (a loss to the Indians). Saunders didn't allow a run in either of his last two starts, and the Angels have picked up the victory in each of his last five outings.

The Rays and White Sox will also play their Game 3 on Sunday, with Matt Garza (11-9., 3.70 ERA) going up against John Danks (12-9, 3.32 ERA) in Chicago. Garza hasn't earned a win since August 27 vs. the Blue Jays, and Tampa is 1-4 in his last five outings. Danks pitched the ChiSox to their win over the Twins on Tuesday night, holding Minnesota scoreless on just two hits over his eight innings of work in that contest.

Game 4 of the Phillies/Brewers series on Sunday will feature Philadelphia's Joe Blanton (4-0, 4.20 ERA in the National League) and Milwaukee's Jeff Suppan (10-10, 4.96 ERA). Blanton allowed one earned run on five hits over six innings in his last start, a victory over the Nats; the Phillies are 4-0 in Blanton's last four starts. Suppan is coming off a strong outing against the Cubs, but the Brewers are just 1-4 in his last five outings.

The Rest of the Schedule

The Sprint Cup Series will be at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, with Jimmie Johnson looking to boost his lead in the driver standings. Johnson won last week's race at Kansas, and he's now 10 points up on Carl Edwards in the Cup standings. Johnson is listed at 7/1 Vegas odds to get the win at Talladega on Sunday, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch all at 5/1, and Edwards farther back at 22/1 odds.

As well, the National Hockey League finishes up its Eurotrip for the season on Sunday, with the Lightning and Rangers in Prague and the Senators and Penguins in Stockholm.

Finally, Game 3 of the WNBA Finals is set for Sunday, with San Antonio playing in Detroit. The Shock took a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series on Friday night, with a 69-61 road victory. Katie Smith picked up a team-high 22 points in the win for Detroit, while Deanna Nolan had 12 points and seven boards. Becky Hammon scored 24 in the loss.

A Peek at the Future

The NFL's Monday nighter will have New Orleans hosting Minnesota, with the Saints pegged as 3-point home favorites . . . the first game of this year's National League Championship Series is set for Thursday night, while Game 1 of the American League Championship Series goes on Friday . . . the defending Stanley Cup champs from Detroit will begin their season Thursday, with the Maple Leafs providing the opposition.

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[pm530]

WNBA – Long Sheet

WNBA
Long Sheet


WNBA Finals

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Sunday, October 5
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SAN ANTONIO (28 - 14) at DETROIT (28 - 14) - 10/5/2008, 4:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 16-6 ATS (+9.4 Units) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) in road games against Eastern conference opponents this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
DETROIT is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in home games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive wins over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 5-3 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 5-3 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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[pm530]

WNBA – Trends Sheet

WNBA


Finals

Sunday, October 5

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Trends Sheet
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4:30 PM SAN ANTONIO vs. DETROIT
San Antonio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
San Antonio is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
Detroit is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games

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[pm530]

National Hockey League – Trends Sheet

NHL


Sunday, October 5

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Trends Sheet
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12:00 PM TAMPA BAY vs. NY RANGERS
Tampa Bay is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games
NY Rangers are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games
NY Rangers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay


2:30 PM OTTAWA vs. PITTSBURGH
Ottawa is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Ottawa is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Pittsburgh is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games

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[pm530]

National Hockey League – Hot Lines

NHL
Hot Lines


Sunday, October 5

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Ice picks: Sunday's best NHL bets
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers

New York peppered Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith with 41 shots, but mustered just a 2-1 victory in Prague Saturday. The Rangers even needed a man advantage to notch the winner in the final six minutes of the game.

The barrage of shots is a plus for New York’s revamped offense, who will soon be converting those chances into goals as they get more comfortable with their linemates. Their biggest addition, forward Markus Naslund, is off to a good start after scoring the opener for his new club.

Pick: Rangers -116


Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Pens center Tyler Kennedy put on a show for Swedish fans in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 overtime-win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday. The rookie netted the opener 40 seconds into the game and finished off the Sens with a deflected wristshot with just 25 seconds remaining in the extra frame.

The Penguins picked up their fifth straight win over Ottawa dating back to last year’s postseason series sweep.

Senators goaltender Martin Gerber wasn’t sharp between the pipes, stopping 26 of 30 shots, and allowed a couple soft goals in his first regular season start.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins -105

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[pm530]

Major League Baseball – Long Sheet

MLB
Long Sheet


Division Series

Note: The long sheet should be updated to include the Phillies/Brewers game, we will update when info is available.

Sunday, October 5

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TAMPA BAY (99 - 65) at CHI WHITE SOX (89 - 76) - 4:05 PM
MATT GARZA (R) vs. JOHN DANKS (L)
Top Trends for this game.
CHI WHITE SOX are 89-75 (+6.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 54-27 (+18.9 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 27-13 (+10.7 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 9 to 9.5 this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 31-20 (+10.6 Units) against the money line in day games this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 85-57 (+20.9 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 37-18 (+14.3 Units) against the money line in home games against right-handed starters this season.
TAMPA BAY is 99-65 (+29.5 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 38-26 (+11.6 Units) against the money line when the total is 9 to 9.5 this season.
TAMPA BAY is 57-45 (+16.4 Units) against the money line in day games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 60-38 (+16.7 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
TAMPA BAY is 53-35 (+18.0 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 15-27 (-14.2 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off over the last 2 seasons.
CHI WHITE SOX are 34-42 (-11.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHI WHITE SOX are 18-27 (-10.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 8-4 (+4.5 Units) against CHI WHITE SOX this season
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+3.3 Units)

MATT GARZA vs. CHI WHITE SOX since 1997
GARZA is 1-1 when starting against CHI WHITE SOX with an ERA of 4.97 and a WHIP of 2.368.
His team's record is 1-2 (-1.3 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 1-2. (-1.2 units)

JOHN DANKS vs. TAMPA BAY since 1997
DANKS is 3-1 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 2.96 and a WHIP of 1.110.
His team's record is 3-1 (+1.6 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-3. (-2.2 units)

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LA ANGELS (100 - 64) at BOSTON (97 - 67) - 7:15 PM
JOE SAUNDERS (L) vs. JOSH BECKETT (R)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA ANGELS is 8-3 (+5.8 Units) against BOSTON this season
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+0.9 Units)

JOE SAUNDERS vs. BOSTON since 1997
SAUNDERS is 4-0 when starting against BOSTON with an ERA of 2.89 and a WHIP of 1.419.
His team's record is 6-0 (+6.8 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-3. (-0.1 units)

JOSH BECKETT vs. LA ANGELS since 1997
BECKETT is 3-2 when starting against LA ANGELS with an ERA of 3.23 and a WHIP of 1.120.
His team's record is 4-3 (-0.5 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-3. (-0.3 units)

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[pm530]

Major League Baseball - Short Sheet

MLB
Short Sheet


Note: The short sheet should be updated to include the Phillies/Brewers game, we will update when info is available.

Sunday, October 5

American League Division Series
Best of Five
Game Three
Rays Lead, 2-0
TV: TBS
Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox, 4:05 ET
Matt Garza (R) vs. John Danks (L)

Garza:
Tampa Bay 6-15 Away off BB wins
Tampa Bay 58-130 as a road underdog

Danks:
White Sox 31-20 in day games
White Sox 13-3 at home off BB losses


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American League Division Series
Best of Five
Game Three
Red Sox Lead, 2-0
TV: TBS
Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox, 7:15 ET
Joe Saunders (L) vs. Josh Beckett (R)

Saunders:
Angels 0-6 in October
Angels 0-11 in playoffs vs. Boston

Beckett:
4-0 TSR in October
Boston 13-3 in playoff games

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[pm530]

Major League Baseball - Tips & Trends

MLB


Sunday, October 5

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Tips and Trends
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Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox [TBS | 4:07 PM ET]

Rays: The Rays are just 1-4 in Matt Garza’s last five starts with Garza giving up 10 runs in 21.2 innings over that span. He hasn’t been very effective away from Tropicana Field this season, going just 4-6 with a 4.53 ERA. Garza has faced the White Sox three times in his career and has an ERA close to five to go along with an awful 2.37 WHIP.

Rays are 7-1 in the last 8 meetings.
The UNDER is 13-4 in the last 17 meetings.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 4

White Sox (-140, O/U 9): John Danks pitched a gem against the Twins his last time out to get the White Sox into the playoffs, throwing eight scoreless innings in this biggest start of his career until now. Danks surprisingly pitches much better on the road than at home where he’s just 5-6 with a 3.66 ERA. Danks has had success in his career against the Rays, going 3-1 with an impressive 2.96 ERA.

White Sox are 42-18 in their last 60 home games.
White Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 playoff games.

Key Injuries - OF Carlos Quentin (wrist) is OUT.

PROJECTED SCORE: 6



Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox [TBS | 7:17 PM ET]

Angels: The Angels closed the season winning Joe Saunders’ last five starts. Saunders comes into the playoffs hot, not allowing a run in his last 13 innings of work. That hot streak could continue today against a Red Sox squad he’s a perfect 4-0 against in his career to go along with a 2.89 ERA. Saunders has also been very good on the road this season, going 10-3 with a tremendous 2.55 ERA.

Angels are 0-9 in their last 9 playoff games.
Angels are 7-1 in their last 8 road games.

Key Injuries - NONE

PROJECTED SCORE: 3

Red Sox (-175, O/U 9): The Red Sox have lost three straight games with Josh Beckett on the mound and four of the last five, although Beckett has pitched well in three of those outings. Before giving up four runs to Cleveland in his final start of the year, Beckett had only allowed three runs in his previous 19 innings pitched. He’s 2-2 against the Angels over his career but was blasted for 11 hits and eight runs his last time out versus Anaheim.

Red Sox are 11-0 in the last 11 postseason meetings.
Red Sox are 21-6 in their last 27 playoff games.

Key Injuries - 3B Mike Lowell (hip) is expected to return.

PROJECTED SCORE: 5

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[pm530]

Major League Baseball – Trend Sheet

MLB


Note: The trend sheet should be updated to include the Phillies/Brewers game, we will update when info is available.

Sunday, October 5

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Trend Sheet
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4:05 PM TAMPA BAY vs. CHI WHITE SOX
Tampa Bay is 6-14 SU in their last 20 games when playing on the road against Chi White Sox
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chi White Sox
Chi White Sox are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games
Chi White Sox are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home


7:15 PM LA ANGELS vs. BOSTON
LA Angels are 15-8 SU in their last 23 games
LA Angels are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games
Boston is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Angels
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing at home against LA Angels

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[Udog]

MLB
Dunkel


Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox
The Rays, which have won seven of their last eight over the White Sox, look to close out Chicago today and build on their 10-6 record when playing with a day off. Tampa Bay is the underdog pick (+130) according to Dunkel, which has the Rays favored straight up by 2. Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+130). Here are all of today's games

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5

Game 971-972: Philadelphia at Milwaukee
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Blanton) 16.233; Milwaukee (Suppan) 15.120
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-105); 9
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-105); Under

Game 975-976: Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Garza) 17.063; White Sox (Danks) 14.898
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-140); 9
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+130); Over

Game 977-978: LA Angels at Boston
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Saunders) 15.263; Boston (Beckett) 17.307
Dunkel Line: Boston by 2; 10
Vegas Line: Boston (-165); 9
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-165); Over

[Udog]

MLB
Long Sheet


Update


Sunday, October 5


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PHILADELPHIA (94 - 71) at MILWAUKEE (91 - 74) - 1:05 PM
JOE BLANTON (R) vs. JEFF SUPPAN (R)
Top Trends for this game.
SUPPAN is 27-17 (+10.4 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
PHILADELPHIA is 53-27 (+21.3 Units) against the money line when playing on Sunday over the last 3 seasons.
BLANTON is 20-11 (+10.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 7-2 (+5.1 Units) against MILWAUKEE this season
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+0.6 Units)

JOE BLANTON vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
BLANTON is 0-0 when starting against MILWAUKEE with an ERA of 3.86 and a WHIP of 1.000.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-0. (+1.0 units)

JEFF SUPPAN vs. PHILADELPHIA since 1997
SUPPAN is 3-6 when starting against PHILADELPHIA with an ERA of 6.13 and a WHIP of 1.767.
His team's record is 4-8 (-4.7 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 5-7. (-2.8 units)

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[Udog]

MLB


Update


Sunday, October 5


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Trend Sheet
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1:05 PM PHILADELPHIA vs. MILWAUKEE
Philadelphia is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee
Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Milwaukee is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Milwaukee is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing Philadelphia


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[Udog]

MLB


Sunday, October 5


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Hot Lines: Sunday's best MLB bets
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Philadelphia at Milwaukee (+107, 9)

Now that the Milwaukee Brewers have ended a lengthy losing streak against the Philadelphia Phillies, they will send the pitcher with the best track record in the postseason on their roster to the mound.

Jeff Suppan tries to help the Brewers force a decisive fifth game in their NL division series when they meet the Phillies on Sunday at Miller Park.

Milwaukee had lost seven straight against Philadelphia, including the first two games of this series, before posting a 4-1 win on Saturday to keep its season alive. J.J. Hardy had three hits and the Brewers' bullpen worked 3 2-3 scoreless innings to extend the series.

"Tonight was big for us," Hardy said. "I think we're going to be able to relax a little bit more and come out and play early tomorrow."

In order to send this series back to Philadelphia, it would help if Suppan (10-10, 4.96 ERA) can put aside his poor season and show the form he has displayed in the past in the playoffs. He's 3-3 with a 3.00 ERA in nine career playoff starts, including 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA in his last three.

Pick: Brewers


Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox (-140, 8 1/2)

It's been a breakthrough year for the Tampa Bay Rays, who posted their first winning season and advanced to the playoffs for the first time with their first division title. After winning the first two postseason games in franchise history, the club is on the verge of yet another milestone.

The Rays look to sweep their first playoff series and advance to the ALCS as they visit the Chicago White Sox for Game 3 of the teams' division series Sunday.

Tampa Bay finished in last place in the AL East in nine of its first 10 seasons, never winning more than 70 games and establishing a reputation as one of baseball's sorriest franchises.

The Rays, though, have done a remarkable job in shedding that label in 2008. They turned the corner by winning 97 games in the regular season and becoming the first team other than the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to win the division since 1997.

The Rays don't appear satisfied with just making the postseason. After rookie third baseman Evan Longoria delivered two home runs in a 6-4 victory over the White Sox in Game 1 on Thursday, Tampa Bay got a strong start from Scott Kazmir and a go-ahead home run from Akinori Iwamura in a 6-2 win Friday night.

Pick: White Sox


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[pm530]

National Hockey League – Dunkel Index

NHL
Dunkel Index


Tampa Bay vs. NY Rangers

The Lightning look to bounce back from yesterday's loss and avoid their first 0-2-0 start since 2001. Tampa Bay is the underdog pick (+115) according to Dunkel, which has the Lightning favored straight up by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+115). Here are all of today's games.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5

Game 51-52: Tampa Bay vs. NY Rangers (N)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 11.821; NY Rangers 10.462
Dunkel Line & Total: Tampa Bay by 1 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-125); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+115); Under

Game 53-54: Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh (N)
Dunkel Ratings: Ottawa 11.309; Pittsburgh 12.644
Dunkel Line & Total: Pittsburgh by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Pittsburgh (-110); 6
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-110); Over

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