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  • Wednesday Trends and Indexes 10/21 (MLB, NHL, Misc.)

    Trends and Indexes

    Wednesday, October 21

    Good Luck on day #294 of 2009!

    At this time the sports menu in this thread consists of the MLB, NHL, and CFL until their seasons are played out. Also, general sports news and notes will be posted here.

    NFL trends are in the section: “NFL Trends and Indexes – Week 7 (10/25 - 10/26)”
    >> Click on the first “Matchup Link” below. <<


    College Football trends are in the section: “NCAAF Trends and Indexes - Week 8 (10/21 – 10/24)”
    >> Click on the second “Matchup Link” below. <<


    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.


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

    Matchup Links

    NFL Trends and Indexes – Week 7

    NCAAF Trends and Indexes - Week 8

    MLB Matchups

    MLB Previews

    MLB Hot or Not

    MLB Umpires

    MLB Trends

    MLB Weather

    NHL Matchups

    NHL Hot and Not

    NASCAR Schedules

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

  • #2
    Daily Sports Roundup

    Wednesday, October 21

    Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Tulsa takes on Texas-El Paso, the Wild try to cool off the Avalanche, and the Dodgers and Phillies play Game 5 of the NLCS.

    Colliding on the gridiron . . .

    There's one college football game on the schedule for Wednesday, with Tulsa at UTEP. The Golden Hurricane (4-2 SU, 3-1-1 ATS) will be looking to bounce back from a 28-21 loss to Boise State last time out; G.J. Kinne had two TD passes for Tulsa in that contest. The Miners (2-4 SU, 2-4 ATS) fell 35-20 to Memphis in their last game. Trevor Vittatoe threw for 319 yards and two scores in that defeat. Oddsmakers have Tulsa pegged as the 7.5-point favorite for Wednesday's game.

    Meeting up on the diamond . . .

    It's Game 5 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Phillies in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, with Los Angeles sending Vicente Padilla to the mound against Philly's Cole Hamels. Righthander Padilla started Game 2 of the NLCS, settling for a no-decision after giving up one earned run on four hits over 7 1-3 innings of work. Lefthander Hamels won Game 1 of the series, surrendering four earned runs on eight hits over 5 1-3 innings. Hamels fanned four in that contest.

    Taking a trip around the rink . . .

    Finally, the National Hockey League offers up six games on Wednesday, including Colorado at Minnesota. The red-hot Avalanche have started the season 6-1-1, and they got past the Red Wings 4-3 on the road in a shootout in their last contest. Craig Anderson stopped 28 of 31 Detroit shots in that game. The Wild, on the other hand, are off to a miserable 1-6-0 start this year, and they were beaten 2-1 by the Canucks last time out. Mikko Koivu had the Wild's lone score.

    Rounding out Wednesday's action on the ice: Carolina at the Islanders, Buffalo at Florida, Vancouver at Chicago, Dallas at Anaheim, and Nashville at Boston. The 2-4-1 Predators lost 3-2 in shootout to the Capitals in their last game, and they've lost forward Jason Arnott for a couple weeks with an arm injury. The 3-4-0 Bruins fell 4-1 to the Coyotes last time out, with Tim Thomas giving up four goals on 36 shots. Bruins forward Milan Lucic had finger surgery and will be out for a month.

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    Comment


    • #3
      Bettor's best friend: Today's helpful tips

      Wednesday, October 21

      Orange you the road team?

      Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's request to wear home orange for Saturday's game at Alabama was denied by the Crimson Tide. The Vols needed clearance from both the SEC and Alabama, which wears red at home and did not give a reason for its decision. Kiffin could still have his team wear orange but would have to take a 15-yard penalty after the opening kickoff. Alabama is giving 14.5 points and has won and covered the last three meetings.

      Pike spiked?

      Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike had surgery Tuesday to repair the plate in his left arm, raising doubts whether he can play Saturday vs. Louisville. The unbeaten Bearcats, who run a spread offense, hope Pike can practice Thursday and is able to take snaps out of the shotgun.

      If Pike can't play, Cincinnati will use either Zach Collaros or Chazz Anderson. Collaros took over when Pike reinjured the arm vs. South Florida and was 4-of-72 for 72 yards and an interception. Cincinnati is favored by 17.5 points.

      NLCS Nemeses

      Current members of the Philadelphia Phillies are batting .277 with five homers and 14 RBI in 83 at-bats vs. Los Angeles Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla. Raul Ibanez is hitting .321 (9-for-28) with two homers vs. the righthander.

      Current members of the Dodgers are batting .228 with four homers and nine RBI in 136 at-bats vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels. Ronnie Belliard is hitting .26 with two homers. The Phillies are -136 with a total of 8.5.

      Canucks cannot

      Since Daniel Sedin went down with a heel injury Oct. 7, the Vancouver Canucks have scored progressively less goals in four straight games. They have managed 10 tallies while going 2-2, including Monday's 2-1 loss at Edmonton. Vancouver is 0-4 on the road as it visits Chicago, which has won the last three meetings. Chicago is -170 with a total of 5.5.

      Unfamiliar territory

      Since entering the ACC in 1992, Thursday's visit to Chapel Hill will mark the first time Florida State is not favored against North Carolina. The Seminoles have won nine of the last 10 meetings, but the schools have not played since 2004. FSU is 1-5 against the spread and is trying to avoid a fourth consecutive straight-up loss, which it never has done under Bobby Bowden. North Carolina is giving 2.5 points.

      Throwing Potts

      Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts has been cleared to play Saturday vs. Texas A&M. Potts, who has thrown for 1,817 yards and 13 TDs, had missed the last two games with a concussion. Potts' replacement, Steven Sheffield, has a foot injury suffered in last week's win at Nebraska and is unlikely to be available, meaning the backup is redshirt freshman Seth Doege.

      The Red Raiders (5-2) are 3-2 straight up, 2-2 against the spread and averaging 38.6 points with Potts. They are 2-0 straight up and against the spread and averaging 49.5 points with Sheffield. Tech is giving 21.5 points to A&M.

      On an island

      The New York Islanders have lost 10 straight games dating to last season, a slide that began with an unfathomable 9-0 loss at Carolina. They have been outscored 47-18 during the skid, never tallying more than three goals. New York also was swept by Carolina in last season's four-game season series, getting outscored, 24-9. At -133, the Hurricanes are road favorites for the first time since March 23. The total is 5.5.

      Notable quotable

      "From the available video and still photography we have, there is no evidence that (Mariano) Rivera spit on the ball."

      -- MLB vice president for public relations Patrick Courtney, speaking to The New York Times and refuting an allegation supposedly reinforced by a video on YouTube that the Yankees closer used a spitball during Game Three of the ALCS.

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      Comment


      • #4
        Six-pack for Wednesday

        -- Albert Pujols is getting his elbow scoped again Wednesday; there are rumors he needs Tommy John surgery, which wouldn't be good.

        -- Donald Fehr is getting $11M golden parachute from players' union as he retires after 26 years as union's executive director; guy seems to be a creep, but lets face it, he made the players a ton of money, so he more than earned whatever they're giving him.

        -- Brewers hired Rick Peterson as pitching coach; manager Macha and Peterson worked together back when the A's were good.

        -- Kyle Orton is now 27-12 as an NFL starter, which means he had a 21-12 record before this year; why did the Bears want him gone?

        -- Carolina special teamer Wesley got suspended for a game after his vicious hit on a Tampa punt returner Sunday. Thats a $36,470 fine.

        -- NFL TV ratings are as high as they've been in the last 20 years.

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

        Tuesday's List of 13: Random thoughts as I head home......

        Wednesday's List of 13: Our NFL List of 13........

        13) Titans-- No excuse for trailing 45-0 at the half. Would be nice if they showed a little pride. They were top seed in AFC last year.

        12) Bucs-- Not many teams get a defensive TD and special teams TD in same game and still lose.

        11) Rams-- Lost their last 16 games; are trying hard, but have horrible WRs, which is why they traded LB Witherspoon to Philly Tuesday.

        10) Redskins-- Haven't played a team with a win yet; they're 2-4, with wins over the #30 and #31 teams on this list (by total of five points).

        9) Browns-- They just hired Bernie Kosar as a consultant; maybe he should be consulting with the team's quarterbacks.

        8) Patriots-- Rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated.

        7) Steelers-- Mike Tomlin says the word "I" more than any head coach in recent memory. Pitt allowed defense/special teams TD last 4 games.

        6) Giants-- Ran into a buzzsaw on Bourbon Street; they need to take care of the Cardinals Sunday night to erase that memory.

        5) Falcons-- Have shot at consecutive winning seasons for first time-- seeing as they've been in NFL since 1966, that’s a pretty big deal.

        4) Broncos-- Season turned on one lucky play in Week 1-- still believe had they lost in Cincinnati, none of this would be happening, but it did, and credit to Denver for taking advantage of it.

        3) Vikings-- No one can make me believe that Brett Favre didn't go in the tank last year so the Jets wouldn't want him and he could go to Vikings.

        2) Colts-- If they've not overconfident this week, they're not human.

        1) Saints-- This decade's version of the Greatest Show on Turf.

        From: Armadillo
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        Comment


        • #5
          NOTE:

          Our postings will not be in the usual order today, however, we will post the normally seen trends and indexes as soon as possible.

          .

          Comment


          • #6
            MLB
            This Day in Baseball

            On October 21 in Baseball History...

            1964 - After just 11 years in Milwaukee, the Braves Board of Directors votes to ask the NL for permission to move to Atlanta. Milwaukee County officials sue to block the move.

            1972 - The Reds send the World Series to its seventh game with an 8-1 victory in Game Six, the only one of the Series decided by more than one run. Johnny Bench has a home run and Bobby Tolan and Cesar Geronimo each drive in two.

            1973 - Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson hit two-run homers in the third inning as the Oakland A's defeated the New York Mets 5-2 in Game 7 of the World Series.

            1975 - Carlton Fisk broke up one of the best games in Series history with a homer in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing a seventh game.

            1976 - The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in four games with a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Johnny Bench had two home runs for five RBIs. It was the Reds' second straight championship and marked the first time a team had swept the playoffs and World Series.

            1980 - The Philadelphia Phillies became World Series champions for the first time in their 98-year history with a 4-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals in Game 6.

            1986 - Len Dykstra's leadoff home run in Game Three helps the Mets' Bob Ojeda beat his old team at Fenway Park 7-1.

            1987 - With the help of a three-run home run by Tom Lawless, St. Louis evens the World Series with a 7-2 win.

            1993 - The night after Toronto wins a 15-14 slugfest, Philadelphia's Curt Schilling outduels Juan Guzman 2-0 in Game Five to send the Series back to Toronto.

            1996 - It's vintage Greg Maddux. The Atlanta hurler holds the Yankees to six hits in eight innings and Fred McGriff drives in three runs in a 4-0 win in Game Two.

            1998 - The New York Yankees closed out their historic season with 3-0 victory at San Diego, sweeping the Padres in four games to win their record 24th World Series championship. The Game 4 victory gave the Yankees 125 wins against 50 losses - for a .714 winning percentage, the best in the majors since their Murderers' Row club of 1927. Their AL-record 114 regular-season victories were the most ever for a champion.

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            Comment


            • #7
              MLB
              Long Sheet


              NOTE: There should be an update in the Top Trends for the NLCS game between the Dodgers and Phillies, when available, we will re-post.

              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Wednesday, October 21
              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

              LA DODGERS (99 - 70) at PHILADELPHIA (99 - 71) - 8:05 PM
              VICENTE PADILLA (R) vs. COLE HAMELS (L)
              There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

              Head-to-Head Series History
              PHILADELPHIA is 6-5 (+0.8 Units) against LA DODGERS this season
              5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-0.4 Units)

              VICENTE PADILLA vs. PHILADELPHIA since 1997
              PADILLA is 0-1 when starting against PHILADELPHIA with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.125.
              His team's record is 1-1 (+0.0 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 1-1. (-0.2 units)

              COLE HAMELS vs. LA DODGERS since 1997
              HAMELS is 5-0 when starting against LA DODGERS with an ERA of 2.19 and a WHIP of 1.014.
              His team's record is 5-2 (+2.8 units) in these starts. The OVER is 2-3. (-1.1 units)

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              Comment


              • #8
                MLB
                Short Sheet



                Wednesday, October 21st

                National League Championship Series

                Best of Seven
                Game Five
                Phillies Lead, 3-1
                TV: TBS
                LA Dodgers at Philadelphia, 8:05 ET
                Vicente Padilla (R) vs. Cole Hamels (R)

                Padilla:
                10-1 TSR as an underdog
                7-1 TSR Away vs. teams w/ winning record 2nd half

                Hamels:
                1-6 TSR at home vs. teams w/ winning record
                14-17 TSR as favorite


                TSR = Team Start Record
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                Comment


                • #9
                  MLB


                  Wednesday, October 21

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                  Trend Report
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                  8:07 PM
                  LA DODGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA
                  LA Dodgers are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games on the road
                  The total has gone OVER in 10 of LA Dodgers's last 15 games on the road
                  Philadelphia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
                  The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games

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                  Comment


                  • #10
                    MLB


                    Wednesday, October 21

                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Hot lines: Today’s best MLB bets
                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies (-138, 8.5)

                    Pitching matchup

                    Cole Hamels (Philadelphia Phillies) vs. Vicente Padilla (Los Angeles Dodgers)

                    Cole Hamels (10-11, 4.32 ERA)

                    Hamels is far from his lights-out form of last postseason when he was named NLCS and World Series MVP. But if the fading fireballer can get the Phillies back to the World Series with a win in Game 5 he’ll be back in the hearts of Philadelphia backers.

                    Hamels has allowed eight runs in more than 10 innings of work in the playoffs and was knocked around for four runs in just over five innings against the Dodgers in Game 1 last Thursday. He struggled with his command, allowing two home runs and watching his pitch count surpass the century mark with 69 of those tosses for strikes.

                    Vicente Padilla (12-6, 4.46 ERA)

                    Padilla has the hot hand for the Dodgers. He hasn’t lost since joining Los Angeles in August and is 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA in two postseason starts. His most recent trip to the bump was a 7 1-3-inning no decision in which he gave up one run on only four hits for a 2-1 Los Angeles victory in Game 2.

                    Padilla is a former Phillies pitcher, who was with the club between 2000 and 2005. The Dodgers’ beat writers are expecting the always-vocal Philadelphia crowd to bombard the right-hander with barbs from the past. Padilla has been solid on the road, going 7-2 with a 3.60 ERA in both Texas and L.A. this season.

                    At the plate

                    The big bats continue to come through for the Phillies. And there is no bat bigger than Ryan Howard. The slugging first baseman hit a two-run home run in Game 4 Monday, giving him two home runs and eight RBI in the NLCS.

                    Shane Victorino and Chase Utley are giving the top half of the order some pop while struggling leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins sprung into action in Game 4 with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give Philadelphia a 3-1 series lead heading into Wednesday. Even defensive catcher Carlos Ruiz is getting in on the act. He's hitting .500 (5-for-10) for the series.

                    The Dodgers are getting their production from the opposite end of the batting order. Los Angeles’ top hitters this series are the five, six and seven hitters James Loney, Ronnie Belliard and catcher Russell Martin, all of which are batting .333 or better in the first four games of the NLCS.

                    The power bats of Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp have been silenced for the most part. Those players have five RBIs between them but just two home runs, a total of 13 strikeouts and they’re all hitting .250 or worse against the Phillies.

                    Pick

                    Monday night’s loss was crushing for the Dodgers, who did all they could to get out of jams with the lead in the later innings.

                    Philadelphia scored a similar come-from-behind win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of last year’s NLCS, then went on to eliminate a deflated Dodgers team 5-1 in Game 5 to advance to the World Series.

                    Baseball bettors will see history repeat itself Wednesday night in the City of Brotherly Love.

                    Pick: Phillies -138

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                    Comment


                    • #11
                      NHL
                      Write-up



                      Wednesday, October 21

                      Hot Teams
                      -- Bruins are 3-0 this season in game following a loss.
                      -- Sabres won four of their last five games.
                      -- Colorado won its last four games, allowing nine goals.
                      -- Blackhawks won four of their last five games.
                      -- Dallas Stars are 3-1 in game following a loss this year.

                      Cold Teams
                      -- Predators lost their last five games, scoring four goals.
                      -- Carolina lost its last three games, scoring four goals. Islanders are 0-6 with three OT losses- they scored five goals in last three games.
                      -- Panthers lost four of their last five games.
                      -- Minnesota lost its last five games, scoring ten goals.
                      -- Canucks are 0-4 on the road, outscored 15-7.
                      -- Ducks lost two of their three home games.

                      Series Records
                      -- Home side won last three Nashville-Boston games.
                      -- Carolina was 4-0 vs Islanders LY, winning last game 9-0.
                      -- Sabres won five of their last six games against Florida.
                      -- Avalanche lost eight of last 11 visits to Minnesota.
                      -- Blackhawks eliminated Vancouver in six games in LY's playoffs.
                      -- Dallas is 6-4 in its last ten visits to Anaheim.

                      Totals
                      -- Five of seven Nashville games stayed under the total.
                      -- Last five Carolina-Islander games went over the total.
                      -- Under is 6-1-1 in Sabres's last eight visits to Miami.
                      -- Four of last six Minnesota games went over the total.
                      -- Four of last five Chicago games went over the total.
                      -- Five of seven Dallas games went over the total; last four Anaheim tilts stayed under.

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                      Comment


                      • #12
                        NHL


                        Wednesday, October 21

                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Trend Report
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                        7:00 PM
                        CAROLINA vs. NY ISLANDERS
                        Carolina is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
                        The total has gone OVER in 4 of Carolina's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
                        NY Islanders are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing Carolina
                        The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 5 games when playing Carolina

                        7:00 PM
                        NASHVILLE vs. BOSTON
                        Nashville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
                        The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Nashville's last 11 games when playing Boston
                        The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games
                        Boston is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games at home

                        7:30 PM
                        BUFFALO vs. FLORIDA
                        Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
                        Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Florida
                        Florida is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
                        The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Florida's last 12 games when playing at home against Buffalo

                        8:00 PM
                        COLORADO vs. MINNESOTA
                        Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
                        Colorado is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games
                        Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Colorado
                        The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games when playing Colorado

                        8:30 PM
                        VANCOUVER vs. CHICAGO
                        Vancouver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
                        The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing Chicago
                        Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
                        The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games

                        10:00 PM
                        DALLAS vs. ANAHEIM
                        The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing Anaheim
                        Dallas is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games on the road
                        The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games at home
                        The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games

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                        Comment


                        • #13
                          NHL


                          Wednesday, October 21

                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets
                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins (-215, 5.5)

                          Last week B’s coach Claude Julien told the press not to panic about his team’s slow start. He said a few tweaks to the lines should be enough to spark the group.

                          But after Chuck Kobasew was traded to the Wild and Milan Lucic landed on the injured reserve, Boston will have to make a few more moves to solidify its lineup.

                          “It’s always sad to see someone go, especially Chuckie, who was such a good guy,” Bruins center Patrice Bergeron told the Boston Herald. “It’s unfortunate that trade happened, but the whole team was not having the success we were hoping for. We are all kind of part of the blame for that trade, but it’s nothing we can control.”

                          The Preds should be the perfect opponent to grab an easy two points against. Nashville has dropped five straight and is without the services of No. 1 center Jason Arnott.

                          Pick: Bruins -215


                          Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks (-170, 5.5)


                          The road hasn’t treated the Canucks kindly this season. The West Coast club is 0-4 away from home ice following a 2-1 setback at Edmonton Monday night.

                          And Vancouver’s struggles aren’t isolated to its play outside GM Place. The club is 3-5 after the first eight games of the season. It couldn’t keep the puck out of its net to begin the campaign and now the team is getting good goaltending but little offense.

                          The Canucks have outshot their opponents 108-72 over the last three games, but have just one win and six goals of the stretch to show for themselves.

                          “It’s frustrating,” forward Ryan Kesler told the Vancouver Province following the loss to the Oilers. “It’s frustrating when you get over 40 shots in three of four road games and we’re still 0-4 on the road. We’re getting to that point when we are going to start thinking we have to stop going for quantity of shots, and start going for quality.”

                          Look for Kesler and crew to get seduced into playing the Blackhawks style of play, which should equal lots of scoring chances.

                          Pick: Over 5.5

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

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            NHL


                            Wednesday, October 21

                            -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Pucking the trends: NHL betting news and notes
                            -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            A losing equation

                            Minnesota Wild backers are disappointed this season with their club’s 1-6-0 record.

                            Minnesota recently completed a grueling five-game road trip that included three games in four nights against Anaheim, Edmonton and Vancouver.

                            Michael Russo of the Star Tribune described the Wild’s season using the following equation: new coach + new players + new philosophy + heavy road schedule = early season struggles.

                            Wild forward Andrew Brunette is not bothered by his team’s slow start: "We're five games under .500 and we just go from there. You can beat yourselves up over it, but I thought we did some good things on this trip,” said Brunette.

                            Minnesota plays six of its next nine games at home.

                            Predatory unders

                            It’s time for bettors to take advantage of the Nashville Predators’ inept offense.

                            The Preds have scored nine goals in seven games and have gone over the total twice. In both of those games Nashville allowed six goals.

                            Despite scoring two goals in their previous four games, oddsmakers set a total of six for last Saturday’s game in Washington. Predictably, the game stayed under, with Nashville losing 3-2 in a shootout.

                            Brian Costello of The Hockey News points out that Nashville lacks an offensive star and its two best forwards (according to Costello), Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan, are 35 years old.

                            "We have to get more shots on net," Predators captain Jason Arnott said. "We're passing up too many quality shots."

                            Arnott will miss the next two weeks with an arm injury.

                            Intrastate love song

                            Now may be the best time for future bettors to put their money on the Pacific Division’s last-place team.

                            Anaheim plays nine of 10 and 16 of 21 games at home. All of those home games should lead to the Ducks to a much better record by Dec. 1.

                            Meanwhile, division favorites (Sharks) are in the midst of a six-game eastern road trip and play nine of 11 games on the road.

                            Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle observes: “We’ve got to come together as a team here. We didn’t have a very good first road trip. We’ve got six games against some pretty good teams – Washington, Philadelphia, the Rangers are all playing well.”

                            San Jose is 2-1-0 after the first three games of its trip.

                            Condensed schedule… really?

                            The Calgary Flames are in the middle of a stretch where they play five games in 20 days, all at home. Keep in mind this is supposed to be a year where the schedule is condensed to make way for the Olympic break.

                            The Flames will use this extra time to conduct an early season mini-camp. Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun points out the Flames had a similar stretch of intense practices last year and went on a 30-11-5 run.

                            "It's a good time for us to nail down things," said Calgary head coach Brent Sutter.

                            Watch for a potentially lopsided match-up on Oct. 28: the well-rested Flames take on an Avalanche team playing its second road game in as many nights.

                            Falling Stars

                            The Dallas Stars are missing four of their top forwards: Brad Richards, Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott.

                            Dallas has gone over the total five of eight times this year, but as Mike Heika of the Dallas News observes, the recent injuries have exposed Dallas’ lack of depth and the team is relying heavily on Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow to create offense.

                            Defenseman Stephane Robidas is trying to keep the injuries in perspective.

                            "You can't look at who's not in the lineup,” said Robidas. “You've got to control what you can control.”

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

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              NHL
                              Dunkel



                              Buffalo at Florida
                              The Sabres look to take advantage of a Florida team that is coming off a win over Philadelphia, but is just 4-10 in its last 14 games following a victory. Buffalo is the pick (-120) according to Dunkel, which has the Sabres favored by 1/2 a goal. Dunkel Pick: Buffalo (-120). Here are all of today's picks.

                              WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

                              Game 1-2: Nashville at Boston

                              Dunkel Ratings: Nashville 9.779; Boston 11.289
                              Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 1 1/2; 6
                              Vegas Line & Total: Boston (-220); 5 1/2
                              Dunkel Pick: Boston (-220); Over

                              Game 3-4: Carolina at NY Islanders
                              Dunkel Ratings: Carolina 10.534; NY Islanders 10.832
                              Dunkel Line & Total: NY Islanders by 1/2; 6
                              Vegas Line & Total: Carolina (-140); 5 1/2
                              Dunkel Pick: NY Islanders (+130); Over

                              Game 5-6: Buffalo at Florida
                              Dunkel Ratings: Buffalo 12.472; Florida 11.905
                              Dunkel Line & Total: Buffalo by 1/2; 5
                              Vegas Line & Total: Buffalo (-120); 5 1/2
                              Dunkel Pick: Buffalo (-120); Under

                              Game 7-8: Colorado at Minnesota
                              Dunkel Ratings: Colorado 12.098; Minnesota 11.609
                              Dunkel Line & Total: Colorado by 1/2; 6
                              Vegas Line & Total: No Line
                              Dunkel Pick: N/A

                              Game 9-10: Vancouver at Chicago
                              Dunkel Ratings: Vancouver 12.048; Chicago 11.714
                              Dunkel Line & Total: Vancouver by 1/2; 5
                              Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-165); 5 1/2
                              Dunkel Pick: Vancouver (+155); Under

                              Game 11-12: Dallas at Anaheim
                              Dunkel Ratings: Dallas 10.544; Anaheim 11.245
                              Dunkel Line & Total: Anaheim by 1/2; 6
                              Vegas Line & Total: No Line
                              Dunkel Pick: N/A

                              Comment

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