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**StarDust Bum** · 04-07-2012, 11:01 AM

Nashville Predators Visit Colorado In Key Clash

The final day of the NHL regular season is on Saturday and while all playoff participants are known, there are still division titles up for grabs and others jostling for positioning in the upcoming postseason.

Before we get into all the action, let’s recap a monster Thursday night on the ice with Washington beating Florida (4-2) and keeping their hopes alive for the Southeast Division title. Both teams are in the postseason either way.

Buffalo is out of the playoffs after blowing a third period lead at Philadelphia, losing 2-1. San Jose won (6-5) in a shootout at the Los Angeles Kings in a game that saw the Sharks' bench play a key role on a crazy play involving San Jose's Ryan Clowe, who played a little extra defense while officially off the ice. Los Angeles and San Jose are now tied for the Pacific Division lead with 94 points, but did clinch playoff spots while eliminating Dallas in the process.

There’s one game on the ice on Friday night, Phoenix at St. Louis (-165). The total is five and shaded to the ‘under.’ St. Louis will get at least the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference, despite going 0-1-2 in its last three games.

Phoenix is in the playoffs with 93 points and looking to jump ahead of San Jose for the seventh spot, possibly setting up a first-round matchup with St. Louis. The Coyotes are also still alive in the Pacific Division, one point behind San Jose and Los Angeles, but with a game in hand.

Jumping ahead to Saturday, there are several games with a big impact on the playoffs. Let’s start with Washington at the New York Rangers. The Caps can still win the Southeast Division as mentioned above and that would mean a move from the eighth seed to the third seed, getting home ice in the first round against New Jersey. The Rangers do have some motivation, fighting with Vancouver for the Presidents’ Trophy (most league points).

Florida is hosting Carolina and still looking for that one point to clinch the Southeast. Taking this game past regulation will get it done, even with an overtime or shootout loss, but Carolina could like the role of spoiler here.

Nashville (102 points) plays at Colorado on Saturday night as it tries to hold off Detroit (101 points) for fourth place in the West and first-round home ice. Detroit lost on Thursday night to New Jersey and hosts Chicago earlier on Saturday. If Detroit loses, then this game is meaningless for Nashville (6-4 in its last 10).

The race for the Presidents' Trophy could be decided by the time the Canucks and Oilers get underway in Edmonton late in the evening. If the Rangers win in regulation earlier Saturday night, they will lock up the honors and overall No. 1 seed with their tiebreaker advantage over the Canucks.

Vancouver could still be playing for the top seed in the Western Conference, however, regardless of the Rangers-Capitals outcome. St. Louis can pull even with the Canucks in the West with a regulation win Friday vs. Phoenix. The Blues will be in Dallas on Saturday, the puck dropping in that game a couple of hours before the Edmonton-Vancouver clash.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-07-2012, 11:05 AM

Weekend Watch

April 7, 2012

A full slate of MLB action is scheduled to go over the course of the opening weekend, and the following is a breakdown of some of the more intriguing matchups on tap in both the American and National League.

Saturday, Apr. 7

Washington Nationals (1-0, $100) vs. Chicago Cubs (0-1, -$100) 1:05 ET: The Nats went into Wrigley and scored a win from the jaws of defeat after tallying a pair of runs against the Cubs’ bullpen to secure the 2-1 win in Thursday’s opener. The win snapped Washington’s two-game losing streak in the recent series and moved them to 6-4 in the team’s last 10 trips to the “Friendly Confines.” Lefthnader Gio Gonzalez will be matched up against Cubs ace Matt Garza on Saturday; it will be his first start as a member of Washington’s starting staff. He was tattooed for eight hits and six ERs in his lone career start against the Cubs (2010), but Garza’s had no luck vs. Washington throughout three career starts, going 0-1 while giving up 21 hits and 12 ERs through just 13.2 total innings of work; Zimmerman, Werth, and DeRosa are a combined 8-for-17 (.470) against him. Total players should be aware that the ‘under’ has cashed each of the eight times these squads have faced one another in Chicago.

Kansas City Royals (0-0, $0) vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (0-0, $0) 4:05 ET: The time has arrived! Everyone at Angel Stadium will be pumped to see their new 250 million dollar man in the form of Albert Pujols take the field donning “Angels” across his chest. That said; the Royals will be just as amped looking to build upon last year’s solid September, which saw them win 15 of their 25 games played. Luke Hochevar will get the starting nod this afternoon looking to build off a solid second-half as well as a terrific spring. He went 6-3 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and .222 batting average against through 12 starts after the All-Star break, and Kansas City took seven of these teams 10 overall meetings last season; one out of three in Anaheim. It’ll be tough to dispose of the Halos in this spot, since Dan Haren has owned KC throughout his career going 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA and a .226 BAA through eight career starts. ‘Under’ bettors have cashed tickets 16 of the L/21 times these squads went at it in the “Big A.”

New York Yankees (0-0, $0) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (0-0, $0) 7:10 ET: A good old fashioned AL East rivalry headlines Saturday night’s MLB Network broadcast between the Yanks and Rays. Tampa Bay won each of these rivals final four 2011 meetings but the pair ended up splitting the 18 game season series; the ‘under’ has cashed in nine of the L/12 overall confrontations. Hiroki Kuroda will make his pinstripes debut looking to build off a season in which he set career highs in wins (13), ERA (3.07), starts (32), innings pitched (202), and strikeouts (161) with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This will be his first career look at Tampa Bay. Opposing him will be Rays’ southpaw David Price, who enters off a decent but not nearly as impressive 2010 season when he was the AL Cy Young runner-up. Though he possessed a 3.49 ERA & .230 BAA in 2011, he surprisingly had his toughest time pitching at home where he went 4-9 and gave up 103 hits through just 116.1 innings of work. He does however check in 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA over the course of 12 career starts versus the Bronx Bombers.

Sunday, Apr. 8

Atlanta Braves (0-1, -$103) vs. New York Mets (1-0, $100) 1:10 ET: The NL East rival Braves and Mets close out their three-game series at Citi Field with a pair of lefties squaring off. The Mets took their home opener 1-0 behind a stellar effort from Johan Santana who limited Atlanta to just two hits through five innings of work; it’ll be interesting to see how the Braves lefty rich line-up deals with Jonathon Niese’s curveball in this one. He’s 3-2 with a 3.55 ERA and .298 BAA the eight times he’s stared back at Atlanta. New York has now gotten the best of its division rival in three of the last four meetings dating back to last season. Both sides have earned five wins apiece the L/10 times they went at it in the “Big Apple” with the total holding steady (5-5) during that stretch. Mike Minor posted a 3.51 ERA in his final 10 starts of the 2011 season, but overall, he’s been much more effective at Turner Field than on the road where he’s 3-3 with a lofty 5.82 ERA and .310 BAA through 12 career starts; he surrendered no less than four earned runs in three outings against the Mets last season.

Chicago White Sox (0-0, $0) vs. Texas Rangers (0-0, $0) 8:05 ET: The reigning AL champion Rangers will close out their weekend series with the White Sox on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast. This one will pit Palehose righty Gavin Floyd against Rangers lefty Matt Harrison. The 2008 season in which he won 17 games seems like a decade ago for Floyd who’s gone a combined 33-37 the L/3 seasons. He enters off a 12-13 campaign that saw him strike out 151 batters and only walk 45, but the righty surrendered 180 hits through 193.2 total innings of work. He was at his best away from “The Cell” where he went 8-6 with a 3.41 ERA & .248 BAA; he’s 2-3 with a 4.73 ERA through six career starts vs. Texas. Harrison will attempt to get off to a good start in curing his April woes as he possesses a career 5.42 ERA in the opening month of the season. In a pair of no decisions at Chicago last season, he gave up a combined seven hits and six ERs through 11.1 total IP. Texas has tallied wins six of the L/10 times it hosted this rivalry with the ‘under’ 5-3 during that stretch.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-07-2012, 11:32 AM

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, April 7

Hot teams
-- Bruins won eight of their last eleven games.
-- New Jersey won its last five games, allowing seven goals.
-- Washington won three of its last four games.
-- Flyers won seven of their last eight games. Pittsburgh is 17-3 in its last 20 home games.
-- Blue Jackets won four of their last five games.
-- Hurricanes won seven of their last eleven games.
-- Minnesota won four of its last five games. Phoenix won its last four games, allowing one goal.
-- Predators won five of their last seven games.
-- Canucks won seven of their last eight games.
-- San Jose won six of its last seven home games. Kings won nine of their last thirteen games overall.

Cold teams
-- Sabres lost three of their last four games.
-- Senators lost their last two games, 2-1/3-1.
-- Rangers lost their last three games, outscored 10-3.
-- Anaheim lost seven of its last nine away games. Calgary lost three of its last four games overall.
-- Red Wings are 5-6 in their last eleven home games. Chicago lost four of its last six games overall.
-- Islanders lost their last three games, scoring five goals.
-- Maple Leafs lost six of their last nine games. Montreal lost five of its last six games overall.
-- Lightning lost their last four road games, allowing 19 goals. Winnipeg lost its last three home games, allowing 14 goals.
-- Panthers lost eight of their last nine games.
-- Dallas Stars lost their last four games, outcored 15-4. Blues lost eight of their last eleven games.
-- Avalanche lost six of their last seven games.
-- Edmonton lost four of its last five games.

Totals
-- Four of last five Buffalo games went over the total.
-- Last four Ottawa road games went over the total.
-- Over is 7-3 in Washington's last ten road games.
-- 15 of Philly's last 18 games stayed under the total. Pittsburgh's last 10 games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Anaheim games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 9-4-1 in last fourteen Chicago games.
-- Over is 6-1-1 in last eight Islander games.
-- Seven of last nine Toronto games went over the total.
-- Over is 9-2 in Tampa Bay's last eleven road games.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Carolina games.
-- Under is 7-3 in last ten St Louis road games.
-- Under is 4-0-1 in last five Phoenix games.
-- Four of last five Nashville games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Edmonton games.
-- Under is 7-3-1 in last eleven San Jose home games.

Series records
-- Sabres lost seven of their last eight visits to Boston.
-- Senators lost seven of their last eight visits to New Jersey.
-- Caps lost three of their last four games at Madison Square Garden.
-- Penguins lost five of their last six games against Philly.
-- Anaheim won six of last seven games against the Flames.
-- Blackhawks won seven of last ten games with Detroit.
-- Blue Jackets won 4-3 in OT on Long Island in LY's matchup.
-- Road team won six of last seven Toronto-Montreal games.
-- Jets won three of their last four games with Tampa Bay.
-- Panthers won four of their last five games with Carolina.
-- Blues lost five of last seven games against Dallas.
-- Coyotes won four of their last five visits to Minnesota.
-- Predators won their last eight games against Colorado.
-- Canucks won 12 of last 16 games against Edmonton.
-- Kings are 5-10 in their last fifteen games at San Jose.

Back-to-Back
-- Blues are 4-8 on the road if they played the night before.
-- Coyotes are 3-2 if they won the night before.

**StarDust Bum** · 04-07-2012, 11:52 AM

Early Best Bets MLB - NHL !

04/07/2012 @ 10:05 AM MLB [902] TOTAL u8½ 2.00 (WAS NATIONALS vrs CHI CUBS)
( G GONZALEZ-L / M GARZA -R )

04/07/2012 @ 10:10 AM MLB [903] ATL BRAVES -1½ 2.45
( J JURRJENS-R / R DICKEY -R )

04/07/2012 @ 01:05 PM MLB [905] TOTAL o7 1.87 (STL CARDINALS vrs MIL BREWERS)
( A WAINWRIGHT-R / Z GREINKE -R )

04/07/2012 @ 01:05 PM MLB [907] SFO GIANTS 2.09
( ACTION )

04/07/2012 @ 01:05 PM NHL [1] TOTAL o5½ 2.10
(BUFFALO vrs BOSTON)

04/07/2012 @ 12:05 PM NHL [3] TOTAL o5½ 2.10
(OTTAWA vrs NEW JERSEY)

04/07/2012 @ 03:35 PM NHL [6] TOTAL u5 2.00
(WASHINGTON vrs NY RANGERS)

04/07/2012 @ 01:05 PM NHL [7] TOTAL o6 1.80
(PHILADELPHIA vrs PITTSBURGH)

04/07/2012 @ 01:05 PM NHL [10] TOTAL u5 2.15
(ANAHEIM vrs CALGARY)

04/07/2012 @ 10:05 AM NHL [11] TOTAL o5½ 2.15
(CHICAGO vrs DETROIT)

**StarDust Bum** · 04-07-2012, 05:57 PM

NBA Best Bets:

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NBA [502] CHARLOTTE +8½ 1.91

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM NBA [503] BOSTON +1½ 1.91

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NBA [505] ORLANDO +5½ 1.91

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NBA [506] TOTAL u179½ 1.91
(ORLANDO vrs PHILADELPHIA)

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NBA [510] MEMPHIS -4 1.91

04/07/2012 @ 05:35 PM NBA [511] TOTAL o205 1.91
(PORTLAND vrs MILWAUKEE)

04/07/2012 @ 07:35 PM NBA [517] DENVER -3½ 1.91

04/07/2012 @ 07:35 PM NBA [518] TOTAL u209 1.91
(DENVER vrs GOLDEN STATE)

MLB Best Bets:

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM MLB [910] HOU ASTROS 2.15
( ACTION )

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM MLB [911] PHI PHILLIES -1½ 2.05
( C LEE -L / J KARSTENS-R )

04/07/2012 @ 04:10 PM MLB [913] MIA MARLINS 2.19
( ACTION )

04/07/2012 @ 05:35 PM MLB [915] TOTAL o7 2.00 (LA DODGERS vrs SDG PADRES)
( C CAPUANO -L / D MOSELEY -R )

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM MLB [923] MIN TWINS -1½ 2.35
( F LIRIANO -L / T HUNTER -R )

04/07/2012 @ 04:10 PM MLB [925] NY YANKEES 2.00
( ACTION )

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM MLB [928] TOTAL u9 2.00 (CHI WHITE SOX vrs TEX RANGERS)
( J PEAVY -R / D HOLLAND -L )

04/07/2012 @ 06:05 PM MLB [929] SEA MARINERS -1½ 2.50
( F HERNANDEZ-R / B COLON -R )

NHL Best Bets:

04/07/2012 @ 03:35 PM NHL [6] NY RANGERS -1½ 2.90

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM NHL [13] NY ISLANDERS 2.05

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM NHL [15] TOTAL o5½ 1.95
(TORONTO vrs MONTREAL)

04/07/2012 @ 04:05 PM NHL [17] TAMPA BAY 2.25

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NHL [22] TOTAL u5 2.05
(ST. LOUIS vrs DALLAS)

04/07/2012 @ 05:05 PM NHL [24] MINNESOTA 2.20

04/07/2012 @ 06:05 PM NHL [25] NASHVILLE -1½ 3.30

04/07/2012 @ 07:35 PM NHL [29] TOTAL o5 2.10
(LOS ANGELES vrs SAN JOSE)

**Kaptain** · 04-07-2012, 07:40 PM

get ya Some BUM....gl Podna....as always, thanks

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The Bum's Saturday's Best Bets NBA - MLB - NHL !

The Bum's Saturday's Best Bets NBA - MLB - NHL !

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