Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 4/28 (NBA, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

[Udog]

NHL
Short Sheet

Sunday, April 28

Ottawa at Boston, 7:05 ET NBCSN
Ottawa: 2-10 SU after 5 or more consecutive unders
Boston: 32-10 SU after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6


** End of NHL Regular Season **

[Udog]

NHL

Sunday, April 28

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Senators at Bruins: What bettors need to know
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Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins (-200, 5)

The Boston Bruins attempt to claim their third consecutive division title while the Ottawa Senators try to avoid a first-round playoff matchup with the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins when the Northeast rivals face off at TD Garden on Sunday. The contest was originally postponed from April 15 due to the tragic Boston Marathon bombings. Boston, which trails the Montreal Canadiens by one point, needs a victory to complete a five-game season sweep of Ottawa and capture the division crown for the fourth time in five campaigns. Had the Bruins not squandered a two-goal lead for the fifth time this season on Saturday against the
Southeast champion Washington Capitals, only one point on Sunday would be necessary to win the Northeast.

Ottawa dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to its 2-1 regulation loss at home to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The Senators have lost three of their last four games heading into their regular-season finale. A victory moves Ottawa to seventh and sets up a playoff matchup with Montreal. One point also puts the Senators in seventh but creates a postseason showdown with the Bruins, and a regulation loss creates the unenviable task of taking on Pittsburgh.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Rogers Sportsnet East, TVA (Ottawa), NESN (Boston)

ABOUT THE SENATORS (24-17-6): Ottawa actually entered Saturday's game with a chance to finish fifth in the East, as two victories and a regulation loss by the Toronto Maple Leafs would have made it happen. While Toronto held up its end of the bargain, the Senators went 0-for-5 on the power play and only were able to get one of their 44 shots past Philadelphia's Steve Mason as they lost their third straight home game. Offense has been a problem for Ottawa, which hasn't scored more than three goals in a game since posting a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 23. In fact, the Senators have scored once in regulation in each of their last four contests. "We have to have a winning atmosphere, and in order to do that, we're going to need to score more than one goal," netminder Craig Anderson said. Defenseman Chris Phillips' assist on Kyle Turris' goal Saturday was the 200th of his career.

ABOUT THE BRUINS (28-13-6): Boston's usually strong penalty-killing unit was its downfall Saturday as Washington rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three power-play goals, including Eric Fehr's game-winner 3:23 into overtime. The Bruins enter the season finale ranked fourth on the penalty kill at 87.0 percent. Right wing Jaromir Jagr is questionable for Sunday after missing the Washington game with the flu. The future Hall of Famer has recorded two goals and seven assists in 11 games since being acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline. Coach Claude Julien is optimistic that right wing Nathan Horton will be ready for the playoffs. "I wouldn't say 100 percent," Julien said. "To us right now, that's the main goal. He should be ready for us." Horton has been out with a hand injury suffered in a fight with Pittsburgh's Jarome Iginla on April 20.

TRENDS:

* Under is 4-0-2 in the last six meetings.
* Senators are 1-6 in the last seven meetings in Boston.
* Under is 4-0-1 in Bruins’ last five home games.
* Under is 5-0 in Senators’ last five road games.

OVERTIME

1. Boston has won five consecutive meetings with Ottawa and 13 of the last 14. Its only loss in that span was a 1-0 setback.

2. Each of the Bruins' four victories over the Senators this season have been by one goal.

3. The road team is 5-1-1 in the last seven games of the all-time series.


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[Udog]

NHL

Sunday, April 28

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Pucking the trends: This week's best NHL bets
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For the week of April 21-28

Hot team

Detroit Red Wings (4-0 SU)

The Red Wings took care of business down the stretch, posting four straight wins to qualify for the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season. Jimmy Howard is already in postseason form, posting two shutouts during the run. Detroit’s focus now turns to its best-of-seven series with the Anaheim Ducks in the opening round.

Cold team

San Jose Sharks (1-3 SU)

The Sharks squandered an opportunity to earn home advantage in the playoffs in the final week of season and are skidding into their best-of-seven series with the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose was just 8-14-2 away from home during the regular season.

Best over play

Winnipeg Jets (3-1 over/under)

The Jets came up short of the playoffs, but over bettors profited big time during their stretch run. Winnipeg played over in six of its final seven games.

Best under play

Ottawa Senators (0-3 over/under)

The Senators have played under the total in 10 consecutive games heading into Sunday’s finale with the Boston Bruins. Ottawa has failed to score more than two goals in each of its last four games and has dropped its last five to Boston.


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