Cnotes53 2017 NHL Best Bets-News-Trends-Thru The Stanley Cup ! !

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Sharks look to Game 2, shake off loss
April 27, 2018


LAS VEGAS (AP) The San Jose Sharks made it a priority to get faster following a loss in the Stanley Cup Final to Pittsburgh two years ago.

The Sharks looked awfully slow and lost at times in the 7-0 rout at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in their second-round series opener.

Vegas outhit the Sharks, 48-33.

Vegas had 15 takeaways, San Jose had six.

Vegas blocked 26 shots, the Sharks 13.

San Jose was whistled for 10 penalties; Vegas just five.

''We had a laundry list of issues,'' coach Peter DeBoer said. ''We weren't good, and they beat us. It's obviously not pretty and we know we have to be better across the board.''

The Sharks don't have much time, and maybe that's a good thing. Game 2 is Saturday night.

San Jose won't have forward Evander Kane, who was suspended one game for cross-checking Vegas forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the head after a whistle late in the third period Thursday night. He was sent off and Joe Pavelski went off at the same time for slashing,

In a video announcing the suspension, the NHL department of player safety said Kane's cross-check ''was not a hockey play'' and served no purpose other than to strike an opponent in the head.

''I'm not a dirty player. It was just a forecheck that went into a scrum,'' Kane said afterward. ''I just cross-checked him in the arm and unfortunately that rolled up when he extended his arm. There was no intent and I'm glad he wasn't hurt on the play.''

The game was out of hand by then.

Goaltender Martin Jones, who looked brilliant in the first round by allowing just four goals in a sweep of Anaheim, came into the series with a career .931 save percentage, third best ever among goalies with at least 20 playoff games. He gave up four goals in the first period alone and was pulled after allowing a fifth 3:28 into the second period.

''That was on us as a group and it wasn't on him,'' DeBoer said. ''I wanted to give him enough time that he could feel ready for Saturday but at the same time, you know, not have to stand in there and get embarrassed.''

The Sharks started the series without star center Joe Thornton, who has been out since Jan. 23 with a knee injury, and there is no timeline for his return.

The Sharks must figure out a way to solve Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 33 shots for his13th career shutout in the playoffs and third this postseason. Fleury made 17 saves in the first period alone, including 10 on the penalty kill, while his teammates were scoring at the other end. San Jose was 6 for 20 on the power play in the opening round against the Ducks but went 0-for-5 against Fleury.

''We have to be better, that's the message they sent,'' DeBoer said. ''And we've got to respond to that.''
 

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Capitals believe they can rebound
April 27, 2018


WASHINGTON (AP) A five-minute implosion made the Capitals look like the same old team in the playoffs.

They blew a two-goal lead for the fourth time in seven games to ruin an otherwise solid performance in a Game 1 loss to the back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Penguins. That Pittsburgh stormed back to win 3-2 seemed to suggest this would be yet another chapter in the long, miserable history for the Capitals against their nemesis; the Penguins have won nine of 10 postseason meetings between the two teams.

But with fresh memories of digging out of a 2-0 series hole against Columbus in the first round, Washington doesn't sound like a team thinking, ''Here we go again.''

Players were quick to say they played a well and almost glossed over that ugly span of 4:49.

''We played a pretty good game,'' defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ''They scored on (Sidney) Crosby's three shifts in a row in the third period to win the game. Otherwise we played pretty good, so I don't think you need to overanalyze that.''

Overanalyzing is exactly what will happen given the Capitals' recent and franchise-long playoff history. But maybe the Capitals are better off focusing on the positives, and coach Barry Trotz expects things to click back into place for Game 2 on Sunday.

''It was a little bit of a kick in the stomach,'' Trotz said Friday. ''We had a couple kicks in the stomach in the first round with Columbus and you saw the response that we had. I know our group, I know the strength of our group, I know the resiliency. This group will battle back.''

It's not so easy to guarantee the Capitals will go shift-for-shift with the Penguins like they did most of Game 1, especially with the potential return of Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin. Washington did get as many quality scoring chances, if not more, than Pittsburgh, but those third-period goals by the top line of Patric Hornqvist , Crosby and Jake Guentzel tipped the balance.

Ideally, Trotz wants the Capitals to play with the lead the same way they do to get it: Move the puck quickly, make good decisions, defend hard and maintain solid positioning. Those things didn't happen on the three shifts against Crosby and Co., including mistakes like Dmitry Orlov not tying up Hornqvist's stick, Alex Ovechkin tipping the puck right to Crosby, and Braden Holtby giving the puck away behind his own net.

''One mistake, one bad bounce and they're back in the game,'' Ovechkin said. ''It hit my stick and goes right to Crosby's stick. Move forward.''

Moving forward for the Capitals means cleaning up the little plays that can make a big difference this time of year. Trotz acknowledged the Penguins' comeback ''happened very quickly,'' and it was enough to overshadow two competitive periods where his team arguably out-chanced and out-played its opponent.

''That's the tough part of this game is that those inches and those swings of momentum are so huge and you try to get them back,'' Trotz said. ''You have some control of it, and you just want to make sure that you execute at the highest level.''
 

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San Jose's Evander Kane suspended for 1 game for cross-check
April 27, 2018


NEW YORK (AP) San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has been suspended for Game 2 against Vegas because of a cross-check to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

The NHL announced the ban Friday. The league said Kane's second cross-check after the whistle was ''not a hockey play'' and served no purpose other than hitting an opponent in the head.

The play came in the third period of a series opener that San Jose lost 7-0 to the Golden Knights.

Kane has been a key component for the Sharks since being acquired in February. He's plays wing on the top line and had three goals in a first-round sweep against Anaheim.


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


Evenly-matched Lightning, Bruins expect long, tough series
April 27, 2018


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Tampa Bay hasn't played in a week, while Boston is coming off a hard-fought, seven-game playoff series.

Neither the Lightning nor the less-rested Bruins expect that to mean anything when their second-round playoff series begins Saturday.

A single point separated the Atlantic Division rivals in the standings after the race for the top seed in Eastern Conference came down to the final night of the regular season, and there's every reason to believe this best-of-seven matchup will be just as tight.

''Obviously, these were the top two teams in the division, and it was a close call until the last game on who was going to finish first and second,'' Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said.

''It's going to be a tough matchup. They are great team, so are we,'' the Norris Trophy finalist said. ''It's going to come down to the small detail in the game. We have the skill and depth up front to score goals, but we have to keep the puck out of our net.''

Boston won three of four meetings between the teams the regular season.

The Bruins won their opening round playoff series against Toronto in seven games. Tampa Bay, led by Nikita Kucherov's 10 points (five goals, five assists) eliminated New Jersey in five games after going 0-3-1 against the Devils.

''I think you learn that the regular season means nothing,'' Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. ''We know how they play. Very competitive group, very well structured, especially that top line. ... We're expecting a very tight series against a very good hockey team.''

The Bruins are bracing for a tough test, too.

''It's going to be a battle,'' Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. ''They were a top team all year. They compete very hard, have a ton of skill, and they have a lot of depth.''

THEY ALL COUNT

The Lightning earned home-ice advantage for the series by finishing one point ahead of Boston in the standings. In fact, it all came down to the final night of the season, when the Bruins were playing Florida in a makeup game for a Jan. 4 game postponed by a snowstorm.

The Panthers won 4-2, leaving Boston with 112 points to 113 for Tampa Bay.

''We're not going to allow one game to define us, yet we understand the meaning,'' coach Bruce Cassidy said then. ''We let one get away, an opportunity lost to have home-ice advantage, and we'll see if that haunts us down the road. I think it's too early to tell that right now.''

NOT THE FIRST TIME

The Lightning and Bruins are facing each other in the postseason for only the second time. The other meeting was in the 2011 Eastern Conference Final, won by Boston in seven games.

FALLING IN LINE

In the four playoff games the Bruins won against Toronto, the trio of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand had a combined 30 points. In the three games they lost, they were held completely scoreless.

''They're our most important line,'' defenseman Torey Krug said after they tallied three goals with four assists in Game 7. ''They're the best line in the NHL, and when they're going it's hard to stop.''

TONGUE LASHING

Marchand will do whatever it takes to get under the skin of his opponents, and in the first round that meant skating up to Toronto forward Leo Komarov and appearing to lick his face. (In November, he appeared to kiss Komarov on the cheek.)

''I thought he wanted to cuddle. I just wanted to get close to him,'' Marchand explained after the playoff game. ''He keeps trying to get close to me. I don't know if he's got a thing for me or what. He's cute.''

Several news organizations reported this week that the NHL sent a message to Marchand to knock it off, but he said he has received no such message. ''This is false,'' he tweeted in response to a Boston Globe story that picked up on the original report, from Sportsnet.

I KINDA LIKE HIM

Lightning coach Jon Cooper was asked how he views Marchand.

''To be honest, what I have seen of him, what goes on out on the ice, he's a competitive you know what and I love that. I think some of the greatest comments you can give a player is I hate that kid but I do wish he was on my team,'' Cooper said.

''I was fortunate enough during the All-Star game to meet him ... and off the ice to spend a little time. It actually was disappointing, I was hoping he was going to be an idiot. I was hoping I wasn't going to like him,'' Cooper added. ''But he was unreal, and it's amazing that a guy who is that kind and nice and outgoing and friendly is the same guy who jumps on the ice. You have to respect that about him. And when that kids jumps on the ice, he comes to play.''

---
 

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NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, April 28



Boston @ Tampa Bay

Game 85-86
April 28, 2018 @ 3:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
12.446
Tampa Bay
11.243
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-150
6
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(+130); Under

San Jose @ Vegas


Game 89-90
April 28, 2018 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
13.053
Vegas
10.545
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Jose
by 2 1/2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Vegas
-175
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose
(+155); Over





NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 28


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

BOSTON (54-23-0-12, 120 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (58-24-0-5, 121 pts.) - 4/28/2018, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 37-42 ATS (-18.2 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 41-43 ATS (-25.8 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 41-46 ATS (-14.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 59-29 ATS (+17.2 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 19-5 ATS (+13.3 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 228-233 ATS (+536.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 18-7 ATS (+10.0 Units) in road games on Saturday games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 9-4 (+5.3 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 9-4-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.3 Units)

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

SAN JOSE (49-28-0-10, 108 pts.) at VEGAS (56-24-0-7, 119 pts.) - 4/28/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 37-39 ATS (-15.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 18-28 ATS (-14.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
VEGAS is 57-31 ATS (+21.6 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 25-9 ATS (+13.3 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
VEGAS is 30-15 ATS (+13.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 9-3 ATS (+12.5 Units) in road games in April games over the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 25-9 ATS (+12.8 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
SAN JOSE is 19-9 ATS (+7.8 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
SAN JOSE is 216-228 ATS (+485.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 4-1 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 4-1-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.8 Units)

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




NHL

Saturday, April 28


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

Boston Bruins
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games
Boston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games on the road
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing at home against Boston


San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of San Jose's last 19 games
San Jose is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
San Jose is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
San Jose is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Vegas
San Jose is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Vegas
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Vegas's last 23 games
Vegas is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Vegas's last 9 games at home
Vegas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
 

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SATURDAY, APRIL 28
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


BOS at TB 03:00 PM
TB -150
O 6.0

SJ at VEG 08:00 PM
VEG -190
O 5.5
 

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Bruins crush Lightning in opener, 6-2
April 28, 2018


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Tuukka Rask tossed a broken skate blade up the ice in frustration, but hardly lost his cool.

''I didn't throw it at anybody,'' the Boston goaltender said Saturday. ''If I threw it at somebody, I'd like to apologize, but I didn't. I just wanted to make sure that everybody saw that my blade was off.''

Rask settled after allowing a second-period goal while trying to let officials know he had a problem with his left skate, finishing with 34 saves in the Bruins' 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Rick Nash had two goals and the Bruins' high-scoring line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand combined for 11 points, however Rask's ability to retain his composure after Mikhail Sergachev's goal trimmed Boston's lead to 3-2 was every bit as important.

''He was really good,'' Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. ''He gave us more than a chance to win early on when we were still trying to find our legs. We weren't executing very well. They were better than us, and then our top guys started finishing their chances.''

Bergeron also scored twice and had an assist on one of Nash's goals for the Bruins, who finished one point behind Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division title, as well as the No. 1 seed in the East.

Marchand had a goal and three assists, while Pastrnak finished with four assists in a dominating performance.

A second goal by Marchand was waved off because of a cross-checking penalty on Pastrnak.

''You need your best players to be your best players, and clearly that happened tonight for us,' Cassidy said.

Dan Girardi also scored for the Lightning, who trailed by one goal entering the third period.

Marchand and Bergeron hiked Boston's advantage to 5-2 before Jake DeBrusk added an empty-netter with 6:19 remaining.

The Bruins had just 10 shots against Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy over the last two periods, but made the most of the limited opportunities.

Game 2 is Monday night at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning, in the conference semifinals for the third time in four years, remain confident.

''We have a lot of experience. Guys have been in this position before,'' center Tyler Johnson said. ''It's one game. It doesn't matter if you lose a game 3-2 or 12-2. It's the same thing.''

Rask won three of four starts against the Lightning during the regular season, with Tampa Bay's lone victory coming in the final meeting.

Pastrnak assisted on each of Boston's first three goals and added another on Bergeron's third-period goal, giving him 12 helpers in eight playoff games.

''They're good. ... They've played together for a while and they know where to find each other,'' Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of Boston's top line.

''They play both ends of the rink. They've played on Olympic teams, World Cup teams, and every time you look up and Canada is winning, usually Marchand or Bergeron had something to do with it,'' Cooper added. ''They've done it for a long time.''

Nash, meanwhile, got his second and third goals of the postseason, scoring on the power play at 17:11 of the opening period and 12:33 of the second to put the Bruins up 3-1. Sergachev countered on the power play, trimming Tampa Bay's deficit to 3-2.

''We lost 6-2, so it doesn't matter how we feel about how we played,'' Cooper said. ''We're going to wake up in the morning, somebody is going to look at the score and say Tampa is down 1-0. Is there stuff we can build off this game? No question. But they got six, and in the end we have to raise the level of our game to get back in this series.''

NOTES: Vasilevskiy stopped 18 shots. ... When Rask lost the blade on his skate, play was allowed to continue because losing a blade is not considered a safety issue. ... The Bruins and Lightning are meeting in the playoffs for only the second time. The teams also met in the 2011 Eastern Conference Final, won by Boston in seven games. Six current Bruins - Bergeron, Marchand, Rask, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and Adam McQuaid were part of that team, which went on win the Stanley Cup.


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


Couture's goal in 2OT lifts Sharks past Vegas in Game 2
April 28, 2018


LAS VEGAS (AP) Logan Couture's second goal of the game, on the power play at 5:13 of the second overtime, lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, tying their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

Moments after Vegas' Jon Merrill was called for hooking, Couture found the back of the net, as the Sharks stole home-ice advantage from Vegas.

The Golden Knights, who lost for the first time in six playoff games, thought they won in the first overtime when Jonathan Marchessault's backhand sailed past Jones with 3:02 left, but officials ruled there was goaltender interference when Marchessault ran into Jones' blocker and spun him around before his shot.

Brent Burns also scored two goals and Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for San Jose, which was playing without suspended forward Evander Kane.

William Karlsson scored twice, while Nate Schmidt got his first of the postseason to tie the score at 3-3 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 43 saves.

Game 3 is Monday night at San Jose.

It was the second straight series the Golden Knights went into double overtime in Game 2, with their opponent missing a key player due to suspension. Los Angeles was missing Drew Doughty in the opening round.

Unlike the first game of this series, which saw the Golden Knights become the third NHL franchise to score at least seven goals in a playoff game during its inaugural season, Game 2 was much more physical, something that seemingly took Vegas out of its rhythm in the second period.

In Game 1, Vegas blocked 26 shots, to the Sharks' 13, but San Jose held a 36-26 edge in Game 2.

And after being whistled for 10 penalties in first series-opener, as opposed to Vegas' five, the Golden Knights found themselves in the box more than San Jose, 11-6.

The Golden Knights got on the board late in the first period after Colin Miller's slap shot from the point sailed wide of the net, off the end boards and right to Karlsson, who found the back of the net from a tight angle.

Karlsson notched his second goal when he took advantage of a turnover forced by Reilly Smith, overlooked passing it back to Smith, skated in and beat Martin Jones from the circle to put Vegas up 2-0 just 26 seconds into the second period.

Burns brought an end to the Sharks' 82-minute scoring drought when he picked up the puck off the draw and blasted a slap shot from the point to cut Vegas' lead in half.

Couture tied the game at 2 with a goal that conceivably could have been avoided. After blocking a shot by Dylan Demelo, Fleury pushed the puck to Deryk Engelland behind the net, rather than covering it up. Tomas Hertl got ahold of it and fed Couture, who one-timed in with just under nine minutes left in the second.

Three minutes later, Burns gave San Jose a 3-2 lead after he snagged the puck off a faceoff, circled the back of the net and tucked it in on a wraparound.

Schmidt tied the game when he took a pass from Shea Theodore and one-timed it from the blue line in the third.

NOTES: Burns' second-period goal ended Fleury's scoreless streak of 143:51, dating back to Game 3 of the opening round versus Los Angeles. ... Vegas surpassed its season-high 13 penalties in minutes with 22 PIM. ... The 18,671 in attendance was a new team record at T Mobile Arena. ... Kane was suspended Friday because of a cross-check to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in Game 1.
 

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SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY APRIL 29, 2018
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
7:00 PM Winnipeg Jets Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena


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


NHL PLAYOFF RECORD:

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

04/28/2018 2-2-0 50.00% -7.00
04/27/2018 1-1-0 50.00% -2.00
04/26/2018 0-4-0 0.00% -22.00
04/25/2018 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
04/23/2018 2-2-0 50.00% -1.75
04/22/2018 2-2-0 50.00% +0
04/21/2018 2-4-0 33.33% -15.25
04/20/2018 2-3-1 40.00% -26.00
04/19/2018 0-4-0 0.00% -22.00
04/18/2018 4-4-0 50.00% -1.00
04/17/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.75
04/16/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +4.25
04/15/2018 5-1-2 83.33% +21.25
04/14/2018 1-6-1 14.29% -27.75
04/13/2018 2-3-1 40.00% -11.50
04/12/2018 4-5-1 44.44% -4.00
04/11/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.50

TOTALS..........46-48-5.......48.93%.....-85.50
 

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Sunday?s 6-pack

? Chiefs drafted Kahlil McKenzie, whose dad is the Oakland Raiders? GM. That will make two days of the year very awkward for Mrs McKenzie.

? Cubs, White Sox both pitched a shutout Saturday; first time they both hurled shutout on same day since August 29, 2011.

? Buffalo Bills drafted WR Austin Proehl, whose dad Ricky won a Super Bowl with the Rams.

? Celtics 112, Bucks 96? Home team won all seven games in this series.

? Boston College junior G Jerome Robinson will stay in NBA draft, bad news for the Eagles.

? When Jose Altuve originally signed with Houston, his bonus was $15,000. This year, he is making $55,555.55??.a game. It?ll be triple that starting in 2020.

Quotes of the Day
?People call you and they want the second pick of the draft for a bag of donuts, a hot pretzel and a hot dog. Leave me alone. I don?t have time to screw around.?
Giants? GM Dave Gettleman

Sunday?s quiz
Before this week, Mets have played 14 series at Petco Park in San Diego. How many have they won?

Saturday?s quiz
Jason Witten played his college football at Tennessee.

Friday?s quiz
Paul Tagliabue was commissioner of the NFL before Roger Goodell.


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


Sunday?s List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday?

13) The Interweb has so many NFL mock drafts in the months before this weekend, you should know this: Of the 100 draft picks Thursday/Friday, 51 of those picks were traded before the pick was eventually used to select a player.

Kind of hard to pinpoint who is going where when the picks get traded so much.

12) Remember the Tom Cruise movie Jerry Maguire, when Cruise played a sports agent? The actor who played the GM of Arizona Cardinals was singer Glenn Frey of the Eagles.

11) Alabama had 12 players taken in the this year?s draft; NC State/Ohio State were next, with 7 each. Seven players taken in one draft is an NC State record.

10) Alabama punter JK Scott was drafted by Green Bay; his agent is Alexa Stabler, daughter of the late Hall of Fame QB/Alabama alum Ken Stabler.

9) This from an NFL source about LSU RB Derrius Guice, who the Redskins drafted:

?He got into an altercation at a meeting with the Eagles. He had several meetings where he came across lazy only wants to play video games. We caught a direct dishonesty from him in our meeting.?

Guice disputes that story, but apparently lot of teams believed it; he dropped to the 59th pick.

8) White Sox 3B Matt Davidson has seven homers at Kauffman Stadium this season; thats the most by any visiting player EVER in one season at Kauffman Stadium, and it isn?t May yet.

7) Thunder vs Utah with Carmelo Anthony on-court: 194 minutes, -58

Thunder vs Utah with Carmelo Anthony off-court: 94 minutes, +32

Sometimes life is simple.

6) Arizona Diamondbacks won their first eight series this year, the first team since the 2001 Seattle Mariners to do that, and first NL team since the ?77 Dodgers.

5) Earl Anthony was one of the best bowlers of all-time; turns out the lefty with a crew cut was once offered a $35,000 bonus to pitch in the Orioles farm system, but he turned them down.

4) Utah Jazz PG Ricky Rubio strained his hamstring in the clinching win over Oklahoma City, and will be out 7-10 days, bad news for the Jazz as they take on the Houston Rockets.

3) As I?m writing this, a teenager in a t-shirt and gym shorts just read the Packers? draft pick. Don?t be afraid to get dressed up, son. You?re on national TV.

2) Colts had four 2nd-round picks this year, first team since the ?09 Patriots to have four 2nd-round picks in the same draft.

1) Washington Nationals? rookie manager Dave Martinez messed up Saturday; Arizona was going to send up PH Chris Owings in the top of the 10th inning in a 3-3 game, so Martinez went out and removed his lefty reliever so a righty could face Owings. One small problem??.

Martinez took the pitcher out before the pinch-hitter Owings was announced, so Arizona left the lefty batter Dyson in the game to face the righty reliever. A pitcher has to face one batter before he can be taken out; the pinch-hitter isn?t officially ?in the game? until the PA announcer says his name over the PA system.

Owings walked and then the next batter walked and Arizona won 4-3. No bueno.
 
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Penguins, Predators face different tests
April 28, 2018


The road back to the Stanley Cup Final took two very different turns for the Penguins and Predators at the start of the second round.

Back-to-back defending champion Pittsburgh roared back from a two-goal, third-period deficit to beat the Washington Capitals, while the Winnipeg Jets chased Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne in a convincing 4-1 victory in Game 1. As each team prepares for Game 2, two key pieces could be ready to help.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin practiced Saturday and is on the verge of returning to the lineup after missing the past two games with an apparent leg injury. Coach Mike Sullivan called Malkin a game-time decision, though signs are pointing to the Russian star playing Sunday at Washington (3 p.m. EDT, NBC).

''If I'm playing, I'm ready to play,'' Malkin said. ''If you play, you need to show you can, you show you're 100 percent. It's not like the regular season. You can't play slow the first period and be better in third. If I play, if I'm ready, I'm ready first shift.''

Predators winger Auston Watson skated just seven first-period shifts Friday night before leaving with an undisclosed injury. His teammates outshot the Jets 48-19 and still lost, though a healthy Watson for Game 2 back in Music City (7 p.m., NBCSN) could make a difference as the defending Western Conference champions try to even the series between the NHL's top two teams.

''Getting this squared up before we go to Winnipeg is definitely important,'' said Watson, who felt great and called it a good practice. ''We'll do our best to take care of business.''

The Penguins and Predators each took care of business in six games in the first round. Malkin had three goals and two assists in five games before being injured against Philadelphia, and the line of Colton Sissons, former Pittsburgh center Nick Bonino and Watson combined for 19 points in beating Colorado.

It's impossible to overstate Malkin's value to the Penguins. Top-line winger Jake Guentzel called Malkin's potential return a ''game-changer,'' restoring one of their most dangerous options on the power play and at even strength after a season in which the 31-year-old forward put up 98 points.

Malkin skated on the fourth line between rookie Zack Aston-Reese and Tom Kuhnhackl at practice and on the first power-play unit. If he plays, it wouldn't be in a limited role.

''Putting Geno on the fourth line? Probably not,'' Sullivan said. ''We'll try to put him in a position where he can play to his strengths, be successful as an individual and help our team win.''

Just as the Penguins drew on two long playoff runs to come back against the Capitals, the Predators need only look up at their Western Conference champions banner in the rafters as they try to rebound.

''We just have to keep having that bounce-back mentality we've had since I've been here for two and a half years,'' center Ryan Johansen said. ''We're looking forward to tomorrow night's game because we know we're going to get a great response from everybody in here.''

A FOR DISCIPLINE

Referees combined to call three penalties each in Game 1 of Penguins-Capitals and Jets-Predators. Nashville was the most-penalized team in the league during the regular season but hasn't taken one its past two games.

''We're trying to get better in a lot of different areas,'' coach Peter Laviolette said. ''And you hope that through the course of fixing some things, continuing to do things right that you like, fixing some things, staying out of the penalty box, whatever it may be that at the end of the night you'll be able to move forward from that. There are some things that I guess are going in the right direction.''

The strength of the Washington and Pittsburgh power plays has those teams watching themselves and trying to avoid time in the sin bin.

''I think both teams go into the series trying to be disciplined for that reason,'' Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. ''You don't want to give the power plays an opportunity to have an impact in the game.

HELLEBUYCK SHINES

Connor Hellebuyck, a Vezina Trophy finalist as the NHL's top goaltender, starred for the Jets in making 47 saves in Game 1. In a breakout year for the 24-year-old, it was the kind of game that showed Winnipeg it has someone ready to take on the best in the West.

''There's great difficulty in a lot of the saves and finding the puck in those scrums, but he's built for that,'' coach Paul Maurice said. ''He's a big man that moves well and tracks well in traffic - especially close traffic. So he's capable of that kind of game in that kind of environment.''
 

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NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, April 29


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

PITTSBURGH (52-31-0-6, 110 pts.) at WASHINGTON (53-27-0-9, 115 pts.) - 4/29/2018, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 54-36 ATS (+3.5 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 24-11 ATS (+10.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 30-18 ATS (+5.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PITTSBURGH is 25-9 ATS (+12.7 Units) in April games over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 120-68 ATS (+19.1 Units) second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 51-26 ATS (+14.8 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 69-42 ATS (+15.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 8-13 ATS (-15.7 Units) in home games in April games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 16-11 (+6.6 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 16-11-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
11 of 23 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-1.8 Units, Under=-0.8 Units)

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

WINNIPEG (57-21-0-10, 124 pts.) at NASHVILLE (57-21-0-11, 125 pts.) - 4/29/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WINNIPEG is 1-8 ATS (-8.3 Units) in road games after a 3 game unbeaten streak this season.
NASHVILLE is 57-33 ATS (+12.4 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 28-9 ATS (+14.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 266-208 ATS (+490.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 207-175 ATS (+390.2 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
NASHVILLE is 35-17 ATS (+10.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NASHVILLE is 48-26 ATS (+17.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 57-32 ATS (+13.7 Units) in all games this season.
WINNIPEG is 13-1 ATS (+11.8 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 34-15 ATS (+10.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
WINNIPEG is 39-22 ATS (+16.4 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 30-18 ATS (+8.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WINNIPEG is 20-8 ATS (+9.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 8-7-0 straight up against WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
9 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.1 Units)

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




NHL

Sunday, April 29


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

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Pittsburgh's last 16 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Washington
Pittsburgh is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
Pittsburgh is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Capitals
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games
Washington is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Washington is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
Washington is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Washington is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh


Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Winnipeg is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Winnipeg's last 8 games
Winnipeg is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Winnipeg's last 13 games on the road
Winnipeg is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing Nashville
Winnipeg is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Nashville
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville Predators
Nashville is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Nashville is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Nashville's last 5 games
Nashville is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Nashville is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Nashville's last 7 games at home
Nashville is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Nashville's last 6 games when playing Winnipeg
Nashville is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Nashville's last 6 games when playing at home against Winnipeg


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


NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, April 29



Pittsburgh @ Washington

Game 11-12
April 29, 2018 @ 3:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
11.097
Washington
12.621
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-120
6
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-120); Under

Winnipeg @ Nashville


Game 13-14
April 29, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Winnipeg
12.061
Nashville
13.981
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Nashville
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Nashville
-175
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Nashville
(-175); Under
 

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MLB

Sunday, April 29


Sunday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs betting preview and odds

Both the Penguins and Jets were able to steal home-ice advantage away from their opponents with Game 1 victories in their respective series openers. Can the Capitals and Predators respond? Or will the Pens and Jets head home with big leads?

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals (-115, 6)

Penguins lead series 1-0

The Washington Capitals have frittered away a two-goal lead four times in seven postseason games, including three of their four at home this postseason. After yielding three third-period goals during a span of 4:49 in the opener, the host Capitals aim to rebound and even their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at one victory apiece when the rivals play Game 2 on Sunday afternoon.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS

SERIES PRICE (PER LV SUPERBOOK):

awapsx.jpg


LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Capitals opened Game as slight -125 home favorites, but the number has quickly moved down to the current number of -115. This despite the fact the Capitals are seeing 58 percent of wagers according to our consensus. The total opened at 6.

INJURY REPORT:

Penguins - C Evgeni Malkin (Questionable, leg), LF Carl Hagelin (Doubtful, face).

Capitals - LW Andre Burakovsky (Out, upper body).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
GP W L GAA SAVE % SO
Matt Murray (Penguins) 7 5 2 2.17 .917 2
Braden Holtby (Capitals) 6 4 2 2.10 .924 0

ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Evgeni Malkin shed the non-contact jersey for a more traditional yellow one in practice on Saturday and will be a game-time decision for Game 2 after sitting out two contests with a lower-body injury following a collision with Philadelphia's Jori Lehtera. While superstar captain Sidney Crosby, Malkin, Phil Kessel and Matt Murray tend to dominate the headlines, Jake Guentzel routinely sees his name in big bold letters when the postseason comes along. The 23-year-old capped the late goal surge by linemates Crosby and Patric Hornqvist to extend his point streak to five games (four goals, eight assists) and boost his league-leading total in scoring with 16 (seven goals, nine assists).

ABOUT THE CAPITALS: The Capitals need a stronger response at home considering they are 1-3 at Capital One Arena while the Penguins are a perfect 4-0 on the road. Although Alex Ovechkin scored and set up a goal in the series opener, the superstar captain and his linemates -- Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson -- were on the ice for all three of Pittsburgh's tallies in the third period. Wilson notched a pair of assists to boost his point total to five (two goals, three assists) in seven games.

MATCHUP CHART:

b71bn4.jpg


TRENDS:

* Penguins are 6-0 in their last six road games.
* Capitals are 1-4 in their last five games playing on two days rest.
* Over is 12-3-1 in Penguins last 16 road games.
* Over is 5-1 in Capitals last 6 home games.
* Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.




Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators (-175, 5.5)

Jets lead series 1-0

Consider the position of the Nashville Predators, who enter Sunday?s Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the visiting Winnipeg Jets having outplayed their Central Division rival in the opener at home, and yet trail in the series. Nashville pounded 48 shots on goal and dominated possession for large portions Friday, but it was the Jets who took advantage of scoring chances in a 4-1 victory between the NHL?s top two teams in the regular season.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVA

SERIES PRICE (PER LV SUPERBOOK):

2ekixpk.jpg


LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Predators opened Game 2 as moderate -167 home favorites and have been moved up to -175, which isn't much of a surprise considering the Preds are seeing 69 percent of wagers according to our consensus. The total hit the board at 5.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Jets - C Mathieu Perreault (Questionable, shoulder), RW Joel Armia (Questionable, upper body), D Dmitry Kulikov (Out, back).

Predators - D Yannick Weber (Questionable, upper body).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
GP W L GAA SAVE % SO
Connor Hellebuyck (Jets) 6 5 1 1.77 .940 2
Pekka Rinne (Predators) 7 4 3 2.81 .900 1

ABOUT THE JETS: Goalie Connor Hellebuyck followed up back-to-back shutouts to close out Minnesota in round one with a franchise playoff record 47 saves. Center Mark Scheifele continued his red-hot play, scoring two goals for the second time in three games in the series opener to give him six points (five goals) in his past three contests. Forward Blake Wheeler picked up two assists and finished a plus-2, one of 11 Jets who ended the night with a plus rating. Hellebuyck was outstanding but the Jets deserve plenty of credit in front of him, blocking 26 shots (16 coming from defensemen Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and Josh Morrissey).

ABOUT THE PREDATORS: While Winnipeg mustered just 19 shots on goal, its speed put Jets in position to beat Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne, who was yanked after allowing three goals in two periods. There was one encouraging sign in a frustrating Game 1, as the Predators second line broke through on Kevin Fiala?s shot 1:23 into the third period. Nashville won 66 percent of the game?s faceoffs but defenseman Ryan Ellis was the only Predators player to finish with a plus rating (plus-1). Four Predators recorded five or more shots on goal (forward Filip Forsberg and defensemen Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban), but Forsberg hit the iron late in the second just before Scheifele?s first goal made it 3-0.

MATCHUP CHART:

20pq4cw.jpg


TRENDS:

* Jets are 5-1 in their last six road games.
* Predators are 12-3 in their last 15 after scoring two goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 7-1 in Jets last eight overall.
* Under is 4-0 in Predators last four overall.
* Home team is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
 

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SUNDAY, APRIL 29
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


PIT at WAS 03:00 PM
PIT +100
O 6.0


WIN at NAS 07:00 PM
WIN +140
U 5.5
 

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Capitals cruise past Pens, even series
April 29, 2018


WASHINGTON (AP) Braden Holtby spun around and saw the puck on the goal line. Maybe it was in. Maybe it wasn't.

But after mounting another two-goal lead and this time building on it instead of blowing it, the Washington Capitals made sure it wasn't close enough for one questionable call either way to make a difference. With fresh memories of coughing up that same lead in Game 1, this time they took it to the Pittsburgh Penguins and emerged with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 to tie the second-round series.

''You can see what happen last game when we get the lead 2-0 and they come back and win the game,'' said Alex Ovechkin, who scored his seventh goal of the playoffs. ''They're experienced team, they're not going to give up and they're not gonna give easy play for us. We have to earn it. Today I think we play a solid game, everybody was in and we get the result.''

It was a result that came with controversy and a potentially significant aftermath as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion-Penguins came out on the wrong side of a coach's challenge, the NHL's video review on what would have been their second goal and lost defenseman Brian Dumoulin after a hit to the head by Tom Wilson.

Holtby stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced to frustrate the Penguins, robbing captain Sidney Crosby and linemate Jake Guentzel with sliding pad saves to continue his strong play in the postseason.

The Penguins thought he should've allowed one more goal to Patric Hornqvist in the third period. No definitive replays showing the puck over the goal line and Wilson's hit that injured Dumoulin left them steaming but also kicking themselves for starting slow and falling behind again.

''They won the game in the first period,'' Hornqvist said. ''I don't think we played our best game. ... They were all over us.''

After blowing three two-goal leads through the first seven games of the playoffs, Washington at least temporarily solved that problem. Ovechkin beat Matt Murray 1:26 in, Jakub Vrana scored on the power play later in the first period and, unlike Game 1, the Capitals made it 3-0 when Brett Connolly scored on a breakaway early in the second.

''Game 1 it was tough, we played a really good game I think and they just kind of found a way to get some breaks and score some timely goals,'' Connolly said. ''We learned from that this time around.''

The Capitals are learning some about Murray, having now scored all five of their goals against him in this series glove side. He made 18 of his 28 saves in the first period and had to in order to keep Washington from turning this into a blowout.

Murray was not the least bit happy when the league ruled Connolly's push on him moments before Vrana's goal was not enough to keep him from being able to make the save.

''Pretty disappointed,'' Murray said. ''As a goalie you just want to be able to do your job and when something like that happens and you can't do it, you just want to see the rule upheld.''

Pittsburgh had an even bigger reason to be angry when Wilson wasn't penalized for checking Dumoulin in the head with his left shoulder in the second. Dumoulin never returned, could potentially miss Game 3 on Tuesday and Wilson is in danger of being suspended.

''He made contact with his head,'' Crosby said. ''Given his history and things like that, I'm sure the league will take a good look at it.''

Wilson watched multiple replays and came away believing there was nothing else he could do on the play because Dumoulin stopped and braced for a hit from Ovechkin at the last second. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he had an opinion of the hit but declined to share it.

Wilson was already ready to move on.

''It's a bit of an unfortunate play that he got hurt,'' he said. ''We'll see what happens and we'll keep moving forward here. There's more important things going on. We've got a team in here that's pretty good and confident and we've got to go to Pittsburgh and get a game.''

NOTES: The Capitals have now killed 22 consecutive penalties dating to Game 2 of their first-round series against Columbus. ... Kris Letang scored Pittsburgh's only goal on a floater from the point in the second period. ... The Penguins were without star center Evgeni Malkin for the third consecutive game because of an apparent leg injury. Sullivan said Malkin could return for Game 3. ... Ovechkin tied Crosby and Guentzel for the playoff lead in goals. ... The Penguins' streak of road playoff victories ended at six.
 

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PREDATORS 5 JETS 4 2 OT'S

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

NHL PLAYOFF RECORD:

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

04/29/2018 0-4-0 0.00% -21.00
04/28/2018 2-2-0 50.00% -7.00
04/27/2018 1-1-0 50.00% -2.00
04/26/2018 0-4-0 0.00% -22.00
04/25/2018 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
04/23/2018 2-2-0 50.00% -1.75
04/22/2018 2-2-0 50.00% +0
04/21/2018 2-4-0 33.33% -15.25
04/20/2018 2-3-1 40.00% -26.00
04/19/2018 0-4-0 0.00% -22.00
04/18/2018 4-4-0 50.00% -1.00
04/17/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.75
04/16/2018 5-3-0 62.50% +4.25
04/15/2018 5-1-2 83.33% +21.25
04/14/2018 1-6-1 14.29% -27.75
04/13/2018 2-3-1 40.00% -11.50
04/12/2018 4-5-1 44.44% -4.00
04/11/2018 4-2-0 66.67% +9.50

TOTALS..........46-52-5.......46.93%.....-106.50
 

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Bolts, Vegas look to rebound off losses
April 29, 2018


LAS VEGAS (AP) The Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights were favored to win their second-round matchups.

After losses Saturday, the Lightning and Golden Knights will be happy just to reclaim home-ice advantage.

Hours after Boston beat Tampa Bay 6-2 to take a 1-0 series lead Saturday, the Sharks handed Vegas its first postseason loss in six games with a 4-3 double-overtime victory.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper and Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said it was their teams' worst performances of the postseason.

''I didn't like the game we played, that was the main thing,'' Gallant said Sunday before he and the Golden Knights left for San Jose. ''Not just losing in overtime, but I didn't like the game that we played the first 40 minutes.''

And while the Lightning enjoyed six days off after eliminating New Jersey in five games, it was Boston that looked sharper after winning an emotional Game 7 at home against Toronto three nights prior.

Cooper put the Lightning through an intense, high-tempo practice Sunday in hopes of setting the tone for a more spirited performance in Game 2, after his team played with less intensity than in any of its first-round games against New Jersey.

''The purpose of our practice was to put us in the best position to be ready to play (Monday night),'' Cooper said. ''Often times a lot of things in your game you develop in practice. We had a week off. We did some good things, but our game was not at a playoff level like the other team that had just played in a Game 7, and that's what we have to bring (Monday night) or it's going to be a long series for us.''

Boston's top line of Brad Marchand (one goal, three assists) David Pastrnak (four assists) and Patrice Bergeron (two goals, one assist) combined for 11 points, a huge contrast from Tampa Bay's top line of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and J.T. Miller, which went scoreless in Game 1.

''With every round, you have to elevate your game, your intensity, everything, and we didn't,'' Cooper said. ''We took a step back. A really good team showed us what happens when you do that.''

Much of the same can be said for Vegas, which looked nothing like the team that opened its second-round series with a 7-0 shellacking of San Jose. Instead of the team that looked crisp with every pass, and sharp with every shot on goal, the Golden Knights were undisciplined and sloppy through the first 40 minutes.

''We got a little too confident after Game 1, we came out a little slow in Game 2 and we just have to fix that and focus on a good start for Game 3,'' Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore said. ''We can't take those kinds of penalties. When you're in the box for a good portion of the night it's not going to go good. It kind of bit us in the ass.''

The Golden Knights, who surpassed its season-high 13 penalties in minutes with 22 PIM, found themselves in the box more than San Jose, 11-6.

Vegas is used to rolling four lines and three pairs of defensemen. Saturday the schematics changed with them spending more than a period in the penalty box collectively. And while Gallant admitted he didn't like some of the calls against his team, or some of what he felt were missed calls, he also said his players brought a lot of it on themselves.

''I thought we had a couple of opportunities for power plays, we didn't get them,'' Gallant said. ''I don't want our guys in the penalty box, I don't want my top guys in the penalty box wrestling. (David) Perron took six minutes in penalties last night, (Jonathan) Marchessault's sitting in there for roughing. You play hard, you get penalties - that's fine. You don't waste your time with after-the-whistle activities.''

BOUNCE BACK STRONG

Tampa Bay and Vegas have shown resiliency after a setback, as the Lightning are 19-8 following a loss, while the Golden Knights are 20-10-1.

''We know they're going to come back faster and harder than they did, and they played a really good game (Saturday),'' Marchand said of the Lightning. ''They came out fast, they came hard and it was tough to weather that storm early on. So, we can expect more of that.''

San Jose's Brent Burns, who had two goals on Saturday, said the Sharks fixed what they needed to for Game 2, but the win meant nothing more than tying the series and it's now just a best-of-five, not seven, against a Vegas team that will be looking for revenge.

''It's just one game,'' Burns said. ''Obviously we had to win it, but it's one game, so.''

FLURRY ON FLEURY

After allowing just three goals through the first five games, Vegas netminder Marc-Andre Fleury allowed three in the second period alone on Saturday. His shutout in Game 1 was his third of the postseason, but the Sharks peppered him throughout Game 2, outshooting the Golden Knights, 47-29.

The 14-year veteran said the lack of discipline, and even his own mistakes, are nothing to dwell on if the Golden Knights want to steal back home-ice advantage.

''We have a good bunch of guys, we've been through a lot together this year,'' Fleury said Sunday. ''You win 7-0 or you lose like last night, you always got to start fresh every night. I think we've been doing that, for the first round and the first game of San Jose. Every game is a new start, you got to start from scratch and try to win that one.''
 

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Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

? Cavaliers 105, Pacers 101? Lebron James was 16-25 from floor; rest of his team was 16-49.

? Pirates 5, Cardinals 0? Rookie P Kingham retired first 20 batters in his MLB debut.

? Giants 4, Dodgers 2? LA?s OF Bellinger got benched for not hustling.

? Rockets 110, Jazz 96? Houston wins first game of 2nd-round series.

? Bengals? rookie Malik Jefferson gets free pizza for a year from Pizza Hut for being the 78th pick in the draft (14th pick, 3rd round?.3.14= pi, get it?)

? Red Sox 4, Rays 3? Tampa Bay?s winning streak ends at 8 in a row.

**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend

13) Lost in the Ravens taking QB Lamar Jackson in the draft this week is this:

It gets Baltimore completely off the hook for potentially signing Colin Kaepernick; Ravens have Joe Flacco, Robert Griffin III and Jackson- they don?t need another QB.

12) In baseball, you can wager on teams to win series as opposed to games. Here are best and worst teams in series so far this season:

Best: Arizona 9-0, Red Sox 7-2, Mariners 6-1-2, Braves 6-1-2
Worst: Royals 0-6-3, Orioles 2-7, White Sox 1-7-1, Reds 2-6-1, Rangers 2-6-1

11) When Pablo Sandoval pitched an inning in the Giants? 15-6 loss Saturday, he was the first position player to pitch for the Giants since 1991, when Greg Litton threw an inning vs Houston.

10) Marlins 3, Rockies 0? Colorado went to Miami and scored two runs in three games against the sad sack Marlins.

Cubs 2, Brewers 0? Milwaukee went 0-4 in Wrigley this week, scoring total of two runs.

9) Philadelphia Eagles drafted Jordan Mailata, a 6-foot-8, 346-pound rugby star from Australia; he has no football experience, but is expected to play tackle. From the film I saw of him carrying the ball and running over rugby opponents, maybe he should play fullback.

8) New England Patriots made seven trades this weekend; they?ve got six picks in the first three rounds of next year?s draft.

7) Sprint and T-Mobile are going to merge, creating a wireless phone provider with 100M customers, second only to Verizon. The all-stock deal would combine Sprint, which has a market value of $26B, with T-Mobile, which has a market value of $55B, based on Friday?s closing prices. The two companies also have about $60B of combined debt.

6) Al Pedrique is the A?s first base coach this year; in 2007, he convinced the Astros to sign a second baseman from Venezuela. Kid named Altuve; you may have heard of him.

5) Baseball players get hurt a lot:
? Padres? RF Wil Myers pulled an oblique swinging the bat Saturday and is on the DL
? Arizona P Robbie Ray hurt his oblique pitching, left his start in 2nd inning.
? Miguel Cabrera (biceps) left Sunday?s game in the 5th inning.
? Yoenis Cespedes hurt his hand sliding into third base, left game in 3rd inning.

4) Michigan?s football team had their spring practice in France; why? Who foots the bill for that?

3) 123 underclassmen declared for the NFL Draft; 83 were drafted.

2) I still don?t get why teams bat their pitcher 8th; haven?t seen one compelling argument for doing it, other than ?Tony LaRussa did it.?

1) This year was Mel Kiper?s 35th NFL Draft on ESPN; the man knows his stuff. Not often one person stays in the same place for 35 years in the TV business.
 

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Monday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs betting preview and odds

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues Monday night with the Lightning looking to rebound after being thumped by the Bruins in Game 1 and the Sharks returning home after stealing home ice advantage from the Golden Knights in double overtime Saturday night.

Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning (-155, 6)

Bruins lead series 1-0.

The Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak line looks to match their performance from the opener when the Boston Bruins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Marchand (one goal) and Pastrnak (four assists) each posted four points while Bergeron had two goals to go along with an assist as the trio combined for a plus-12 rating in Saturday?s 6-2 victory.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVA

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

24xph0l.jpg


LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Lightning opened as -155 moneyline favorites and as of Sunday night that line has yet to move. This is despite 72 percent of consensus users picking the home team, so expect this line to move higher at some point. The total hit betting boards at 6 and has been steady.

INJURY REPORT:

Bruins - D Brandon Carlo (Out For Season, Ankle), LW Anders Bjork (Out For Season, Shoulder).

Lightning - LW Adam Erne (Out Indefinitely, Lower Body).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
W L OTL GAA Save % SO
Tuukka Rask 34 14 5 2.36 .917 3
Andrei Vasilevskiy 44 17 3 2.62 .920 8

ABOUT THE BRUINS (55-23-9-3, 41-44 O/U): Goalie Tuukka Rask made 34 saves in Game 1, including several big stops in the first period and with a one-goal lead later in the contest, after a subpar performance in the first round against Toronto (.899 save percentage). ?It?s a new series,? Rask told reporters. ?You try to come off on top in the first game, try to get the lead. That?s what my focus was. Like every game, you try to give your team a chance to win.? Left wing Rick Nash scored twice in the series opener after managing one goal in the first round and rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy added two assists to give him three in the playoffs.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (58-25-3-2, 53-33 O/U): The Ondrej Palat-Brayden Point-Tyler Johnson line, along with defensemen Anton Stralman and Ryan McDonagh, was matched up against the Bergeron trio in Game 1 and likely will get the job again - if all are healthy - despite the numbers. ?There was just some tough coverage moments where I think everything they shot went in,? Cooper told reporters. ?They were opportunistic, but that?s how you win games.? Point, who was a minus-5 in Game 1, and Palat (minus-4, five shots) missed practice Sunday for body maintenance but Cooper told reporters Sunday that they both should be fine for Game 2.

MATCHUP CHART:

11rw2ua.jpg


TRENDS:

* Bruins are 2-6 in their last 8 road games.
* Lightning are 36-15 in their last 51 home games.
* Over is 6-0-2 in Bruins' last 8 games following a win.
* Over is 31-15-2 in Lightning's last 48 overall.
* Bruins are 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Tampa Bay.




Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks (-130, 5.5)

Series tied 1-1.

The San Jose Sharks rebounded from their first loss of the postseason and hope to prevent the visiting Vegas Golden Knights from doing the same when the teams meet for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals Monday night. The Sharks were pounded 7-0 in Game 1, but fought back from a two-goal deficit and earned a 4-3 double-overtime victory Saturday to take over home-ice advantage in the series.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVA

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

2rqgiv4.jpg


LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Sharks opened as -130 favorites for Game 3 and as of Sunday night that number has not moved. 59 percent of consensus wagers have come in on the underdog Knights, so expect the moneyline to move in their direction at some point. The total hit betting boards at 5.5 and has yet to move.

INJURY REPORT:

Kights - D Luca Sbisa (Questionable, Hand), D Clayton Stoner (Out Indefinitely, Abdominal).

Sharks - C Joe Thornton (Questionable, Knee), LW Evander Kane (Elig Monday, Suspension).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
W L OTL GAA Save % SO
Marc-Andre Fleury 29 13 4 2.24 .927 4
Martin Jones 30 22 6 2.55 .915 4

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (56-24-5-3, 44-41 O/U): Vegas was the fifth-least penalized team during the regular season - second in fewest minutes per game at 6:49 - but were called for 11 in Game 2 and two in the second overtime. ?Our game is to roll our four lines over, and that?s something we couldn?t do the first two periods,? defenseman Nate Schmidt told reporters. ?We?ve got to make sure we screw the heads back on and make sure that you?re disciplined, because you can?t put this team on the power play.? Forward Reilly Smith has four assists in the series and seven overall in the playoffs to tie Karlsson for the team lead with seven points in five games.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (50-28-7-3, 40-45 O/U): Couture boasts 13 shots in the series after registering seven in Saturday?s win and shares the team lead in points (seven) during the playoffs with captain Joe Pavelski, who set up a pair of goals in Game 2. Left wing Evander Kane, who had three goals and an assist in the first five games of the postseason, should be back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for a violent cross check. Goalie Martin Jones gave up eight goals on 42 shots in the first two contests of the series after permitting four on 132 attempts in the first round, but was 19-10-2 with three of his four shutouts at home during the regular season.

MATCHUP CHART:

2ezu2j4.jpg


TRENDS:

* Golden Knights are 23-9 in their last 32 vs. Pacific.
* Sharks are 21-5 in their last 26 vs. Pacific.
* Under is 9-3-1 in Golden Knights last 13 road games.
* Over is 6-0-3 in Sharks last 9 Conference Semifinals games.
 

Cnotes53

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NHL

Monday, April 30


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

Boston Bruins
Boston is 12-6 ATS in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games
Boston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Boston is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Boston's last 13 games on the road
Boston is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Boston is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
Tampa Bay is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Boston


Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games
Vegas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Vegas is 17-8 ATS in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Vegas's last 13 games on the road
Vegas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas's last 6 games when playing San Jose
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
San Jose is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 14 of San Jose's last 20 games
San Jose is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games at home
San Jose is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Vegas
San Jose is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 6 games when playing Vegas
 

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NHL
Dunkel

Monday, April 30



Boston @ Tampa Bay

Game 15-16
April 30, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
12.644
Tampa Bay
10.045
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 2 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-155
6
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(+135); Under

Vegas @ San Jose


Game 17-18
April 30, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Vegas
12.884
San Jose
11.714
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Vegas
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-130
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Vegas
(+110); Under





NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, April 30


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

BOSTON (55-23-0-12, 122 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (58-25-0-5, 121 pts.) - 4/30/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 42-43 ATS (-24.3 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 19-6 ATS (+12.4 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 14-14 ATS (-12.3 Units) after a division game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 10-4 (+6.7 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 10-4-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.2 Units)

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

VEGAS (56-25-0-7, 119 pts.) at SAN JOSE (50-28-0-10, 110 pts.) - 4/30/2018, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 130-84 ATS (-13.3 Units) in April games since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 26-9 ATS (+14.8 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
SAN JOSE is 23-11 ATS (+8.4 Units) after a division game this season.
SAN JOSE is 20-10 ATS (+20.0 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
VEGAS is 57-32 ATS (+18.3 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 25-10 ATS (+11.6 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
VEGAS is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
VEGAS is 30-16 ATS (+12.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 4-2 (+1.2 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 4-2-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)
 

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MONDAY, APRIL 30
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


BOS at TB 07:00 PM
BOS +135
O 6.0


VEG at SJ 10:00 PM
SJ -120
U 5.5
 
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