at Washington (7:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Jose 11.093; Washington 10.982
Dunkel Line & Total: San Jose by 1; 5
Vegas Line & Total: San Jose (-115); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Jose (-115); Under
Game 5-6: Phoenix at Vancouver (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Phoenix 11.392; Vancouver 12.728
Dunkel Line & Total: Vancouver by 1 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Vancouver (-180); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Vancouver (-180); Under
NHL
Long Sheet
Monday, February 13
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CAROLINA (20-25-0-11, 51 pts.) at MONTREAL (23-24-0-9, 55 pts.) - 2/13/2012, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 14-32 ATS (+51.4 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 3 seasons.
MONTREAL is 22-33 ATS (+55.0 Units) in all games this season.
MONTREAL is 1-7 ATS (-7.2 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 7-3 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 7-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.6 Units)
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SAN JOSE (30-16-0-6, 66 pts.) at WASHINGTON (28-21-0-5, 61 pts.) - 2/13/2012, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 14-2 ATS (+10.9 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 158-167 ATS (+361.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 114-159 ATS (-77.0 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 4-1 (+3.1 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 4-1-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.5 Units)
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PHOENIX (27-21-0-8, 62 pts.) at VANCOUVER (34-15-0-6, 74 pts.) - 2/13/2012, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHOENIX is 122-108 ATS (+13.0 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 42-35 ATS (+86.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 13-5 ATS (+18.0 Units) in February games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 10-5 ATS (+15.9 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
PHOENIX is 28-22 ATS (+56.6 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 27-16 ATS (+46.1 Units) in road games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game since 1996.
PHOENIX is 14-5 ATS (+8.8 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 19-15 ATS (+35.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
VANCOUVER is 179-173 ATS (-103.6 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 4-5 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 5-4-0 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.7 Units)
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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up
Monday, February 13
Hot teams
-- Montreal won its last four games, outscoring foes 15-4.
-- Coyotes won their last five games, allowing six goals. Vancouver won six of its last eight games.
Cold teams
-- Carolina lost 13 of its last 16 road games.
-- Washington lost seven of its last ten games. Sharks lost five of their last six road games.
Totals
-- Five of last six Carolina road games stayed under the total.
-- Five of last six San Jose games went over the total.
-- Six of last seven Phoenix games stayed under the total.
Series records
-- Canadiens won five of last six games against Carolina.
-- Sharks won last three games against Washington, allowing four goals.
-- Canucks won three of last four games against Phoenix.
Back-to-Back
-- Washington is 2-5 when it played night before, 0-2 at home. San Jose is 3-1 when playing second straight night on road.
NHL
Monday, February 13
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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
SAN JOSE vs. WASHINGTON
San Jose is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games when playing Washington
San Jose is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Washington is 1-15 SU in its last 16 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Washington's last 12 games at home
7:30 PM
CAROLINA vs. MONTREAL
Carolina is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 7 games when playing Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
Montreal is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
9:00 PM
VANCOUVER vs. PHOENIX
Vancouver is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 7 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 7 games when playing at home against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing Vancouver
10:00 PM
PHOENIX vs. VANCOUVER
Phoenix is 4-14-1 SU in its last 19 games ,when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Vancouver is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
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NHL
Monday, February 13
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Pucking the trends: This week's best NHL bets
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Every week, we update you on who's hot, who's not and situational betting spots in the National Hockey League.
HOT TEAM: Montreal Canadiens
February began with a pair of disheartening losses to New Jersey and Washington in a three-day span, and it seemed like it was all over but the crying in Montreal.
But goaltender Carey Price has refocused the troops, and while still very much a postseason long shot, the Canadiens are alive. And that's all the desperate fans in Montreal can ask for these days.
Price made 32 saves Saturday en route to a 5-0 shutout of Toronto. It was the Canadiens' fourth straight victory and pushed them, somehow, to within seven points of the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Price has four shutouts this season, and 16 in his career, but don't discount left wing Max Pacioretty's role in the revival, as well. Heading into Monday's game against Carolina, he has five goals in his last four games, and 23 overall.
COLD TEAM: Minnesota Wild
Remember the great first half that surprising Minnesota orchestrated this season? Well, it's about the only thing keeping the Wild above .500 these days. Saturday's puzzling 3-1 loss to Columbus of all teams -- the second defeat to the lowly Blue Jackets in a span of five days -- was Minnesota's fourth consecutive. And heading into Tuesday's game against Anaheim, the Wild (25-22-8) possess just three points all month.
Minnesota coach Mike Yeo is searching for answers with little luck. After 30 games, this team had the best record in the NHL. And they are 5-15-5 since.
Goal scoring has been a problem, despite Minnesota's depth. It's getting late in the season, and still, nobody has 20 tallies yet. Dany Heatley (18) is the leader, and he's followed by Kyle Brodziak (15), and Cal Clutterbuck (13). Not terrific numbers, and certainly not enough to strike fear into anyone in the Western Conference playoff race.
OVER PLAY: Nashville Predators
You wouldn't expect any team with a goaltender like Pekka Rinne to take residence in over-land for long, so take this with a grain of salt. But for the time being, there's some serious value in Nashville overs.
Saturday's 4-3 loss in a shootout to the Bruins in Boston was the Predators' third straight over and fourth in the last six games. At 23-27-6 over on the season, Nashville still has a ways to go to be a consistent play, but at least there's reason now to keep them on your radar.
All three of those consecutive overs were 4-3 losses, two of them in shootouts. So, maybe, the Predators, still a comfortable No. 5 seed in the Western Conference after Saturday's action, are starting to feel it a little bit as the season heads for home.
UNDER PLAY: Los Angeles Kings
Saturday's 2-1, overtime matinee loss to the Islanders in New York was a microcosm of the Kings' season. A terrific goaltending battle between Jonathan Quick and his opponent, Evgeni Nabokov, not enough Los Angeles goal scoring, and, in the end, a cashed under.
The Kings, who played the Stars in Dallas on Sunday night, are clinging to life in the Western Conference playoff race on the strength of their defense and goaltending, and that's never been more evident than in their over-under totals. Saturday's loss pushed an over-less streak to 12 games. There were eight unders in that run, with four pushes.
Headed into Sunday’s game, the Kings had already produced 32 unders. Only Winnipeg (33) had more. And with home games coming up with week against Phoenix (Thursday), and Calgary (Saturday), perhaps more of the same is in store.
SURVEYING THE SCHEDULE:
** The Flyers, who met Detroit on Sunday, have some time to figure out what's ailing them. They won't play again until Thursday, at home versus Buffalo, and in an eight-day stretch starting on Monday, they will only play two games total.
** It's the opposite story for San Jose, which began a run on Sunday that could define their season. The Sharks, who met the Blues on Sunday in St. Louis, are in the middle of a stretch that spans 10 games in 17 days. There are two sets of back-to-back games in there, and nine of them are away from San Jose.
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NHL
Monday, February 13
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Ice picks: Monday's best NHL bets
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Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens (-149, 5)
The Habs have won four straight behind Carey Price, who has allowed a total of four goals during the hot streak.
The All-Star has been in net for a pair of victories over Carolina this season, including a 25-save shutout on Nov. 16.
Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty has collected four goals in the last two games. His former teammate, Carolina defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, poked a bit of fun at his old club.
"Now that the Habs are starting to win, maybe they're measuring fingers for Stanley Cup rings," joked Spacek, who was traded from Montreal on Dec. 9. Spacek's current team isn't laughing when it hits the road this season, winning just six of 27 games (6-13-8).
Montreal is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
Pick: Canadiens
Phoenix Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks (-174, 5.5)
The Coyotes are riding high with a season-best five-game win streak. Coach Dave Tippett's club isn't beating patsies, either, as the Central Division-leading Red Wings and Pacific Division-leading Sharks are included in the team's list of recent victims.
Goalie Mike Smith recorded more wins (four) than goals allowed (three) last week. After yielding just one tally in each of his previous three games, the netminder got even stingier on Saturday by stopping all 38 shots he faced in a 3-0 triumph over the reeling Blackhawks.
The Canucks are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary on Saturday.
Four of the last six Coyotes-Canucks games have stayed under. The under is 7-0 in their last seven meetings in Vancouver.
Pick: Under