Cnotes National Hockey League March Rated Plays - Trends - News - Etc. !!

[CNOTES]

Preview: Islanders (37-21) at Penguins (36-24)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Pittsburgh Penguins are again facing an extended period without star center Evgeni Malkin. As long as Sidney Crosby is around, doubting their ability to remain a serious contender would appear unwise.


Crosby looks to lead the Penguins to their third straight win and within two points of the New York Islanders on Tuesday night when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet for the second time in a week.


Pittsburgh (36-24-8) received the news this past weekend that Malkin, second on the team with 27 goals and 58 points, would be sidelined six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury suffered in Friday's win at Columbus.


'It's a good opportunity for a lot of guys to get some secondary scoring to get some more minutes when a top guy like that goes down.' said rookie Conor Sheary, who was recalled from the AHL late Saturday. 'Obviously, it's unfortunate for the team as a whole, losing a player like that, but it's good for younger guys and guys who don't get that many minutes.'


Sheary took advantage of his extra ice time with his first career two-goal game in Sunday's 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers.


'He's a terrific kid,' coach Mike Sullivan said. 'You can see his offensive instincts, you see his vision when he has the puck.'


Sheary was one of four rookies in the lineup for Pittsburgh, which holds the first wild card in the Eastern Conference and is four points behind the Islanders for third in the division.


This isn't the first time this season that the Penguins have been forced to play without Malkin. They went 5-4-1 during his last absence in February and are 71-45-9 with him out of the lineup in his 10-year career.


With Malkin sidelined, Crosby takes on an even heavier offensive burden and he seems more than capable of fulfilling that role. Pittsburgh's captain had a goal and an assist Sunday, giving him four and nine during an eight-game point streak.


A matchup with the Islanders (38-21-8) isn't likely to slow Crosby, who has nine goals and 17 assists in his past 16 meetings.


The Islanders held on for a 2-1 victory over the visiting Penguins last Tuesday in a game that saw No. 1 goaltender Jaroslav Halak lost for six weeks with a lower-body injury.


New York was in danger of losing its third straight since with former Penguin Thomas Greiss in net, but it erased a two-goal deficit with a dominant third period Monday in a 3-2 victory over Florida.


'In the third, we played to our identity,' coach Jack Capuano said. 'We were fortunate to get some bounces and we got two points.'


Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck scored in a 5 1/2-minute stretch as the Islanders improved to 12-3-2 in their last 17 to draw within one point of the Rangers for second in the division with two games in hand.


'It was a huge win for us,' Okposo said. 'Everyone around us is getting points every night. We are fighting for home ice and fighting to get into the playoffs, so every win is big.'


Greiss could make his second start this season against his former team unless Capuano decides to go with rookie Jean-Francois Berube, whose last appearance came in relief Feb. 6.


Captain John Tavares had his three-game goal streak snapped Monday but has a chance to extend his run against the Penguins to four. He has four goals and three assists during a five-game point streak in the series.


Pittsburgh stopped a four-game losing streak to the Islanders with a 5-2 victory Jan. 2 behind Crosby's two goals.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Hurricanes (31-26) at Capitals (49-14)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

More than a year has passed since the Washington Capitals have suffered three straight regular-season losses.


They'll be trying to prevent it from finally happening again Tuesday night, though the NHL leaders appear to have an excellent opportunity to keep that run going when they look to extend their home winning streak against the Carolina Hurricanes to four.


Washington (49-14-5) went 2-1-1 on its road trip that featured the last three games in California. It knocked off Boston in overtime and then Anaheim in a shootout to start the swing but lost to Los Angeles in OT and San Jose in the next two.


The finale was particularly disheartening as the Sharks outscored the Capitals 3-0 in the final period of Saturday's 5-2 loss.


Washington was outscored 6-0 in the first period on the trip and 8-0 in the opening 20 minutes of its last five games.


'It's really tough coming from behind every night,' forward Justin Williams said. 'It seems we're used to it now. We need to stop thinking about it and get that first goal.'


Washington is in the bottom half of the league with a minus-0.09 goal differential per game in the first period. It's tops in the NHL in the category in the second and third, with its plus-0.49 in the final period the best by a wide margin.


"It definitely hurts us," forward T.J. Oshie told the team's official website. "It's hard playing from behind all the time. We don't get down on ourselves when it happens; we almost get up and play a little bit better. But it'd be nice to start with the first one here pretty soon."


The Capitals' 3.16 non-shootout goals per game tops the Eastern Conference, but they've hit a bit of an offensive rut of late, scoring two in four of the last five games. Washington has also allowed nine total goals in the past two.


It hasn't dropped three straight in the regular season since Feb. 22-27, 2015, but it's handled the Hurricanes lately at the Verizon Center, outscoring them 12-6 in the three consecutive victories.


The Capitals lead the season series 2-1-0, though Carolina broke a three-game skid to Washington with a 4-2 win Dec. 31.


Carolina (31-26-12) comes in on a 3-0-2 streak as it tries to keep a playoff spot within striking distance. The Hurricanes are five points out of the second wild-card spot.


However, they failed to take full advantage of lowly Buffalo on Saturday, falling 3-2 on Jack Eichel's breakaway goal with one second left in overtime.


'We didn't play too bad,' defenseman Brett Pesce said. 'I honestly felt we got better as the game went on. We got some momentum in the second and third. We just got an unfortunate bounce.'


Phillip Di Giuseppe scored and has two goals and three assists in his last four games. He scored a goal Dec. 31.


Oshie's power-play goal Saturday was his 10th of the season, extending a single-season career best. He also matched his career high with his 21st goal by scoring for a second straight game.


Braden Holtby is expected to return to the net after Philipp Grubauer started in San Jose. Holtby has gone 4-1-0 with a 1.62 goals-against average in his last five starts against the Hurricanes, beating them 4-1 with 18 saves Oct. 17.


Cam Ward has lost five straight starts against Washington with a 3.23 GAA. He's posted a 3.13 mark in his last six games overall.


The Hurricanes have killed off 15 of 16 short-handed situations over the last seven games as they get set to face the top power-play team in the East at 23.8 percent.


Carolina leading scorer Jeff Skinner has four goals and four assists over his last six games.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Red Wings (34-24) at Flyers (32-23)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Making a push to move into playoff position, the Philadelphia Flyers have a good opportunity to close in on the team they must catch for that to happen.


The Flyers can get within a point of Detroit for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot by continuing their home dominance of the Red Wings on Tuesday night.


Though Philadelphia's three-game winning streak ended with Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss at Florida, it's in the midst of a 6-1-1 stretch. The Flyers are the first team behind Detroit.


"We have to have an all-around team effort, and the guys are playing good hockey," said Steve Mason, who despite yielding four goals Saturday is 3-0-1 with a 1.72 goals-against average in four starts this month.


The Flyers (32-23-12) can keep making up ground in the Detroit matchup and Saturday's game against wild-card leader Pittsburgh, which they trail by four points.


Philadelphia has totaled 22 goals during a 5-1-1 stretch at Wells Fargo Center, and it's outscored the Red Wings 44-17 in a 10-game home winning streak. Claude Giroux had the tying goal and scored in the shootout of a 2-1 victory at Detroit (34-24-11) on Jan. 17 in the season's only meeting.


Giroux has five goals and nine assists in an eight-game point streak against the Red Wings, while Wayne Simmonds has recorded five points in his last three meetings with Detroit.


The Red Wings have dropped two straight on the road, where they've gone 2-6-2 in their last 10.


Detroit's inconsistency continued Sunday as it lost 1-0 to lowly Toronto and failed to win a third straight.


"Every game this time of year, especially for us with how close the standings, are is a huge game," defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. "It's tough when you don't come away with points.'


Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots and initially made the save on Michael Grabner's attempt in the second period before the puck slid into the net.


"Every game is extremely important, so now we got to put our sights on Tuesday and say 'How are we going to win the game on Tuesday?" coach Jeff Blashill said. "That's what I'm thinking about. I'm not thinking about anything else.


"We'll look at (Sunday's) game and learn from this game but now we got to put our sights and say how are we going to win on Tuesday?"


The Red Wings have killed off eight of nine penalties in the past three games after their previous three opponents went 6 for 11 with the man advantage. They'll be tested again by a Philadelphia club that's gone 8 for 32 (25 percent) on the power play in eight games.


Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk has managed a goal and two assists in his last 10 games, but he has seven goals and five assists during an eight-game point streak against the Flyers.


Mrazek has gone 2-1-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average in his last three starts. He made 30 saves against Philadelphia in January.


Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall could miss up to three weeks with a sprained knee, but forward Darren Helm might return Tuesday after sitting Sunday with the flu.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Panthers (38-21) at Canadiens (32-31)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

At a time where every point is crucial, the Florida Panthers just let two slip away.


The Atlantic Division contenders need to regroup quickly from a potentially crushing loss when they resume an important road trip Tuesday night against the injury-plagued Montreal Canadiens.


With a chance to regain first place in the Atlantic, Florida allowed three unanswered goals in the final 7:10 to end up with a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday. After owning an 18-11 shot advantage while dominating the first two periods, the Panthers were outshot 17-7 in the pivotal third.


"We let them skate in the third period," coach Gerard Gallant said. "We backed off too much. They took it to us. The first goal killed us. You lose a game like that (and) you're going to be (upset)."


Florida (38-22-9) remained tied with Tampa Bay and one point behind Boston in the division race. Though the Panthers own a game in hand on the Bruins, they'll play eight of their final 13 on the road.


They still have an opportunity to at least keep pace on this current three-game trek, which ends Thursday against lowly Toronto following the first of three remaining meetings with the banged-up Canadiens.


Montreal (32-31-6) won't have P.K. Subban for a second straight game as the star defenseman recovers from a neck injury sustained in a frightening collision with teammate Alexei Emelin Thursday against Buffalo. Reigning league MVP Carey Price (knee) remains sidelined as well, as do forwards Brendan Gallagher (lower body), David Desharnais (foot), Lars Eller (illness) and defensemen Jeff Petry (abdomen) and Tom Gilbert (knee).


The Canadiens' makeshift lineup couldn't match playoff-hopeful Minnesota in Saturday's 4-1 loss that ended an eight-game point streak (7-0-1) at Bell Centre.


'The guys competed,' coach Michel Therrien said. 'We had a lot of chances around the net but lacked finishing. Their goaltender was very solid, and I liked the level of competition from our team.'


Montreal, which scored seven goals in wins over Dallas and Buffalo to begin a four-game homestand, fell to 4-25-2 since Dec. 3 when recording two or less. It's 26-3-2 this season when scoring at least three.


The offense has depended upon Alex Galchenyuk of late. The 22-year-old has 11 of his career-high 25 goals over a nine-game stretch but was held off the scoresheet by the Wild, ending a streak of three straight two-goal efforts.


Florida, which amassed 11 goals in victories over Ottawa and Philadelphia preceding Monday's collapse, continues to get production from its young forwards. Aleksander Barkov has 10 goals in his last 15 games after registering a goal and an assist against the Islanders, while Quebec native Jonathan Huberdeau has seven points over a four-game streak following Monday's two-assist performance.


Veteran Jussi Jokinen had a 10-game point streak end in Monday's defeat.


Barkov had two goals and an assist and Huberdeau set up two scores as the Panthers ended a three-game series skid with a 3-1 win on Dec. 29. Barkov has five goals in the last five matchups and Huberdeau eight assists during a six-game point streak against Montreal.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Wild (32-27) at Senators (32-30)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

If the Minnesota Wild hold on to make the playoffs, they might look back and credit themselves with improved play on the road as the difference and be immediately rewarded without home-ice advantage in the first round.


That's looking less and less like such a daunting task entering the second of a three-game road trip Tuesday night against Ottawa as Minnesota has a shot at a season-best four-game winning streak away from home.


The Wild (32-27-10) didn't have too much trouble with Montreal in Saturday's 4-1 win for a sixth victory in eight away games, a stretch that followed a season-opening 9-12-6 road record. Minnesota sits in eighth in the Western Conference, tied with Colorado with a game in hand.


"It's just keeping the game simple," interim coach John Torchetti told the team's official website. "Just like we talked about this morning, and the other day prior, and now we have to take that, we're still on the road here for a little bit, but we have to take that game home with us, too."


Mikael Granlund scored twice, Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist, and Thomas Vanek managed two assists Saturday after totaling one point in his previous seven games.


"We got pucks in deep early and then played a solid game," Niederreiter said. "There were moments where they definitely outworked us but overall we stayed strong and we deserved to win."


That was in part because Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves in his return from a one-game absence due to illness. He's been in goal for the three-game away streak, posting a 1.30 goals-against average and .953 save percentage. He's also won both of his career starts against the Senators behind a 1.44 GAA and .957 save percentage.


The teams haven't met this season and will play again March 31.


Ottawa (32-30-8) is also coming off a multigoal win, 4-0 at home over Toronto on Saturday, but it'll need quite a few more to return to the playoff picture. The Senators are seven points back of eighth-place Detroit in the East and have given up an average of 3.22 goals over a 3-4-2 span since they last won consecutive contests.


Mark Stone had a goal and two assists against the Maple Leafs to extend his point streak to five as part of a 10-game span with 14 points, and Zack Smith scored for the fifth straight contest on an eight-game point streak. Both are career bests.


"Much better game management, puck management," coach Dave Cameron said. "The only thing that I would have liked to seen more of was shots at the net. I still thought we passed up too many shots looking for the grade-A chance, but overall happy with our puck management, game management and what we limited Toronto to."


Whom they limited is of importance considering the Senators' wins in that nine-game span are against the Maple Leafs twice and Calgary. The win before that came against Edmonton, so it's been since a 3-2 shootout victory over Detroit on Feb. 20 that Ottawa defeated a team that's not currently in the bottom two of its respective conference.


Pumping a little life into the power play could help that along. The Senators have gone 0 for 14 over the last six games, while the Wild are 15 of 42 (35.7 percent) with at least one power-play goal in their last 13 on the road.


Craig Anderson figures to be in goal for a follow-up effort to the shutout after a four-game stretch on which he'd gone 1-2-0 with a 4.81 GAA and .874 save percentage. He also shut out Minnesota in his last game in the series, a 35-save effort in a 3-0 home win Nov. 6, 2014.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Lightning (40-24) at Maple Leafs (23-34)
Date: March 15, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to halt their recent rough stretch despite losing two key contributors for a good portion of their latest contest.


It's uncertain if co-point leader Nikita Kucherov and fellow forward Valtteri Filppula will be available Tuesday night when the visiting Lightning try to improve to 4-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.


Steven Stamkos snapped a four-game point drought with two goals and an assist, Ben Bishop made 37 saves and Tampa Bay ended an 0-2-1 slide with Sunday's 4-0 victory at Columbus.


'You go down to nine forwards in a game that was physical,' said Stamkos, who reached 30 goals for the fifth time in his eight seasons. 'It was hard-nosed. We showed a lot of character."


In a tight race with Florida and Boston for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning (40-24-5) regained some confidence after totaling three goals during the three-game skid that followed a franchise-record nine consecutive victories. However, Tampa Bay moves forward while the status of Kucherov and Filppula remain unknown for the moment.


Tied with Stamkos for the team lead with 55 points, Kucherov was hurt after taking a sucker punch to the head from Columbus' Dalton Prout. Kucherov recorded his 30th assist before leaving the game.


Filppula, who has just one point in his last 15 games but provides some valuable veteran leadership, suffered an upper body injury.


Coach Jon Cooper did not give an update on either player following the game, but the team felt both injuries did not appear to be long term.


Kucherov had a goal with two assists in the first three meetings with Toronto (23-34-11).


Stamkos, the suburban Toronto native who could be courted by the Maple Leafs over the summer, has one goal and no assists against them this season.


Bishop has watched backup Andrei Vasilevskiy start all three games against Toronto while posting a 1.65 goals-against average with a shutout. Vasilevskiy, who could get the call again, made 31 saves in a 2-1 victory at Toronto on Feb. 29 and had 36 in a 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on March 7 in his two most recent starts.


That is Tampa Bay's lone defeat over the last eight games on the road. Bishop has surrendered six goals in his last six road starts.


The Lightning have gone seven straight games without a power-play goal and are 4 for 55 in the last 18. However, they've killed 30 of 31 penalties in the last nine road contests.


The only goal Toronto has managed in its last two games was the difference in Sunday's 1-0 victory at Detroit. Michael Grabner snapped a 30-game goal drought, and Jonathan Bernier made 38 saves for his third shutout of the season.


Toronto last won back-to-back games Feb. 2 and 4, and hasn't done it at home since Nov. 30 and Dec. 8.


"It's more fun when you win," Grabner said. "(We got) some energy. ... We can keep it going now."


Bernier, who gave up 10 goals in his previous three starts, made 28 saves in a 1-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Jan. 27 after being roughed up in a 5-4 overtime home defeat to the Lightning on Dec. 15.


Tyler Johnson's two goals at Toronto last month began his stretch of eight points in seven games.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Bruins (39-23) at Sharks (38-24)
Date: March 15, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Boston's point streak has survived the defending Stanley Cup champion, this season's best team and a two-game trip to Florida against the teams with whom it's most heavily competing for the Atlantic Division title.


The test will likely grow tougher on a three-game road trip with the Bruins facing off against the best the West Coast has to offer, which starts Tuesday night against San Jose.


Boston (39-23-8) has followed a 4-1 home loss to Tampa Bay on Feb. 28 by going 5-0-2 while allowing 1.86 goals per game. The latest was Saturday's 3-1 home win over the New York Islanders with David Pastrnak scoring twice and Loui Eriksson notching a goal and two assists.


Pastrnak has four goals in his last four games after opening the season with eight in his first 35, interrupted by a 25-game injured-reserve stay and three stints with AHL Providence.


"(It's always good) to help our line get a chance in the end (of periods)," said Pastrnak, who's helped put his team in position to match a season-best 6-0-2 point streak from Nov. 19-27. "I think we had a pretty good game, you know we had a lot of opportunities to score even before."


The Bruins have also won four straight on the road to become the NHL's best away team with 1.48 points per game ahead of Presidents' Trophy shoe-in Washington (1.44) and the Sharks (1.43).


San Jose, however, also happens to be coming off Saturday's 5-2 home win over the Capitals, who won 2-1 in overtime at Boston on March 5.


As for the trip, the Bruins are 0-3-0 this season against San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles with the home losses coming by a 20-8 total.


"It's definitely on our mind and it's definitely going to be a tough road trip coming up here," Eriksson told the team's official website. "We know they're good teams, but at the same time we've been pretty good on the road this year. We'll bring our A game and try to get the win. We get started against San Jose on Tuesday so everyone's looking forward to that one."


The closest of those was a 5-4 loss to the Sharks on Nov. 17, which led into that season-best point streak for the Bruins. It was the Sharks' second straight win over Boston following a 7-4 victory in San Jose on Dec. 4, 2014.


Joe Pavelski had three goals and three assists in those games, while Joe Thornton has two goals and three assists in his last three against his former team.


The win over Washington was the home performance the Sharks (38-24-6) needed. They're 13-15-3 at home and had lost three of their previous four, but still haven't won consecutive home contests since a three-game run Jan. 9-16, going 5-3-3 since.


Thornton, Pavelski, Brent Burns and Brenden Dillon each had a goal and an assist against the Capitals.


"They're a great hockey team," coach Peter DeBoer said. "But, I'd like to think we're a pretty good team, too, and I think that showed tonight."


Burns has five goals and six assists in his last seven games in front of some strong goaltending from Martin Jones and James Reimer.


It'll be Reimer playing Tuesday in his third start since being acquired from Toronto. He made 31 saves in a 3-0 win at Edmonton last Tuesday and is 1-1-2 with a 1.81 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in five games against Boston since the start of 2014-15.


Tuukka Rask has dropped his last two games against the Sharks with 12 goals allowed.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL MONEYLINE


NHL > (5) TAMPA BAY@ (6) TORONTO | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO using money line in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 2 Wins and 19 Losses for the this season (-15.8 units)

NHL > (5) TAMPA BAY@ (6) TORONTO | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO using money line in Home games vs. division opponents
The record is 0 Wins and 9 Losses for the this season (-9.2 units)


NHL > (7) FLORIDA@ (8) MONTREAL | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play ON FLORIDA using money line in All games on Tuesday nights
The record is 12 Wins and 2 Losses for the this season (+11.2 units)

NHL > (1) NY ISLANDERS@ (2) PITTSBURGH | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play ON NY ISLANDERS using money line in All games on Tuesday nights
The record is 11 Wins and 1 Losses for the this season (+9.55 units)


NHL > (15) BOSTON@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-03-15 22:05:00 - 2016-03-15 22:05:00
Play ON BOSTON using money line in All games
The record is 23 Wins and 10 Losses for the this season (+14.65 units)


NHL > (11) MINNESOTA@ (12) OTTAWA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play ON MINNESOTA using money line in Road games in March games
The record is 9 Wins and 0 Losses for the last two seasons (+9.65 units)


NHL > (3) CAROLINA@ (4) WASHINGTON | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play ON WASHINGTON using money line in All games
The record is 44 Wins and 14 Losses for the this season (+21.05 units)


NHL > (1) NY ISLANDERS@ (2) PITTSBURGH | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play AGAINST PITTSBURGH using money line in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 21 Wins and 34 Losses for the last two seasons (-26.6 units)


NHL > (9) DETROIT@ (10) PHILADELPHIA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST PHILADELPHIA using money line in All games when playing against a team with a losing record
The record is 24 Wins and 45 Losses for the last two seasons (-29.25 units)


NHL > (3) CAROLINA@ (4) WASHINGTON | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play ON WASHINGTON using money line in all games
The record is 49 Wins and 19 Losses for the this season (+21.3 units)


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


NHL PUCKLINE


NHL > (5) TAMPA BAY@ (6) TORONTO | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 2 Wins and 19 Losses for the this season (-15.8 units)


NHL > (5) TAMPA BAY@ (6) TORONTO | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO in Home games vs. division opponents
The record is 0 Wins and 9 Losses for the this season (-9.2 units)


NHL > (7) FLORIDA@ (8) MONTREAL | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play ON FLORIDA in All games on Tuesday nights
The record is 12 Wins and 2 Losses for the this season (+11.2 units)


NHL > (1) NY ISLANDERS@ (2) PITTSBURGH | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play ON NY ISLANDERS in All games on Tuesday nights
The record is 11 Wins and 1 Losses for the this season (+9.55 units)


NHL > (11) MINNESOTA@ (12) OTTAWA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play ON MINNESOTA in Road games in March games
The record is 9 Wins and 0 Losses for the last two seasons (+9.65 units)


NHL > (1) NY ISLANDERS@ (2) PITTSBURGH | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play AGAINST PITTSBURGH in All games vs. division opponents
The record is 21 Wins and 34 Losses for the last two seasons (-26.6 units)


NHL > (9) DETROIT@ (10) PHILADELPHIA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play AGAINST PHILADELPHIA in All games when playing against a team with a losing record
The record is 24 Wins and 45 Losses for the last two seasons (-29.25 units)

NHL > (3) CAROLINA@ (4) WASHINGTON | 2016-03-15 19:05:00 - 2016-03-15 19:05:00
Play ON WASHINGTON in all games
The record is 49 Wins and 19 Losses for the this season (+21.3 units)


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


NHL TOTALS


NHL > (15) BOSTON@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-03-15 22:05:00 - 2016-03-15 22:05:00
Play OVER SAN JOSE on the totalin All games in a home game where where the total is 5.5
The record is 11 Overs and 3 Unders for the this season (+9.25 units)


NHL > (11) MINNESOTA@ (12) OTTAWA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play OVER OTTAWA on the totalin All games in non-conference games
The record is 33 Overs and 15 Unders for the last two seasons (+17.75 units)

NHL > (11) MINNESOTA@ (12) OTTAWA | 2016-03-15 19:35:00 - 2016-03-15 19:35:00
Play OVER OTTAWA on the totalin Home games in non-conference games
The record is 28 Overs and 11 Unders for the last three seasons (+17.45 units)

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Kings (41-22) at Stars (41-20)
Date: March 15, 2016 8:30 PM EDT

Another shutdown performance has the Los Angeles Kings joining a crowded group vying for the Western Conference's best record.


With a chance to further cloud the playoff picture, they'll put their NHL-leading defense up against the league's top offense in Tuesday night's key matchup with the Dallas Stars.


Los Angeles (41-22-5) has closed within four points of Dallas (41-20-9) and St. Louis for the conference's top spot by winning eight of its last 11. The Kings, who own two games in hand on the Stars and three on the Blues, matched both in the victory column after routing slumping Chicago 5-0 on Monday.


The Kings breezed through the first challenge of a back-to-back road set against two of the West's main contenders, receiving goals from trade-deadline addition Kris Versteeg and Milan Lucic in the opening four minutes to support Jonathan Quick's 32 saves.


"Obviously we want to come out first in the conference if we can, but we have a lot of work to do," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "We're still a few points back of other teams, but yeah, we have some big games coming up, a big one against Dallas (Tuesday), and we've got to do the same sort of things."


Quick earned his 41st career shutout - most by an American-born goaltender - and improved to 7-2-1 with a 1.78 goals-against average over a 10-start stretch. He's been the backbone of a defense that's yielded a league-low 154 goals and just 20 over the last 12 games.


Either Quick or reliable backup Jhonas Enroth, who posted a 23-save shutout against Buffalo in his last start on Feb. 27, will face a Dallas attack that's amassed an NHL-high 225 goals and has been in peak form on this five-game homestand. After rolling to a 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Friday's opener, the Stars got late scores from red-hot Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn to rally for an important point in Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis.


'The boys played a hell of a hockey game,' coach Lindy Ruff said. 'It's been a hell of a weekend for us, getting three out of four (points) and how hard they competed.'


Spezza scored twice to extend his goal streak to a career-high six games. The veteran center has 10 in his past 10.


"He's playing his best hockey, by far, all year," Ruff told the Stars' official website. "I really like the way he's playing. Offensively, since the time he's been here, this is the best he's been."


Stopping opponents has been a far more difficult task. Dallas has surrendered a league-high 47 goals over its past 12 games and has had its defensive depth depleted by recent injuries to John Klingberg (lower body), Jason Demers (shoulder) and Jordie Benn (lower body).


Kari Lehtonen has brought some stability in net of late, moving to 3-1-0 with a 2.24 GAA over his last four starts with Friday's 21-save effort against Chicago.


While the back line remains thin, the Stars may get another scorer back on Tuesday with Patrick Sharp nearing a return from a lower-body injury that's sidelined him five games.


Quick had 27 saves and Lucic scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period as the Kings won 3-2 at home in the teams' lone previous meeting this season on Jan. 19.


Lucic is on a six-game point streak and has five goals in his last seven against Dallas.

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack


-- Way back in 1950, CCNY won the NCAA tournament and the NIT in the same year. Back then, the NIT was the bigger of the two tournaments.


-- Last year was 4th time in last 29 years there were no upsets in 5-12 games in the NCAA tournament. That has never happened two years in a row.


-- Only 11 of 31 #1 seeds won their conference tournament.


-- Bad job: Secret Service agent for Donald Trump. High-risk proposition.


-- Bernie Sanders got $5M in campaign contributions in the first 24 hours after he won the Michigan primary. $5M in only 24 hours.


-- LSU passed on any postseason tournament; now the question becomes will Ben Simmons be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft?


**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.........


13) Winning is fun and losing sucks, but some fans at New Mexico crossed the line, sending death threats to Lobos' PG Cullen Neal, who is also the coach's son- things are apparently so bad the young man will transfer to another school to finish his playing career and he's a good player. Doesn't help his dad's chances of keeping his job.


12) Duke has made 16 Final Fours but has never made a Final Four out of the West Region; in last 30 years, they've been in West Region four other times.....
-- 2003: 3-seed. Lost to Kansas in regional semi.
-- 2007: 6-seed: Lost to VCU in first round.
-- 2008: 2-seed: Lost to West Virginia in second round.
-- 2011: 1-seed: Lost to Arizona in regional semi.
-- 2015: 4-seed: ?????


11) Coaching carousel: Cornell-Tulane-TCU-James Madison-Stanford fired their coaches in last couple of days. Lets look at all five situations:
-- Cornell: Bill Courtney went 27-57 in Ivy League games, after inhertiing a program that went 38-4 the three years before he got there. .
-- James Madison: Dukes were 23-13 in CAA last two years, but made NCAAs only once in Matt Brady's eight years. Not many guys get fired after a 21-11 season.
-- Stanford: Johnny Dawkins also made one NCAA in eight years, won NIT LY, was 46-44 in Pac-12 last five years. Guess the NIT means absolutely nothing.
-- TCU-- Horned Frogs got a new arena built, but went 8-64 in the Big X under Trent Johnson. Boosters are rich people who expect results; 8-64 gets you fired, even if the Horned Frogs are in the very best league in the country.
-- Tulane: Ed Conroy got hosed when Green Wave failed to get in the Big East, it set his program back- they had good players coming in who then went elsewhere. Tulane was 9-27 in their first two years in the AAC. .


10) Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is a TCU alum; back in 2012, lot of people wanted the Frogs to hire him. Now, TCU may have to fight off UNLV to hire Dixon, who is in the NCAAs with Pittsburgh, but rumored to be way on his way out of there. .


9) Big X is a terrific league, but no Big X team has made a regional final since Kansas, Baylor in 2012. Since then, Big X teams are 0-5 in regional semifinal round.


8) Four AAC teams made the NCAAs, but none is higher than a 9-seed; SMU would've been a 4 or a 5-seed, so their absence hurts the league.


7) Last two years; double digit favorites in first round: 9-16 against spread.


6) You know how on NASCAR telecasts the drivers are miked? Why do they bleep out the drivers cursing? Thats the best part!!!! They're driving in close quarters at 150 mph-- I know people who curse driving in traffic at 40 mph- lets hear it!!!!


5) One thing I noticed about Selection Sunday; lot of these college teams have really nice mini-theaters for their players to watch film in. Comfortable chairs, lot of leg room, probably outlets to plug video games into, also.


4) Since 2003, underdogs are 31-21 vs spread in 8-9 first round games.


3) Charlotte Hornets gave away Jeremy Lin bobbleheads to first 7,500 fans Saturday night; there are already several of them on EBay, for anywhere from $32-$60. Michael Jordan's team is doing well at 37-29- they're looking at a 4 or 5 seed in playoffs.


2) This is third year in row Virginia/Michigan State are in same region; Spartans beat UVa the last two years, despite being the lower seed both years.


1) U of Denver hired alum Rodney Billups as its new coach; he is an assistant at Colorado right now and the brother of former NBA star Chauncey Billups.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Dunkel

Tuesday, March 15


NY Islanders @ Pittsburgh

Game 1-2
March 15, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Islanders
12.176
Pittsburgh
10.675
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NY Islanders
by 1 1/2
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Islanders
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
NY Islanders
N/A

Carolina @ Washington

Game 3-4
March 15, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
11.855
Washington
10.763
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Carolina
by 1
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-240
5
Dunkel Pick:
Carolina
(+200); Over

Tampa Bay @ Toronto

Game 5-6
March 15, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
12.631
Toronto
9.993
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 2 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-180
5
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(-180); Under

Florida @ Montreal

Game 7-8
March 15, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida
9.834
Montreal
11.315
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montreal
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Montreal
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Montreal
N/A

Detroit @ Philadelphia

Game 9-10
March 15, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Detroit
12.631
Philadelphia
10.427
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Philadelphia
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit
(+110); Under

Minnesota @ Ottawa

Game 11-12
March 15, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
10.433
Ottawa
12.061
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Ottawa
by 1 1/2
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
-125
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Ottawa
(+105); Over

Los Angeles @ Dallas

Game 13-14
March 15, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
10.002
Dallas
13.629
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 3 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
N/A

Boston @ San Jose

Game 15-16
March 15, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
10.627
San Jose
13.167
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Jose
by 2 1/2
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-135
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose
(-135); Under

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Long Sheet

Tuesday, March 15

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

NY ISLANDERS (37-21-0-8, 82 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (36-24-0-8, 80 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 6-5 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 6-5-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.3 Units)

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

CAROLINA (31-26-0-12, 74 pts.) at WASHINGTON (49-14-0-5, 103 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 19-47 ATS (+84.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 49-19 ATS (+72.8 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 43-22 ATS (+14.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 25-8 ATS (+13.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 7-5-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.9 Units)

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

TAMPA BAY (40-24-0-5, 85 pts.) at TORONTO (23-34-0-11, 57 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 4-10 ATS (-10.7 Units) on Tuesday nights this season.
TAMPA BAY is 333-388 ATS (-119.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 22-9 ATS (+8.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
TORONTO is 53-97 ATS (-115.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 18-58 ATS (-44.4 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 2-19 ATS (+25.5 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
TORONTO is 9-31 ATS (+46.8 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 30-67 ATS (+124.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 4-18 ATS (+31.6 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 7-4 (+1.2 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 7-4-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.8 Units)

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

FLORIDA (38-21-0-9, 85 pts.) at MONTREAL (32-31-0-6, 70 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 6-4 (+0.7 Units) against the spread versus FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 6-4-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.3 Units)

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

DETROIT (34-24-0-11, 79 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (32-23-0-12, 76 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 7-14 ATS (-11.0 Units) in March games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 105-115 ATS (-73.5 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1996.
DETROIT is 15-19 ATS (-11.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 69-78 ATS (-63.8 Units) in home games when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
PHILADELPHIA is 24-45 ATS (+69.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 12-20 ATS (-12.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 5-2 (+3.5 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 5-2-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.1 Units)

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

MINNESOTA (32-27-0-10, 74 pts.) at OTTAWA (32-30-0-8, 72 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 32-37 ATS (-15.0 Units) in all games this season.
MINNESOTA is 12-21 ATS (-14.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
MINNESOTA is 15-19 ATS (-12.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
OTTAWA is 34-26 ATS (+60.3 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 29-23 ATS (+5.9 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 8-2 ATS (+10.2 Units) after shutting out their opponent in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 9-0 ATS (+9.0 Units) in road games in March games over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 29-47 ATS (-20.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 2-2-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.4 Units)

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

LOS ANGELES (40-22-0-5, 85 pts.) at DALLAS (41-20-0-9, 91 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 8:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 4-3 (+1.7 Units) against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 4-3-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.5 Units)

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

BOSTON (39-23-0-8, 86 pts.) at SAN JOSE (38-24-0-6, 82 pts.) - 3/15/2016, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 21-30 ATS (-19.8 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 13-6 ATS (+19.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
BOSTON is 12-5 ATS (+6.7 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 14-4 ATS (+9.4 Units) in road games in March games over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 70-56 ATS (+130.4 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
BOSTON is 127-93 ATS (+31.5 Units) in road games after a win by 2 goals or more since 1996.
BOSTON is 181-197 ATS (+431.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 17-22 ATS (-22.1 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 83-82 ATS (-67.7 Units) in home games when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 8-13 ATS (-15.0 Units) in home games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 12-18 ATS (-19.1 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 4-8 ATS (-9.1 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
SAN JOSE is 4-9 ATS (-10.1 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 3-2 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 3-2-0 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=+0.9 Units)

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, March 15

Hot teams
-- Islanders won five of their last seven games. Pittsburgh won three of its last four.
-- Washington won three of its last four games.
-- Flyers won six of their last eight games.
-- Minnesota won five of its last seven games.
-- Los Angeles won seven of its last ten games.
-- San Jose won six of its last eight games. Bruins won five of their last seven games.

Cold teams
-- Carolina lost five of its last eight games.
-- Toronto lost seven of its last nine games. Tampa Bay lost three of its last four games.
-- Florida lost five of its last six road games. Montreal lost five of its last seven games.
-- Red Wings lost four of their last six games.
-- Ottawa lost five of its last seven games.
-- Dallas Stars lost six of their last nine games.

Series records
-- Islanders won five of last six games with Pittsburgh.
-- Washington won six of its last eight games with Carolina.
-- Lightning won five of last six games with Toronto.
-- Canadiens won six of last eight games with Florida.
-- Flyers won five of last six games with Detroit.
-- Ottawa won eight of last ten games with Minnesota.
-- Dallas Stars won four of last six games with Los Angeles.
-- Sharks won five of last eight games with Boston.

Totals
-- Three of last four Islander road games went over the total.
-- Over is 3-1 in Carolina's last four visits to Washington.
-- Eight of last ten Tampa Bay games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 4-0-1 in last five Florida games.
-- Five of last seven Philly games went over the total.
-- Over is 3-1-1 in Minnesota's last five visits to Ottawa.
-- Five of last six Dallas Stars games went over the total.
-- Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Boston games.

Back-to-backs
-- Islanders won six of last eight games if they played the night before.
-- Florida is 4-3 on road if it played the night before.
-- Los Angeles is 7-2 if it played the night before.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL


Tuesday, March 15


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


7:00 PM
CAROLINA vs. WASHINGTON
Carolina is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Washington
Carolina is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Washington is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games
Washington is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Carolina


7:00 PM
NY ISLANDERS vs. PITTSBURGH
NY Islanders are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games
NY Islanders are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games at home


7:30 PM
DETROIT vs. PHILADELPHIA
Detroit is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Detroit is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games


7:30 PM
FLORIDA vs. MONTREAL
Florida is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Florida's last 5 games
Montreal is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Florida
Montreal is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games


7:30 PM
MINNESOTA vs. OTTAWA
Minnesota is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing Ottawa
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
Ottawa is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games at home


7:30 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. TORONTO
Tampa Bay is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Tampa Bay's last 10 games
Toronto is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Toronto is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay


8:30 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. DALLAS
Los Angeles is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games on the road
Dallas is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games
Dallas is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Los Angeles


10:00 PM
BOSTON vs. SAN JOSE
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 6 games




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


NHL YESTERDAY..............1 - 3............- 1.96
YTD: 26 - 29 - 6.86

 

[CNOTES]

TUESDAY, MARCH 15


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS




NYI at PIT 07:00 PM


NYI +147




CAR at WAS 07:00 PM


WAS -224




DET at PHI 07:30 PM


PHI -119




TB at TOR 07:30 PM


TB -179




MIN at OTT 07:30 PM


OTT +117




FLA at MON 07:30 PM


FLA -123




LA at DAL 08:30 PM


LA +103




BOS at SJ 10:00 PM


SJ -133

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Canadiens (32-31) at Sabres (28-33)
Date: March 16, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

Jack Eichel is making a case to be the NHL's rookie of the year while giving the Buffalo Sabres hope for the future.


Ryan O'Reilly's expected return should bring some optimism to First Niagara Center right now.


With their top scorer back from injury Wednesday night, Eichel and the Sabres look to avenge last week's loss to the Montreal Canadiens.


Eichel - the No. 2 overall pick last summer - is living up to the lofty expectations. The 19-year-old has a team-high 22 goals, the most by a Sabres rookie since Thomas Vanek had 23 in 2005-06.


Eichel's 48 points are one back O'Reilly for the team lead, but he's 14 behind Chicago's Artemi Panarin for the most among rookies. The two will likely be among the three finalists for the Calder Trophy.


Eichel has five goals and two assists during the last six games. He came through in dramatic fashion Saturday when his second goal came with one second left in overtime of a 3-2 win over Carolina.


"If you don't score, you look like an idiot," Eichel said of his breakaway goal in OT.


Buffalo (28-33-9) will welcome O'Reilly back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him 11 games.


He's expected to join a line with Evander Kane and Nicolas Deslauriers, while coach Dan Bylsma will keep Eichel with Sam Reinhart, who has five points in five games.


"Seeing Sam play well next to Jack has been one of the deciding factors to keeping them together, but Ryan also needs wingers next to him on his line," Bylsma said. "Maybe a little bit of a long-term approach."


The Sabers have won five of the past seven meetings with the Canadiens (32-32-6), but they fell 3-2 at Montreal on Thursday.


Eichel was held without a point in that meeting, and he has only two in four versus Montreal. O'Reilly, though, has 10 points in 10 games against the Habs after getting two assists in a 6-4 win Feb. 12.


The Canadiens have lost six of their last eight games (2-5-1), and they followed Saturday's 4-1 loss to Minnesota with a defeat by the same score to Florida three days later.


P.K. Subban missed both games with a neck injury, and the former Norris Trophy winner didn't travel to Buffalo. The team has been without star goaltender Carey Price (leg) since November, perhaps the biggest blow to a team expected to at least reach the playoffs this season.


Montreal is also without eight other regulars.


"We can't use injuries as an excuse. It's the reality of this league," defenseman Mark Barberio told the team's official website. "Every team has injuries. We're obviously in a rough spell but it can't be an excuse for us. Whatever 20 guys we put out on our lineup, we need to get the job done."


Alex Galchenyuk is doing his part with 12 goals over the last 10 games after netting Montreal's lone goal Tuesday. The 22-year-old center has a career-high 26 on the season, and he's got five in the last three meetings with Buffalo - two in each of the last two.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Flyers (32-23) at Blackhawks (41-23)
Date: March 16, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Just two short months ago, the Chicago Blackhawks were on top of the Western Conference and looked like a legitimate contender to successfully defend their Stanley Cup title.


It's a much different picture with 12 games left in the season.


The Blackhawks lost 5-0 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night and have dropped four of five, including three in a row against potential playoff opponents, entering Wednesday night's home game against the surging Philadelphia Flyers. After a pair of road losses to St. Louis and Dallas, Chicago yielded a pair of goals in an 18-second span of the first period and never recovered against Los Angeles.


The reigning NHL champions are 9-10-2 since they ripped off a franchise-record 12 straight wins at the end of December and into January.


'We've had a tougher schedule,' coach Joel Quenneville said. 'We've had some tough games and I think during this stretch here our penalty killing hasn't been great. Some nights they could have won us some games with getting the job done and giving up some timely goals that got their team going.


'But that was a stretch there that we really made a lot of hay and put ourselves in a great spot. Now we're not taking advantage of it, which is disappointing.'


The slide has dropped Chicago (41-23-6) into third place in the tough Central Division, three points behind the Stars and Blues.


Chicago has one home game left against each of the division leaders, so there is plenty of time. But the standings are less important to the Blackhawks than their play heading into the postseason.


'It seems like for whatever reason, the season's been up and down throughout the whole year,' forward Patrick Kane said. 'You go on stretches where you win 12 in a row, and we've got this little stretch going right now. Obviously we want to shore that up before playoffs, and make sure we're going in there feeling consistent about our game.'


The second line of Kane, Artem Anisimov and rookie Artemi Panarin has been one of the most dangerous groups in the league for most of the year. But it has fallen on hard times of late.


Kane, who leads the NHL with 89 points, has been held to one goal in his last five games. Panarin has been kept off the scoresheet in six of his last nine games. Anisimov has one goal and three assists in his last 14 appearances.


Chicago also has struggled mightily on the penalty kill, owning a league-low 63.6 success rate since Feb. 9.


That issue could again factor against Philadelphia (32-23-12), which has converted 21.1 percent of its power-play chances over a 7-1-1 stretch to vault back into the East's playoff race. Though the Flyers were 0 of 6 Tuesday against Detroit, they received two even-strength goals from Michael Raffl in a 4-3 victory to move within one point of the eighth-place Red Wings.


'We are fighting for our lives here,' said forward Wayne Simmonds, who added a goal. 'This was a pretty exciting game to get up for. It's pretty easy to get up for.'


Philadelphia, which owns two games in hand on Detroit, amassed 46 shots and has recorded 21 goals in winning four of five. Raffl has four goals and three assists over that span and rookie Shayne Gostisbehere has four goals over his last four after also scoring Tuesday.


The Flyers have lost two straight in Chicago but have won 18 of the last 22 regular-season meetings. They earned a 3-0 home victory on Oct. 14 behind Michael Neuvirth's 30 saves.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Blues (41-21) at Oilers (27-38)
Date: March 16, 2016 9:30 PM EDT

St. Louis' winning streak featured victories over the best teams in the Western Conference, then it came to an end against one of the worst.


The Blues get another shot at defeating the seemingly incapable Wednesday night in Edmonton as the Oilers try for their second win in 10 home games, but that'll require ending a lengthy losing streak in the series.


A 7-4 loss in Calgary on Monday halted a six-game streak that shot the Blues (41-21-9) to the top of the West with wins over Chicago, Anaheim and Dallas in a matter of four days. The wear was evident against the Flames while allowing a season-high goal total, which included a pair of short-handed scores for the first time since November 2013.


"This is on our shoulders," captain David Backes said. "We beat four good teams last week and these two points were just as valuable as any two in those games. We just didn't bring it with 20 guys tonight and I'll take blame for that."


The Blues have given up 11 goals in the last two games after matching that mark in the first five of the streak, and coach Ken Hitchcock said that has more to do with his own team's play rather than the competence of any opponent.


"Too casual with the puck. That's six breakaways in two games. Got away with it in Dallas. Didn't get away with it today. Just too many mistakes with the puck," Hitchcock said.


It's turned into consecutive four-goal blemishes for Jake Allen, who has started the last nine games but was replaced midway through the second period by Anders Nilsson. The Blues' No. 1 with Brian Elliott still out has posted a 2.99 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in the 10 games dating to replacing Elliott on Feb. 22 after posting 2.17 and .924 marks in his first 33.


The streak-stopping loss wasn't without promise. St. Louis continued to produce on the other end, scoring at least three goals for a seventh consecutive game. It last went beyond that in nine straight in 2005-06.


Paul Stastny scored twice in Calgary and has three goals and four assists in his last four games, while defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has three goals in the past two.


The Blues have won the last eight meetings against the Oilers while limiting them to 1.62 goals per game. They've also take the last six in Edmonton, so another home loss won't come as anything new to the Oilers (27-38-7) in the series or overall.


Monday's 3-2 defeat to Nashville dropped them to 1-7-1 in their last nine in Edmonton. The goals against the Predators are the only two they've scored in three straight home defeats.


Jordan Eberle snapped a season-worst eight-game goal drought, but that and outshooting a second straight opponent was about the extent of the positives as the Oilers fell to 1 for 32 on the power play over the last 14 games. Points leader Taylor Hall is without one in four straight, and Connor McDavid hasn't scored in his last six in Edmonton.


"We need to find a way to get the puck to the net and bang one home and maybe an empty-net (goal) and win the game that way," Eberle told the team's official website. "You like the effort and stuff, but moral victories aren't that great."


Laurent Brossoit played Monday and is winless in three games this season. Starter Cam Talbot, however, has gone 5-2-0 with a 1.56 GAA and .951 save percentage since a six-game losing streak. He's 0-2-1 against St. Louis.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Jets (29-35) at Flames (29-35)
Date: March 16, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The Calgary Flames aren't going to the playoffs, but they're the kind of team that's occasionally going to make life difficult for a contender.


That's about all Winnipeg can hope for with 13 games remaining, and the two Western Conference bottom-feeders with identical records meet Wednesday night in Calgary with the Jets chasing a season-best winning streak.


It's the Flames (29-35-5) who are coming off the more eye-catching win - 7-4 at home over St. Louis on Monday that ended the Blues' six-game winning streak. In typically unreliable Calgary fashion, a 5-2 lead became a one-goal game in the third period before Michael Frolik scored his second short-handed goal of the game and added an empty-netter to complete a hat trick.


"It's always nice when you can score three," Frolik told the team's official website a game before facing his former team for the second time. "It's always nice to see the hats on the ice. I'm just happy I could help the team win tonight."


Such results have become more rare for the Flames over the last month-plus, as they've gone 4-10-2 with 3.69 goals allowed per game since last winning consecutive contests as part of a three-game streak Feb. 6-11. Calgary - with two games remaining on a six-game homestand - and Winnipeg are two points up on Edmonton to avoid the West cellar.


"There's no reason for us to quit right now. It's just about playing hard and playing with pride," defenseman Dougie Hamilton said after recording three assists.


The Flames and Jets have split two games with the home team winning each. Calgary has taken the last two home meetings by a 9-3 total, including a 4-1 win Dec. 22 behind a Johnny Gaudreau hat trick.


Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler had a goal and an assist in the Jets' 3-1 victory Oct. 16 and has 12 points in an eight-game point streak in the series.


The Jets (29-35-5) followed a 3-2 home win over Colorado on Saturday with Monday's 5-2 victory in Vancouver, setting them up for their first three-game winning streak since April 4-7. That was part of last season's playoff push that allowed them to sneak in as the second wild card.


That won't be enough this season with a double-digit point gap to overcome and multiple teams to pass. They've embraced that reality by making moves that point toward the future.


The one that brought Marko Dano has been paying dividends recently. Acquired from Chicago in the Andrew Ladd deal Feb. 25, the center had two goals and an assist against the Canucks and has three and two in his last four games.


"When I came here I was trying to impress and I was probably trying too much," said Dano, who managed a goal and an assist in his first 18 games this season. "When you're trying too much, the goals (won't) come for you. When you stop thinking about it and play your simple game, the goals come and you don't even know how."


The Jets have been shuffling Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec in goal. Hutchinson faced the Canucks so Pavelec could return against the Flames, hoping to improve after posting a 1-3-1 record and 3.70 goals-against average over his last six road games.


Joni Ortio has handled the load lately for Calgary with five straight starts. He's responded with a 3-1-1 record and 2.60 GAA after going 0-6-2 with a 3.34 mark in his first nine.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Avalanche (35-31) at Canucks (27-29)
Date: March 16, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The Colorado Avalanche failed to open their four-game swing through Canada on a positive note.


They haven't had much go right against the Vancouver Canucks this season, either.


In danger of losing a season-high fourth straight road contest, the Avalanche try to avoid being swept by the Canucks on Wednesday night.


After recording back-to-back wins to conclude to a 3-1-0 homestand, Colorado (35-31-4) blew a 2-0 lead en route to Saturday's 3-2 loss to lowly Winnipeg. In the mix with Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Avalanche have little room for error down the stretch.


"We're going to have to find a way to win the next one, that's all," coach Patrick Roy told the Avalanche's official website. "Short-term (vision) for us, and now we have a big one coming up in Vancouver. We're going to have to be ready for that one."


With each opponent on this trip set to miss the playoffs, it appeared the Avs would be in good shape to pile up some points. However, the fashion in which Saturday's defeat unfolded is something they can't afford to let linger.


"You never have it in the bag in this league,' said forward Matt Duchene, who had a goal and an assist to match his 55 points from last season. 'It's an unfortunate loss to a team that, you know, we should be more desperate than. They played well, but we have to find a way to win that game."


Semyon Varlamov stopped 74 of 75 shots to win the previous two games before making 27 saves Saturday. He's 0-3-0 with a 5.13 goals-against average in four road starts.


That includes a rough outing in a 5-1 loss to Vancouver on Feb. 21. Varlamov has yielded all but one goal while the Avalanche have been outscored 8-2 in two meetings with the Canucks (27-29-12) this season.


Colorado was last swept in a season series by Vancouver in 2011-12.


"Play good as a team," Colorado rookie forward Andreas Martinsen said. "When we do that, we can beat everyone."


The Canucks' bid for a third consecutive victory was also halted by Winnipeg in Monday's 5-2 defeat. After totaling seven goals in the previous two on their four-game homestand, the Canucks managed 13 shots over the first two periods and didn't score until the Jets had completed their scoring in the third.


"It's really disappointing," forward Daniel Sedin said. "We get two wins and play real well then we have a bad one (Monday)."


After watching backup Jacob Markstrom get roughed up against Winnipeg, Ryan Miller is expected to be back in net. Miller made 37 saves Feb. 21, then posted a 3.35 GAA in the next four starts before stopping 35 shots in Saturday's 4-2 victory over Nashville.


Vancouver has gone 0 for 16 on the power play in four games. Colorado has killed 35 of 37 penalties in 12.


Duchene has four goals and seven assists in 11 games.


Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will serve the second of his three-game suspension for a cross-check on Anaheim's Simon Despres last week.


Daniel and brother Henrik Sedin combined for seven assists Feb. 21.