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

[CNOTES]

NHL TUESDAY'S RESULTS:


1 - 2 - 0................ *****


0 - 1.....................DOUBLE PLAY


1 - 0.....................TRIPLE PLAY


0 - 2.....................OCTOPLAY




OVERALL RATED PLAYS


*****.....................................13 - 12 - 1.....................+ 0.95


double play..............................22 - 14.........................+ 19.80


triple play................................9 - 6............................- 4.35


octoplay..................................2 - 5.............................- 16.00

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack


Six of the more interesting NFL games this weekend.....


-- Seahawks (-6) @ 49ers-- Seattle RBs were racing cars after practice Tuesday.


-- Jets @ Patriots (-9.5)-- Battle for first place in AFC East.


-- Saints @ Colts (-4.5)-- Hopefully no fake punts in Indy this week.


-- Cowboys @ Giants (-4)-- First rematch of season; Dallas won first meeting.


-- Eagles @ Panthers (-3)-- Unbeaten Carolina finally on national TV


-- Ravens @ Cardinals (-7)-- Arizona was -3 in turnovers in both losses.


**********


Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Bottom 5, top 8 in the NFL........


32) Jaguars-- Outscored 93-47 in second half this season.


31) Titans-- Have one first half TD in their last four games.


30) Buccaneers-- Teams struggle when they play a rookie QB.


29) Chiefs-- Lost last five games, Charles is out for year; just 20-72 on 3rd down.


28) Ravens-- No takeaways in last three games, all five losses by 6 or less points.


8) Jets-- Ran ball for 207-221 yards last two games; play for first place Sunday. .


7) Falcons-- 5-1, but trailed in 4th quarter in five of the six games.


6) Cardinals-- Palmer can be rattled by pash rush; they were -3 in turnovers on both losses this season.


5) Broncos-- Offense has nine TDs, defense three; one win by more than 7 points.


4) Panthers-- Scored 10+ points in nine of ten halves this season.


3) Packers-- First two games after bye are at unbeatens; Denver/Carolina.


2) Bengals-- 27 for last 56 on 3rd down; scored 24+ points in every game.


1) Patriots-- Scored 21 TDs on 53 drives; a juggernaut to this point.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, October 21


Toronto @ Buffalo

Game 1-2
October 21, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
9.843
Buffalo
8.432
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Buffalo
-110
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(-110); Under

Philadelphia @ Boston

Game 3-4
October 21, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Philadelphia
10.212
Boston
11.752
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-150
5
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-150); Over

Detroit @ Edmonton

Game 5-6
October 21, 2015 @ 9:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Detroit
10.988
Edmonton
12.371
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Edmonton
by 1 1/2
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
-115
5
Dunkel Pick:
Edmonton
(-105); Over

Carolina @ Colorado

Game 7-8
October 21, 2015 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
10.048
Colorado
8.280
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Carolina
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Colorado
-145
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Carolina
(+125); Under




NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, October 21

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

TORONTO (1-3-0-1, 3 pts.) at BUFFALO (1-4-0-0, 2 pts.) - 10/21/2015, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 6-30 ATS (+47.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 8-23 ATS (+34.0 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 12-25 ATS (-17.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 253-215 ATS (-6.7 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
BUFFALO is 20-57 ATS (+124.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BUFFALO is 4-5 (+0.2 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 5-4-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.7 Units)

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

PHILADELPHIA (2-2-0-1, 5 pts.) at BOSTON (2-3-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/21/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 11-25 ATS (-21.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 0-9 ATS (+9.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 43-44 ATS (-10.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 6-12 ATS (-12.1 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 181-149 ATS (-59.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 6-0 (+6.0 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 6-0-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.4 Units)

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

DETROIT (3-2-0-0, 6 pts.) at EDMONTON (2-4-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/21/2015, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 11-3 ATS (+14.4 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 1-11 ATS (+17.5 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 10-34 ATS (+50.2 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 21-64 ATS (+108.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 9-34 ATS (+68.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 4-0 (+4.0 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 4-0-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.3 Units)

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

CAROLINA (1-4-0-0, 2 pts.) at COLORADO (2-3-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/21/2015, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 11-31 ATS (+50.8 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 55-82 ATS (-33.9 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
CAROLINA is 53-105 ATS (+181.5 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1996.
COLORADO is 96-80 ATS (+182.6 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 11-6 ATS (+4.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 49-26 ATS (+75.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CAROLINA is 2-2 (+0.3 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 2-2-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.0 Units)

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




NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, October 21

Hot teams
-- Bruins won last two games 6-2/5-3, but are 0-3 at home.
-- Edmonton won last two games 5-2/2-1ot after losing first four games.

Cold teams
-- Maple Leafs, Sabres both lost four of their first five games.
-- Flyers lost 7-1/3-2ot in their two road games this season.
-- Detroit lost its last two games, 5-3/4-1.
-- Carolina lost four of its first five games. Colorado is 2-3 in its first five games.

Series records
-- Home side won last 10 Buffalo-Toronto games (Maple Leafs won last four).
-- Bruins won their last six games with Philadelphia.
-- Red Wings won their last eight games with Edmonton.
-- Home side won last nine Carolina-Colorado games.

Totals
-- Over is 6-1-1 in last eight Buffalo-Toronto games.
-- Four of five Philly games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 4-2-1 in last seven Detroit-Edmonton games.
-- Over is 4-0 in Carolina's last four visits to Colorado.




NHL

Wednesday, October 21

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

7:00 PM
TORONTO vs. BUFFALO
Toronto is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-19 SU in its last 24 games at home
Buffalo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Toronto

8:00 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. BOSTON
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

9:30 PM
DETROIT vs. EDMONTON
Detroit is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
Edmonton is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games

10:00 PM
CAROLINA vs. COLORADO
Carolina is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina

 

[CNOTES]

NHL


Wednesday, October 21




Blackhawks D Keith out 4-6 weeks


Defenseman Duncan Keith underwent knee surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus and is expected to return to the Chicago Blackhawks in 4-6 weeks.


The team said Keith's surgery was successful and projected his return to all hockey activities as early as the final week of November.


"Duncan underwent successful surgery today to repair his right knee meniscal tear," team physician Michael Terry said.


Keith, 32, is the top defenseman for the Blackhawks. Chicago has pressing concerns about depth and is especially thin along the blue line.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL MONEYLINE


NHL > (3) PHILADELPHIA@ (4) BOSTON | 2015-10-21 20:05:00 - 2015-10-21 20:05:00
Play AGAINST PHILADELPHIA using money line when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season
The record is 0 Wins and 9 Losses for the last two seasons (-9.5 units)


NHL > (1) TORONTO@ (2) BUFFALO | 2015-10-21 19:05:00 - 2015-10-21 19:05:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO using money line in a road game where where the total is 5.5
The record is 6 Wins and 30 Losses for the last two seasons (-23.8 units)




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




NHL PUCKLINE


NHL > (3) PHILADELPHIA@ (4) BOSTON | 2015-10-21 20:05:00 - 2015-10-21 20:05:00
Play AGAINST PHILADELPHIA when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season
The record is 0 Wins and 9 Losses for the last two seasons (-9.5 units)


NHL > (1) TORONTO@ (2) BUFFALO | 2015-10-21 19:05:00 - 2015-10-21 19:05:00
Play AGAINST TORONTO in a road game where where the total is 5.5
The record is 6 Wins and 30 Losses for the last two seasons (-23.8 units)




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

 

[CNOTES]

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21


Game Score Status Pick Amount


Philadelphia - 8:00 PM ET Boston -185 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Boston - Over 5 500 DOUBLE PLAY


Detroit - 9:30 PM ET Detroit -130 500
Edmonton - Under 5 500


Carolina - 10:00 PM ET Colorado -150 500 *****
Colorado - Over 5.5 500 DOUBLE PLAY

 

[CNOTES]

Blue Jackets fire head coach, to be replaced with Tortorella


The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired head coach Todd Richards after an 0-7 start to the season and will replace him with John Tortorella.


Through seven games the Blue Jackets are scoring just 1.9 goals per game, while allowing 4.9 (dead last in the NHL) at the same time.


Columbus and their new head coach visits the Minnesota Wild Thursday

 

[CNOTES]

Blues place Stastny on IR with broken foot


The St. Louis Blues placed forward Paul Stastny on injured reserve Wednesday with a broken right foot.


The team said Stastny will be re-evaluated in five weeks.


Stastny, 29, suffered the injury in the second period of the Blues' 4-3 win in Vancouver on Friday night. The 6-foot, 205-pounder had posted five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-4 rating through five games this season.


The St. Louis native originally joined the Blues as a free agent during the 2014 offseason. In his first year with the Blues last season, Stastny recorded 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) and 40 penalty minutes in 74 regular-season games, and one goal and four penalty minutes in six postseason games.


Stastny has appeared in 617 career NHL games, recording 509 points (177 goals, 332 assists) and 304 penalty minutes. He has accumulated 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) and 18 penalty minutes in 28 career playoff appearances.


Stastny was originally drafted by Colorado in the second round (44th overall) of the 2005 NHL draft.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Coyotes (3-2) at Rangers (4-2)


Date: October 22, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

Although "King Henrik" is expected to be back in net for the New York Rangers, the club's star goaltender must have enjoyed the debut of his new backup.


Following a shutout from Antti Raanta, Henrik Lundqvist is set to face Arizona for the first time since the Rangers acquired standout defenseman Keith Yandle from the Coyotes last season.


Lundqvist started the first six games for New York (4-2-1), posting a 2.16 goals-against average and .931 save percentage before resting Monday against San Jose. With the Rangers playing a back-to-back and having lost three in a row, Raanta stopped 22 shots in a 4-0 victory.


Raanta, acquired from Chicago in a draft-day trade in June, joined Hal Winkler (1926), John Ross Roach ('28) and Marcel Paille ('57) as the only goaltenders to post a shutout in their first start with the Rangers.


Marc Staal, Mats Zuccarello, Jesper Fast and Viktor Stalberg scored for the Rangers, who were outscored 9-2 and went 0 for 12 on the power play during their 0-2-1 stretch.


"Everyone in the room knows that the level we were playing at isn't acceptable," Staal said. "It's something we wanted to take care of."


New York capitalized on its one chance with the man advantage against San Jose.


The Rangers acquired Yandle from the Coyotes (3-2-1) in a multiplayer deal March 1. Although he wasn't as big a factor as the club had hoped with two goals and nine assists in 19 playoff games, he did post a plus-7 rating in those contests and is expected to play a larger role in 2015-16.


Yandle had 65 goals and 246 assists in his eight-plus seasons with Arizona.


"When you're traded you're all in with the team you're with," Yandle told the Rangers' official website. "You try not to dwell in the past, just move forward. For me it's all been about coming to my new team here and helping us win."


One of the promising pieces New York sent west in the Yandle deal was Anthony Duclair, and the young forward has been playing well for Arizona with five goals - including a hat trick against Anaheim last Wednesday - and two assists.


That 4-0 victory over the Ducks was the last of three straight to open the season, and the Coyotes have scored eight goals during the ensuing three-game skid.


Another big issue has been goaltending. Mike Smith allowed two goals during the first three games but has surrendered 11 on 85 shots in the last three. He was yanked after giving up three goals in the first 27 minutes against Minnesota last Thursday, and also let in five against Boston on Saturday.


Smith improved a bit with 22 saves against New Jersey on Tuesday but gave up a goal 43 seconds into overtime in a 3-2 loss. Duclair and Mikkel Boedker scored for Arizona in the opener of a five-game East Coast road trip.


"We have some areas we want to clean up and be harder to play against," Smith told the Coyotes' official website. "You saw that if somebody blows a wheel or turns the puck over, it's an opportunity the other way in overtime.


"The urgency, I feel, hasn't been there."


The Rangers have won three straight matchups and 11 of 14. They've taken six in a row at Madison Square Garden.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Devils (2-3) at Senators (2-2)


Date: October 22, 2015 7:30 PM EDT

"The Hamburglar" was the primary reason the Ottawa Senators were able to steal a playoff spot last season with one of the best closing runs in NHL history.


Andrew Hammond now sets out to prove he isn't a one-year wonder as the goaltender is scheduled to make his season debut Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils.


Pressed into duty in mid-February after injuries to Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner, Anderson took the league by storm as he became only the second goaltender in history to get at least one point in his first 15 starts, going 14-0-1. The man with the McDonald's character on his helmet finished with a 20-1-2 mark, backstopping the Senators (3-2-1) to one of the wild-card spots, but he failed to carry over that play into the postseason, giving up seven goals in losing the first two games of their first-round series at Montreal before giving way to Anderson in Ottawa's eventual exit in six games.


Hammond parlayed his stretch run into a three-year, $4 million contract extension with Ottawa, which traded Lehner to Buffalo in the offseason. Hammond, who has never faced the Devils, has yet to play due to a strained groin suffered in the preseason, with Anderson getting five starts and Matthew O'Connor one before he was sent to Binghamton.


"You learn good habits in practice that will translate into the game," Hammond said Wednesday at practice. "That's been my focus since training camp started, making sure I make the most of each practice, and coming back from injury, that's even more important. It's been the case last week that I've had really good practices and I'm happy with how they've gone."


Ottawa has been idle since a 4-3 shootout loss to Nashville on Saturday. The top line of Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone accounted for all the goals, with Hoffman getting a pair, and the trio have combined for nine goals and 14 assists thus far.


Stone, Turris and two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson share the team lead with eight points, and Karlsson likely will be paired with Mark Borowiecki on the blue line for this game since Marc Methot has been ruled out with a concussion. Forward Clarke MacArthur is also sidelined due to a concussion - the second one he's suffered in eight months - and is sidelined indefinitely.


"The carryover from last year obviously is a big factor and we have to be fair to Clarke and our team in that we allow him to have some time to fully recover and be back in the lineup when he's fully healthy," general manager Bryan Murray said.


New Jersey (2-3-1) has posted back-to-back overtime wins after losing its first four games and is coming off a 3-2 victory over Arizona on Tuesday. Adam Larsson netted the winner 43 seconds into the extra period, finishing a 3-on-1 off a pass from Travis Zajac - who had a goal and two assists for his first points of the season.


'One of the things we didn't have in the first few games was elevated performances by real important guys on our team, guys who are the leaders,' coach John Hynes said. 'The last three games we have had that.'


The Devils have tightened defensively while getting points from their last three games, yielding five goals after allowing 11 in the first three. Cory Schneider is 3-1-1 with a 1.17 goals-against average in five lifetime starts against the Senators, compiling a .954 save percentage.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Blue Jackets (0-7) at Wild (3-1)


Date: October 22, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

(AP) - John Tortorella hoisted a Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay and led the New York Rangers to the verge of a championship berth.


At woebegone Columbus, the Blue Jackets have a more modest goal for the veteran coach: Win a game.


Tortorella is back coaching in the NHL after the Blue Jackets fired Todd Richards on Wednesday with the team off to a franchise-worst 0-7-0 start. He'll make his debut when Columbus visits the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.


'He's proven he's a good coach,' said center Brandon Dubinsky, who played for Tortorella with the Rangers from 2008-12. 'He's going to help our group."


Tortorella, who won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, has been out of hockey since Vancouver fired him in May 2014 after one season. He takes over for Richards, who had been with the Blue Jackets since 2012 and led them to their second playoff appearance in team history in 2013-14, when they lost to Pittsburgh in the opening round.


'One of the problems right now is expectations,' said Tortorella, who signed a three-year contract. 'Expectations that weren't there last year with this club.'


Columbus is the first team to start with seven straight defeats since Chicago in 1997-98 after a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday. That's not the type of start that was expected from a team that restocked its roster this summer after closing last season on a 16-2-1 run.


'It was a tough start,' right wing Jared Boll said. 'Everything kept snowballing and losses kept piling up. It's still only seven games. We've got a lot of hockey. We can't hang our heads and feel sorry for ourselves and make excuses.'


The Blue Jackets play seven of their next eight games on the road. Tortorella said he wanted to learn as much as he could about his struggling team.


'I need to listen,' he said. 'I want the players to speak to the staff just to find out where they're at.'


Dubinsky, who butted heads with Tortorella at times in New York, said he now appreciates how the coach elevated his game.


'He got things out of me I didn't know I had,' Dubinsky said. 'He's helped my career and I anticipate he's going to help a lot of guys here, especially with the amount of young guys we have here.'


For his part, Tortorella said Dubinsky was the first player he talked to when he arrived at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.


'I need to lean on him,' Tortorella said. 'He's part of that heartbeat of the club. He needs to be a conduit between the players and the coaching staff until I get to know the other guys.'


One positive he can relay to his new club is that the Blue Jackets have outscored Minnesota 13-5 while winning the last five meetings. The Wild (3-1-1) are coming off a 4-1 loss to previously winless Anaheim on Sunday, their second straight defeat after winning their first three.


"We haven't been really at the level we need to be, so there are things that we have to fix and be better at, and that will help us," forward Zach Parise told the Wild's official website. "There are a lot of things that go into a team looking fast, and playing fast. Our play with the puck has got to be a lot better."


Devan Dubnyk is 4-1-1 with a 1.65 goals-against average in his last six starts against the Blue Jackets and could be in net for this game. Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a 5.07 GAA in five starts, could go for Columbus.


Bobrovsky is 5-1-0 with a 1.46 GAA in his career against the Wild.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Panthers (3-2) at Blackhawks (3-3)


Date: October 22, 2015 8:30 PM EDT

The Chicago Blackhawks are a long way from where they're used to being, and they will need to get back on track without one of their biggest stars.


The Blackhawks will take on the visiting Florida Panthers on Thursday night without two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, who underwent knee surgery Tuesday and will miss four to six weeks.


Last season's Conn Smythe Trophy winner had a meniscal tear repaired in his right knee, something coach Joel Quenneville said had been bothering his top defenseman. He was placed on long-term injured reserve Wednesday, meaning he will miss at least 10 games.


Keith only has two assists but he's led the Blackhawks in average ice time the last 10 seasons.


'Obviously, you look at a guy like Duncs, he can be arguably maybe the most valuable guy on the team with what he brings to the table,' forward Patrick Kane said.


It's another pothole on a bumpy early season road for Chicago (3-3-0), which needed another face-lift after its third Stanley Cup in six seasons and will be forced to mix around its defensive pairings without Keith.


David Rundblad, Viktor Svedberg and Trevor Daley may be in line for more ice time, and Michal Rozsival could return next month from long-term injured reserve. Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson remain as Chicago's longtime back liners.


'A lot of defensemen are going to get a lot more responsibility, quality enhanced in their ice time as well,' Quenneville said. 'I don't think we want to change our style of play, but at the same time we want to make sure that we're tight.'


Defense and goaltending has been an issue at times for the Blackhawks, who have allowed four goals in their wins and 10 in their losses.


Twice Corey Crawford has lost while surrendering three goals on less than 30 shots, but he has allowed three goals on 59 shots in his two wins.


Florida (3-2-1) has been about as hit-or-miss. The Panthers have 14 goals in their wins and four in their defeats. They are 5 for 15 on the power play in victories compared to 0 for 9 otherwise.


The top line has done much of the damage with Jaromir Jagr and Aleksander Barkov combining for seven goals and 13 points, while Jonathan Huberdeau has two assists.


Florida was lucky to get a point from a 3-2 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Panthers trailed 2-0 late but tied the game with goals from Quinton Howden and Derek MacKenzie in the final 11 minutes, 4 seconds.


The goals were the first of the season from Howden and MacKenzie, light contributors on the offensive end.


"They played the game with real good passion and good work ethic," coach Gerard Gallant said. "You hope that rubs off on some of the top players sometimes."


Crawford has won four of his last five starts against Florida, two in shootouts, with a 0.91 goals-against average and .964 save percentage. Roberto Luongo has lost each of his last four against Chicago, one in a shootout, with a 2.49 GAA and .925 save percentage.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Stars (5-1) at Penguins (3-3)


Date: October 22, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

The Pittsburgh Penguins' struggling power play finally broke through in the club's third consecutive victory.


They'll try to close out their longest homestand of their year with another win Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, whose offense has been flourishing behind Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.


Pittsburgh (3-3-0) had been 0 for 17 on the power play before breaking out for two such scores in three opportunities in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory against Florida. Sidney Crosby, suffering through his longest-ever point drought to begin a season, finally put himself on the scoresheet with a first-period power-play goal. He also assisted on Phil Kessel's even-strength goal in the second and Evgeni Malkin's winning power-play score.


The Penguins, who are playing the last of five straight home games before playing six of their next seven on the road, are averaging 33.7 shots, but 1.7 goals.


"I thought we generated some good chances all night," said Crosby, who has seven goals and two assists in four career home games against Dallas. "Could've had more, but it's nice to see that first one go in."


Malkin has scored in three straight games after going without a goal in 13 straight going back to last season - the second-longest drought of his career. Two have been game-winners, already half of his total from a season ago.


"He's a dominant player," defenseman Kris Letang, second on the club with four points, told the team's official website. "It's the player that we expect him to be."


Dallas (5-1-0) is averaging 3.5 goals per game and has scored six times on 20 power-play opportunities. The Stars have won four in a row, with each of the last three coming on the road. They've won 11 of 13 away form home going back to last season.


Seguin and Benn each had a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 2-1 win at Philadelphia as the Stars continued to erase memories of last year's slow start when they dropped 17 of their first 26 contests and finished seven points out of a playoff spot.


"It's been our message the last six months," Seguin said. "Our start is huge. We're playing good hockey and finding ways to win."


Seguin and Benn have 10 points apiece, trailing only Boston's David Krejci (11) for the league lead. They're the franchise's first teammates with 10 points apiece through the first six games since Brian Bellows, Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy combined for 32 points in 1989-90 for the Minnesota North Stars.


No teammates had done it league-wide since Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski for San Jose and Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos for Tampa Bay in 2012-13 .


While Dallas' excellent offense doesn't exactly come as a surprise considering the team added Patrick Sharp after finishing second in the league with 3.1 goals per game in 2014-15, the goaltending has been a revelation.


The Stars ranked 29th last season with a .895 save percentage, but new addition Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen have combined for a .925 mark thus far.


Benn has five goals in his last six meetings with Pittsburgh, and Dallas has won three straight matchups while limiting the Penguins to three goals.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Ducks (1-3) at Predators (3-1)


Date: October 22, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

The Anaheim Ducks put their dreadful offensive start to an end, but they're still waiting for a number of their top players to find the back of the net.


Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler have had little trouble scoring against Nashville recently, however, and they hope that continues when they visit the Predators on Thursday night.


Anaheim (1-3-1) had been shut out in three of its first four games prior to Sunday's 4-1 home win against Minnesota. Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Mike Santorelli all scored as the Ducks needed five games for a victory for the first time since 2008-09.


Their first win came despite a season-low 22 shots after Anaheim had combined for 72 shots in its previous two games.


"Getting the two points is really important for the psyche of the group," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Now we understand that we can score and play well at times. Hopefully it's like snowball and it builds. I mean, we're not out of the woods or anything, but it was a step in the right direction."


Boudreau's club is still the only team yet to score a power-play goal, failing on all 13 opportunities. The Ducks had issues on the man advantage last season, too, finishing 28th with a 15.7 percent success rate.


Perry, Getzlaf and Kesler, Anaheim's top three returning goal scorers, are all still without a goal despite a combined 31 shots. Getzlaf and Perry at least recorded their first points with an assist apiece against the Wild, while Kesler is still yet to find the scoresheet.


The Ducks have averaged 3.6 goals while winning eight of the last nine meetings - including four straight in Nashville - and each member of that trio has experienced success in the series. Perry has six goals and nine assists in his last 14 meetings, Kesler has four goals in his last three trips to Nashville and Getzlaf has five goals and six assists in his last six matchups.


The Predators (5-1-0) come off back-to-back shootout wins against Ottawa and Tampa Bay. James Neal scored twice in Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Lightning, pushing his season total to a team-best five - all of which have come in his last three games on 18 shots.


Neal also started hot last season with five goals in his first seven games, though he cooled off with four in his next 19 before finishing with 23 in his first season in Nashville.


"For me, I want to score. I need to score," he said. "When the opportunities are there, you want to bury them, and right now, I feel like those chances are there. I have to take advantage of that."


Pekka Rinne had another difficult outing, allowing four goals for the second straight start after he had given up only two on 80 shots in his first three.


"It was a fun game to play, a little bit frustrating as a goalie," said Rinne, who is 1-3-0 with a 4.18 goals-against average in his last four starts against the Ducks. "I don't want to give up four every night, but it was fun."


Nashville has outscored opponents 6-0 in the first period, while Anaheim has been outscored 5-2 in the first 20 minutes.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Capitals (4-1) at Canucks (2-1)


Date: October 22, 2015 10:00 PM EDT

The Washington Capitals opened their trip through Western Canada with their best scoring performance of the season and another milestone for the red-hot Alex Ovechkin.


Ovechkin tries to score in a fifth consecutive game Thursday night while leading the Capitals to their first road win over the Vancouver Canucks in 14 seasons.


Washington (4-1-0) pulled away for a 6-2 victory over Calgary on Tuesday with a trio of second-period goals and Ovechkin started the run just 30 seconds after the intermission. The tally also represented his 900th career point, and he registered his 901st by assisting on T.J. Oshie's third goal in as many contests.


"It's still real early, but these five games have been a good stepping stone. We've got some good tests coming up in teams, and that will be where we'll really have to be prepared," goaltender Braden Holtby told the team's official website. "Vancouver is really going to be a very good test for us. If we can stick to our game plan and not get too far ahead of ourselves, we'll be successful."


The Capitals have outscored opponents 14-4 during a three-game winning streak. Nicklas Backstrom has three goals and two assists in two games since returning from a hip injury.


He'll try to provide another standout performance while sending the Capitals to their first win in Vancouver since Feb. 14, 2001. Washington has gone 0-5-1 in its last six trips and is 2-10-1 in its past 13 overall matchups.


The Capitals dropped both games last season, falling 4-2 in Vancouver on Oct. 26.


The Canucks, however, enter this matchup having gone winless in their first three home games (0-1-2) for the first time since 1995-96. They haven't gone winless in four straight home games to open a season since 1994-95.


Vancouver (3-1-2) dropped to 1 for 20 on the power play by going 0 for 2 in Sunday's 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton and is hoping to use its three-day break to its advantage.


"It was nice to practice a bit and work on our systems. Obviously, we weren't too happy with our result against Edmonton," defenseman Christopher Tanev said. "It's good to get back at practice for a few days and work hard and hopefully be prepared for (Thursday)."


The Canucks have kept Ovechkin to a combined three goals in his last eight matchups. He had a goal and an assist in each of his first two.


Vancouver's Daniel Sedin has five goals and five assists in a five-game point streak against the Capitals. Radim Vrbata has four goals and four assists in his last five meetings, but doesn't have a point so far this season after producing a career-best 63 in 2014-15, including 31 goals.


Ryan Miller has been in net in every game for the Canucks and is 4-1-0 with a 2.13 goals-against average in his last five games against Washington, including both matchups last season.


Holtby is slated to start in Vancouver and Philipp Grubauer will make his season debut in the finale of the road trip Friday against Edmonton. Holtby took a 4-3 loss in his only game versus the Canucks on Dec. 2.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Kings (2-3) at Sharks (3-2)


Date: October 22, 2015 10:30 PM EDT

While the Los Angeles Kings appear to have righted themselves since a season-opening loss to San Jose, the Sharks have been veering off course following a splendid start.


The Sharks hope a return home triggers a return to early season form when the Pacific Division rivals face off again Thursday.


A 5-1 road win over the Kings on opening night fueled a 4-0-0 start for San Jose (4-2-0) under new coach Peter DeBoer, but the Sharks have since been outscored 10-3 in consecutive defeats to the New York Islanders and Rangers that concluded a four-game trip.


An offense that produced 16 goals through the first five games managed 22 shots - 9.5 less than its season average - against Rangers backup goaltender Antti Raanta in Monday's 4-0 loss. Counterpart Martin Jones stopped just 24 of 28 shots after posting a 0.49 goals-against average in winning his first four starts with the Sharks.


'We lost pretty much every facet of the game,' DeBoer said. 'Lost races to pucks, lost battles, lost special teams (battles). There's a price to pay to win and the other team was more willing to pay that price than us so we got what we deserved.'


San Jose had no such issues in its Oct. 7 visit to Staples Center, where it outshot the Kings 32-20 and beat Jonathan Quick for five unanswered goals after Los Angeles' Nick Shore scored 1:49 in.


The loss was one of three straight for Los Angeles (2-3-0) during a five-game homestand, but it's rebounded with consecutive 2-1 victories over Minnesota and Colorado to close out the residency.


Improved play from Quick has been essential to the resurgence. After registering a 3.70 GAA and .861 save percentage in the three losses, the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient turned back 47 of 49 chances in the wins.


Tyler Toffoli aided the cause with his third goal in four games in Sunday's triumph over the Avalanche, in which Marian Gaborik registered his first of the season. The Kings had just two goals during their losing streak.


'I just think we're playing a lot faster,' Toffoli said. 'We're playing a lot faster in our own zone, using our speed breaking out and coming through the neutral zone, and finishing our plays.'


Los Angeles continues to struggle on the power play, though, ranking 29th in the league with a 1 for 21 success rate. The Kings were 0 for 6 with the man advantage while the Sharks received power-play scores from Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl in the previous meeting.


San Jose hasn't produced a power-play goal in three straight games coinciding with Logan Couture's absence. The talented center is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right fibula in practice last Thursday. The defense has been hit with a significant loss as well with veteran Paul Martin having missed the two defeats with a lower-body injury.


Including their comeback from a 3-0 deficit in a 2014 first-round series, the Kings have won seven of the teams' past 10 matchups. They were dealt a 4-2 loss in their lone visit to San Jose last season as Couture scored twice, but Quick stopped 31 shots in a 2-1 victory at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 21.

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack


-- NHL teams playing for second night in row are 12-15 this year, 8-12 on road.


-- UNLV is having an outdoor basketball practice in downtown Vegas tonight, by the D Hotel; they moved their actual game court down there for the event.


-- Before this month, Daniel Murphy had homered in consecutive games once in his career, back in 2009.


-- A Rick Vaughn bobblehead from the movie Major League was going for $124 on an auction Wednesday, and the auction wasn't over yet.


-- Blue Jays 7, Royals 1-- Tremendous pitching by Toronto starter Estrada.


-- Mets 8, Cubs 3-- Ugly end to a fine season on the north side of Chicago.


**********


Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud.....


13) Watching some NBA exhibition games this week; very strange to see Billy Donovan wearing a suit jacket coaching the Thunder; he never wore a jacket during games at Florida, but in the NBA, he has to- they have a dress code thanks to Larry Brown, who once wore overalls while coaching an ABA game in Denver.


12) Been doing lot of college basketball prep since coming back from Vegas; little tired of reading how much of an upgrade Shaka Smart is over Rick Barnes at Texas. In four years since his one run to the Final Four, Smart is 2-4 in NCAA tourney games, with a loss to Stephen F Austin in there.


Smart did very well in A-14 tourney (11-2 last four years) but the Big X is lot better league than the A-14. Barnes was underappreciated, in my opinion.


11) Big 14 hasn't won a national title in basketball since Michigan State in '00; over last 11 years, the conference is 0-5 in national title games.


10) Some things are just plain meaningless: last time I looked. Charlotte was unbeaten, Cleveland has yet to win an NBA exhibition game. It does not matter.


One thing that does matter: Cavaliers signed Tristan Thompson for five years, $82M


9) Read an article last week how the 76ers are having a tough time getting oft-injured Joel Embiid to eat properly or rehab his many injuries. He just won't do what they tell/suggest to him. Pretty sad that a kid has already banked a ton of money, but he's never really done anything, not even in college.


Moral of story: Draft players who have been productive. Plain and simple.


8) Switching to football, the ACC has two divisions; NC State/Wake Forest are in one division, Duke/North Carolina in the other, all this despite the four schools all being in basically the same area. Glad basketball doesn't have the divisional setup. With Notre Dame a basketball-only member, thats probably why they don't.


7) Underdogs were 6-0 vs spread in Mountain West games last week, with four of the six underdogs playing at home. League has slipped a lot this season; they should be better in basketball this winter, with six transfers expected to make an impact.


6) Baltimore Ravens are losing close games; none of their losses are by more than six points. Ravens haven't forced a turnover in their last three games.


5) Auburn beat Kentucky 30-27 LW; they punted on 4th-and-1 with 2:19 left, but as they punted, Kentucky was so confused they only had eight guys on the field when the ball was snapped. Fair to say that coach Stoops was not a happy man.


4) Unbeaten Memphis visits Tulsa in a trap game Friday; Tigers had one of their program's biggest wins ever last week vs Ole Miss, but their defense is still shaky so they better not look past any game, especially a conference road game.


3) Veteran coach John Tortorella is back in NHL with Columbus, which changed coaches after an 0-7 start- few years ago, Tortorella was miked by HBO leading up to a Rangers outdoor game on New Years Day. Lets just say.....he doesn't hold back with his opinions. Made me laugh a few times.


2) When Cliff Pennington pitched for Toronto Tuesday night, it was the first time ever a position player pitched in a playoff game.


1) Joe Buck just sounds happier when he calls a baseball game, as opposed to the NFL. He's pretty good on football, but he sounds like he is working, On baseball, he sounds like he is having fun. ( He can also be a Homer when a partifular team plays )

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Short Sheet

Thursday, October 22


Arizona at NY Rangers, 7:05 PM EDT
Arizona: 2-18 SU after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game
New York: 28-10 SU after playing a game where 4 or fewer total goals were scored

Dallas at Pittsburgh, 7:05 PM EDT
Dallas: 8-2 SU in road games after 2 consecutive non-conference games
Pittsburgh: 27-30 SU after a 2 game unbeaten streak

New Jersey at Ottawa, 7:35 PM EDT
New Jersey: 16-43 SU as an underdog
Ottawa: 17-9 SU after having lost 3 of their last 4

Columbus at Minnesota, 8:05 PM EDT
Columbus: 18-13 SU in road games after a division game
Minnesota: 2-8 SU in home games after 2 or more consecutive losses

Anaheim at Nashville, 8:05 PM EDT
Anaheim: 15-8 SU as an underdog
Nashville: 9-15 SU after allowing 4 goals or more

Florida at Chicago, 8:35 PM EDT
Florida: 13-6 SU in road games after 1 or more consecutive losses
Chicago: 17-21 SU after 2 consecutive non-conference games

Washington at Vancouver, 10:05 PM EDT
Washington: 1-9 SU after a 3 game unbeaten streak
Vancouver: 7-1 SU off a close loss by 1 goal to a division rival

Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:35 PM EDT
Los Angeles: 19-13 SU after playing 3 consecutive home games
San Jose: 0-5 SU in home games off a road loss by 2 goals or more

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, October 22


Hot teams
-- Dallas Stars won last four games, allowing eight goals. Penguins won last three games, allowing total of three goals.
-- Devils won last two games; their last three went OT/SO.
-- Nashville won five of its first six games.
-- Chicago won last two home games, 4-1/4-1.
-- Washington won last three games, outscoring foes 14-4.
-- Kings won last two games, both by 2-1 scores; they've scored six goals in five games.

Cold teams
-- Arizona lost last three games, allowing 12 goals. Rangers lost three of last four games.
-- Senators lost three of their last four games.
-- Ducks lost four of last five games, scoring five goals.
-- Columbus is 0-7 already; this is first game for new coach Tortorella. Minnesota lost 4-1/2-1 in its last two games.
-- Florida lost its last two games, 3-2/4-2.
-- Vancouver is 0-3 at home this season, 3-0 on road.
-- San Jose lost its last two games, 4-0/6-3.

Series records
-- Rangers won eight of last ten games with Arizona.
-- Dallas Stars won four of last five games with Pittsburgh.
-- Senators won six of last nine games with New Jersey.
-- Ducks won eight of last nine games with Nashville.
-- Minnesota lost its last five games with the Blue Jackets.
-- Blackhawks won their last seven games with Florida
-- Canucks won six of last seven games with Washington.
-- Kings won seven of last ten games with San Jose.

Totals
-- Last four Ranger games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Dallas-Pittsburgh games stayed under.
-- Last four New Jersey-Ottawa games stayed under.
-- Last seven Anaheim-Nashville games went over total.
-- Under is 8-0-1 in last nine Columbus-Minnesota games.
-- Under is 7-1-1 in last nine Chicago-Florida games.
-- Over is 4-1 in last five Vancouver-Washington games.
-- Last three San Jose games stayed under the total.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL

Thursday, October 22

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

7:00 PM
ARIZONA vs. NY RANGERS
Arizona is 6-17 SU in its last 23 games
Arizona is 4-12 SU in its last 16 games on the road
NY Rangers are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 6 games at home

7:00 PM
DALLAS vs. PITTSBURGH
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Dallas's last 17 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Dallas
Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas

7:30 PM
NEW JERSEY vs. OTTAWA
New Jersey is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games when playing New Jersey

8:00 PM
ANAHEIM vs. NASHVILLE
Anaheim is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Nashville's last 10 games when playing at home against Anaheim

8:00 PM
COLUMBUS vs. MINNESOTA
Columbus is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Columbus's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing Columbus
Minnesota is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home

8:30 PM
FLORIDA vs. CHICAGO
Florida is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
Florida is 2-8-1 SU in its last 11 games ,when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games at home
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home

10:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. VANCOUVER
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Washington is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing Washington

10:30 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. SAN JOSE
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing on the road against San Jose
Los Angeles is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games