Cnotes NHL April's Picks Thru the Playoffs - Trends - News - Etc. !!

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

NHL

Monday, May 16

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Monday's NHL Conference Finals betting preview: Lightning at Penguins
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The Lightning were able to win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final despite losing goalie Ben Bishop to a leg injury. Bishop is doubtful to play Monday and the Penguins are out for revenge.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +165, H: -200, O/U: 5)

Lightning lead series 1-0

The Tampa Bay Lightning have hurdled every obstacle this postseason despite plenty of adversity and look to gain a stranglehold on the Eastern Conference final when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 2 on Monday. The Lightning, who have been down two of their top players throughout the playoffs, lost Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop in the first period Friday before grabbing a 3-1 win in Game 1.

Bishop was stretchered off, but Tampa Bay got good news when X-rays came back negative on his left leg and he is considered day-to-day while captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot) and top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman (broken fibula) could return at some point in the series. “It’s just being in these situations before,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “. … How you deal with just all the unknown circumstances that can happen. I think our guys, they’ve passed every test.” The Penguins had a 35-20 edge in shots during Game 1, but coach Mike Sullivan told reporters it was the high quality chances they gave up which is the biggest concern going forward. “I don’t think it was our best game,” Sullivan told reporters. “And that’s what we need at this point of the season.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Lightning - Andrei Vasilevskiy (W/L: 1-0, GAA: 0.78, SAVE %: .971)

Penguins - Matthew Murray (W/L: 7-3, GAA: 2.15, SAVE %: .929)

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (55-33-5, 37-44 O/U): Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced after replacing Bishop and the team has total confidence in the 21-year-old Russian’s readiness to take over whenever he is needed. “If there’s one thing that Vasilevskiy will never be knocked for, it’s for preparation and work ethic,” Cooper told reporters. “That’s in his DNA.” Right wing Ryan Callahan avoided suspension after his five-minute major for a hit on Pittsburgh’s top defenseman Kris Letang in Game 1 and told reporters, “I’ve never been fined or suspended. So I take pride in that, to be an honest player.”

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (56-29-9, 41-36 O/U): Center Evgeni Malkin registered a game-high seven shots on goal Friday but extended his point drought to five contests, while captain Sidney Crosby has gone seven outings without a goal. Sullivan told reporters of his two stars: “What we’ve tried to reiterate to (them) is that they have to just continue on trying to focus on playing the game with right way and taking what they give us and not trying to force plays that aren’t there in order to try to score goals.” Power forward Patric Hornqvist scored in Game 1 to take over the team lead with six goals in the postseason.

TRENDS:

* Lightning are 4-0 in their last 4 road games.
* Penguins are 0-5 in their last 5 Conference Finals games.
* Over is 12-3-2 in Penguins last 17 vs. Atlantic.
* Lightning are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
* Over is 8-1 in the last 9 meetings in Pittsburgh.

CONSENSUS: The public is crushing the Penguins as big home favorites with 71 percent of the wagers coming in on the big chalk. Over five goals is also drawing a large number at 79 percent of the Consensus picks.

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

NHL
Short Sheet

Monday, May 16

Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 8:05 PM ET
Tampa Bay: 29-10 SU when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
Pittsburgh: 45-45 SU after playing a home game

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, May 16

Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh (TB 1-0)
Lightning are 4-1 on road in playoffs after Game 1 win; they lost star goalie Bishop to leg injury, but are not ruling him out for Game 2, which could be smokescreen. Pittsburgh is 5-2 at home in playoffs. Tampa Bay won five of its last six games with Penguins, but lost three of last five played in Igloo. Over is 7-1 in last eight series games, but under is 5-2-2 in last nine Tampa Bay games overall, over is 3-1-2 in last six games played in Pittsburgh. Lightning was 1-2 on power play in Game 1, Pittsburgh was 1-4.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 1-1, Over 0-2

NHL

Monday, May 16

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. PITTSBURGH
Tampa Bay is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

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NHL
Dunkel

Monday, May 16

Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh

Game 5-6
May 16, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
13.364
Pittsburgh
12.471
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-210
5
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(+175); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, May 16

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TAMPA BAY (55-33-0-5, 115 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (56-29-0-9, 121 pts.) - 5/16/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 13-22 ATS (-12.4 Units) in road games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 56-38 ATS (+8.1 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 38-19 ATS (+7.4 Units) second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 15-5 ATS (+8.3 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
TAMPA BAY is 37-18 ATS (+11.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 201-209 ATS (+445.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 94-106 ATS (-33.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 5-5 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 5-5-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.7 Units)

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

Preview: Lightning (46-31) at Penguins (48-26)
Date: May 16, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

PITTSBURGH (AP) Ben Bishop's mind raced as the Tampa Bay Lightning goalie writhed in pain on the ice after awkwardly twisting his left leg in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night.

The internal 'what ifs' ran the gamut. What if the leg was broken? What if his season over?

'It's funny how much you can think about in such a short amount of time,' Bishop said Sunday.

The one thought that didn't even occur to Bishop was whether backup Andrei Vasilevskiy could step in and do the job.

'I think the guys in the room, I know myself, we have full confidence in him,' Bishop said. 'He's a great young goalie. He's got a future.'

And, it seems, a present too. While Bishop's initial fears were allayed when tests came back negative, it's still uncertain when he'll return or if he'll be back at all during the playoffs. Having him in the lineup for Game 2 on Monday night seems like a long shot at best even if Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper did not rule it out as the Lightning try to take a 2-0 lead with them back to Florida.

'He's getting better with each day, and it's encouraging to say,' Cooper said.

The fact it's even up for discussion is remarkable considering Bishop's obvious distress after he twisted the leg while trying to scramble back into position 12:25 into the first period of Tampa Bay's eventual 3-1 victory in Game 1. The pain was so acute Bishop figured he'd been slashed even though there wasn't a Penguin within a stick length of him at the time. He left the game on a stretcher and when doctors removed his pads to get a closer look, Bishop was half expecting to see bone sticking out.

The damage turned out to be far less serious. The leg is structurally intact and Bishop managed to spend a little informal time on the ice before Sunday's practice, though he was long gone by the time the 21-year-old Vasilevskiy and the rest of the Lightning went to work.

Pressed into his first extended playing time in more than a month, Vasilevskiy turned aside 25 of the 26 shots he faced, aided by a defense that did an excellent job of pushing Pittsburgh's potent offense to the perimeter and keeping Sidney Crosby and company from generating consistent pressure in front of the net.

Filling in capably has kind of become a thing for Vasilevskiy, who stepped in for an injured Bishop in Game 2 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals and became the first goaltender to earn a win in relief during a Cup Final in more than 80 years. Vasilevskiy started Game 4 of the series and played solidly in a 2-1 loss. While the Russian is quick to point out those impromptu performances were nearly 12 months ago, Cooper point out Vasilevskiy has only matured in the interim.

'He was called on in the biggest moments last year,' Cooper said. 'Talk about pushing somebody a little bit down the learning curve a little faster than we wanted to. But there's cliches thrown around all the time, guys who are first in the rink and last to leave and all those types of things, but with that kid, it's actually true.'

The Penguins hope they can do a better job of testing how far Vasilevskiy has come better in Game 2 than they did in the occasionally choppy opener. Pittsburgh generated 35 shots overall but most of them came from well outside the crease. The Lightning controlled play long enough after Bishop went down for Vasilevskiy to get comfortable. Once he did, Tampa Bay's lead was never in danger.

'You have to get better as the series goes along, you have to adjust a little bit,' said Crosby, who assisted on Pittsburgh's only goal in Game 1 but hasn't put the puck in himself since the first round against the New York Rangers. 'You can't focus on another team or necessarily a goaltender ... from game to game you have to trust and believe in what you do out there, regardless of who is in the net.'

Trust and belief hasn't been an issue in Pittsburgh almost from the moment Mike Sullivan took over as head coach in mid-December. The Penguins haven't dropped consecutive games with the normal allotment of men on the ice since the first week of Sullivan's tenure (there was a two-game skid in January that included a wild 3-on-3 overtime loss to Chicago). They fell behind Washington in the second round then ripped off three straight victories on their way to upsetting the Presidents' Trophy winners.

Whether it was an emotional hangover, spectacular counterattacking by the Lightning or just a case of bad puck luck on Friday night, Sullivan doesn't care.

'I don't think they saw our best ... but by no means was it a bad game,' Sullivan said. 'We've got to heed the lessons from Game 1, and we've got to just be ready to respond the right way.'

NOTES: Cooper said Lightning D Anton Stralman (fractured leg) practiced and is 'looking good' but Cooper remains uncertain when Stralman will be cleared to play. ... The Penguins are sticking with rookie goaltender Matt Murray for Game 2. Murray gave up three goals on 20 shots the opener.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Lightning at Penguins
Fri, May 13 Final 3 to 1
Recaps

GAME 2
Lightning at Penguins
Mon, May 16 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 3
Penguins at Lightning
Wed, May 18 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 4
Penguins at Lightning
Fri, May 20 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 5
Lightning at Penguins
Sun, May 22 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Penguins at Lightning
Tue, May 24 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Lightning at Penguins
Thu, May 26 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

Penguins, Lightning off to chippy start

PITTSBURGH (AP) So much for niceties and the promise of fluid, free-flowing hockey. In the span of three testy periods Friday night, the Eastern Conference finals flipped from benign to occasionally belligerent.

Pittsburgh defensemen Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin needed to be helped off the ice after getting smashed into the boards headfirst following illegal hits from behind by a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay center Tyler Johnson skated off in obvious pain following a knee-on-knee collision with Penguins forward Chris Kunitz that may have been avoidable.

Following two emotionally charged series wins over the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, the prospect of facing the less familiar Lightning seemed to offer an opportunity for a respite from the NHL's annual tap dance with what is - and what isn't - against the rules. Tampa Bay's chippy 3-1 victory in Game 1 instead proved to be more of the same.

''This isn't as much as a rivalry as maybe the Rangers and the Capitals, it certainly should be (now), after some of the hits,'' Pittsburgh forward Patric Hornqvist said.

Neither side wanted to do much politicking in the aftermath.

When asked about the way Kunitz slammed into Johnson in the final moments of the opening period, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper called it a ''trap question.'' Pressed on if Callahan deserved supplemental discipline outside of the five-minute major he received for nudging a vulnerable Letang into harm's way, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered only ''the NHL's going to do their job, we're going to do ours. We're just going to play hockey.''

The league chose not to pursue any further action against Callahan. The veteran cast part of the blame for the severity of the hit on the way Letang was hunched over in pursuit of the puck as Callahan closed in.

''He turns at the last second. I'm committed, I think, when he turns his head, and his body is pretty low,'' Callahan said. ''I'm trying to pin him, and in that split second, I can't really make a decision,'' Callahan said. ''Unfortunately, I think the position he was in made it worse than it was.''

Callahan stressed ''that's not the way I play'' while pointing out he's never been fined or suspended. Yet Cooper allowed while his team's reputation for being among the league's elite skaters is well deserved, the Lightning have found themselves in the penalty box more than any other club during the postseason.

Tampa Bay is averaging over 16 minutes in penalties through 11 games. The Penguins are averaging less than 10 minutes in the box.

''It's not something we're proud of,'' Cooper said. ''We've had to grind some things outs.''

At least the Lightning might not have to grind it out - at least in the long term - without top goaltender Ben Bishop. The Vezina Trophy finalist injured his left leg just over 12 minutes into Game 1 while scrambling to get back in position in front of the net. Bishop left the ice on a stretcher but tests revealed no structural damage. Cooper is upbeat about Bishop's prognosis even though he cautioned Bishop's status for Monday night's Game 2 - and anything after that really - remains uncertain.

''Everything has been really good so far on Ben,'' Cooper said Saturday. ''Much better than the scene we saw, what happened when he was carted off.''

Backup Alexei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops in Bishop's absence in his first significant playing time since the end of the regular season. The 21-year-old received plenty of help in front of him. The Lightning blocked 15 shots and kept Pittsburgh's star-laden attack under wraps while building a three-goal lead.

The Penguins pressed the issue in the third, but by then Tampa Bay was in command. Yet the Lightning held firm, though their fifth straight playoff win didn't end quietly. Dumoulin left late in the third after Ondrej Palat pushed twice as Dumoulin went back to retrieve the puck. The second bump sent Dumolin awkwardly into the end boards.

''It happened,'' said Palat, who was called for a boarding minor. ''Bad play.''

One both teams insist they'll try to avoid, along with the temptation to retaliate.

''There's not much you can do as far as fighting them or something like that,'' Penguins defenseman Ian Cole said. ''You can, (but) you have got to be careful not to get an instigator (penalty). I think you've really just got to double down, mentally up your battle level a little bit.''

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

Eastern Conference Finals
May 12, 2016

Western Conference Finals

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Head-to-Head Meetings (2013-2016)

Feb. 20, 2016 - Tampa Bay 4 at Pittsburgh 2 (Lightning -105, Over 5)
Feb. 5, 2016 - Pittsburgh 3 at Tampa Bay 6 (Lightning -115, Over 5)
Jan. 15, 2016 - Pittsburgh 4 at Tampa Bay 5 (Lightning -130, Over 5)
Jan. 2, 2015 - Tampa Bay 3 at Pittsburgh 6 (Penguins -120, Over 5.5)
Dec. 23, 2014 - Pittsburgh 3 at Tampa Bay 4 (Lightning -130, Over 5.5)
Dec. 15, 2014 - Tampa Bay 2 at Pittsburgh 4 (Penguins -120, Over 5.5)
Mar. 22, 2014 - Tampa Bay 3 at Pittsburgh 4 (Penguins -165, Over 5.5)
Nov. 29, 2013 - Pittsburgh 3 at Tampa Bay 0 (Penguins -135, Under 5.5)
Oct. 12, 2013 - Pittsburgh 5 at Tampa Bay 4 (Penguins -115, Over 5.5)
Apr. 11, 2013 - Pittsburgh 6 at Tampa Bay 3 (Penguins -120, Over 5.5)

Tampa Bay Recent Trends

-- 6-7 SU Last 13 Road Games

-- 8-2 SU Last 10 Games as a Favorite

-- 6-1 SU Last 7 Home Games

-- Team has held opponents to 2 goals or fewer in 9 of last 12 games

-- Penalty Kill Unit: 38/45 (88.4%) this postseason (#1 among remaining teams)

Starting Goalie

-- Ben Bishop: 14-4 SU Last 18 Starts Overall

-- Lifetime Record vs Pitt: 2-2, 3.97 G.A.A; .884 Sv% in 7 GP

Pittsburgh Recent Trends

-- 22-7 SU Last 29 Games Overall

-- 8-1 SU Last 9 Home Games

-- 6-1 SU Last 7 Games as a Favorite

-- 5-3-3 O/U Last 11 Games Overall

-- Power Play Unit: 11/40 (27.5%) this postseason (#1 among remaining teams)

Starting Goalie

-- Matt Murray: 16-5 SU in 21 GS (Season & Playoffs combined)

-- Lifetime Record vs TB: First-ever meeting

Series Odds
Lightning +185
Penguins -220

Exact Game Props
5 Games Penguins Win 5/2
7 Games Penguins Win 3/1
6 Games Penguins Win 7/2
6 Games Lightning Win 6/1
4 Games Penguins Win 7/1
7 Games Lightning Win 7/1
5 Games Lightning Win 8/1
4 Games Lightning Win 18/1

Odds Subject to Change

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

NHL TOTALS

NHL > (5) TAMPA BAY@ (6) PITTSBURGH | 2016-05-16 20:05:00 - 2016-05-16 20:05:00
Play OVER PITTSBURGH on the totalin Home games second half of the season
The record is 18 Overs and 6 Unders for the this season (+11.6 units)

CNOTES · May 16, 2016

5/15 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 0 - 2 - 2.00
OVERALL : + 7.18

MONDAY, MAY 16

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

TB at PIT 08:00 PM

PIT -190

O 5.0

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Odds if you want to wager on outcome of Toronto-Cleveland series.......

Toronto in 4-- You collect 150-1.

Toronto in 5-- You collect 66-1.

Toronto in 6-- You collect 16-1.

Toronto in 7-- You collect 22-1.

Cleveland in 4-- You collect $260 on a $100 bet

Cleveland in 5-- You collect $150 on a $100 bet

Cleveland in 6-- You collec $400 on a $100 bet.

Cleveland in 7-- You collect $500 on a $100 bet.

**********

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

13) Thunder 108, Warriors 102-- Golden State led 61-47 at half, but were held to 41 points in second half as Thunder grab home-court edge in series. Oklhaoma City won a game where Westbrook/Durant combined to shoot 17-51.

12) Over last ten years, Winnipeg/Edmonton are only two NHL teams who haven't won at least one playoff game.

11) Why was Roughned Odor so mad at Jose Bautista? Because of some stupid bat flip from LY's playoffs? Odor avoided Bautista's hard slide into second; not sure why that game turned into a WWE Ranger Rumble, but suspensions will be handed down.

10) A's 3B Danny Valencia has five HRs in his last four games, after not having any in his previous 17 games.

9) Couple of signings in college basketball: Omer Yurtseven signs with NC State; he is from Turkey. Jordy Tshimanga signs with Nebraska.

8) Serious question: Can Bill Clinton be his wife's running mate?

7) Tennessee Ttians cut Zach Mettenberger, leaving Matt Cassel as their #2 QB. Guy on ESPN who used to be an NFL GM said there is probably more than meets the eye to this story and if the Chargers don't pick him up then it is really a red flag.

6) Since 1960, worst winning %'s of NFL starting QBs:
0-10-- Zach Mettenberger, Brodie Croyle
0-8-- Curtis Painter
0-7-- John Beck, Gary Marangi

5) Syracuse offers a degree in Sports Analytics; where was this topic when I was a young college student? I had to drag myself thru with an English degree. No bueno.

4) Toronto center Valunciunas is out for Game 1 tonight, and doubtful for Game 2, which is bad news for the Raptors, but backup Biyombo played well against Miami.

3) I'll say this about the draft; no way in hell is Domnatas Sabonis of Gonzaga the #12 pick in this draft, where ESPN has him in their mock draft. Much higher.

2) 76ers are first NBA team to sell advertising on their uniforms, they got $15M over thrtee years from Stub Hub.

1) NBA Draft Lottery is tonight; you listen to experts, the real loser is the team that gets the #3 pick, since Simmons/Ingram are the consensus top two picks, no matter who gets those choices.

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

NHL

Tuesday, May 17

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Tuesday's NHL Conference Finals betting preview: Sharks at Blues
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Elliott turned aside 31 total shots on Sunday to improve to 4-0 with a 1.29 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in five career playoff meetings with San Jose.

San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues (A: +115, H: -135, O/U: 5)

Blues lead series 1-0

The San Jose Sharks forged their identity by posting the NHL's top road record this season, but losses in four straight away from home is cause for concern for coach Peter DeBoer's club. Facing a series deficit for the first time in the postseason, San Jose looks to end its road woes and even the Western Conference final with the St. Louis Blues at one victory apiece on Tuesday when the clubs play Game 2 at Scottrade Center.

With the pressure mounting, DeBoer took issue with the officiating in Sunday's 2-1 series-opening setback, telling reporters the following day that "What we're relying on are the officials to do their job. St. Louis is one of the most penalized teams in the league, regular season and playoffs. They need to call the game accordingly." Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock was quick to respond to his coaching counterpart, telling reporters that "We were told not to whine for calls, so we're not going to whine for calls. If Pete wants to do it, that's his (business)." St. Louis won the special teams battle in Game 1 as captain David Backes scored a power-play goal and the Blues thwarted all three opportunities of the Sharks, who entered the contest 13-for-42 (30.9 percent) with the man advantage in the previous two rounds.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 8-5, GAA: 2.16, SAVE %: .918)

Blues - Brian Elliott (W/L: 9-6, GAA: 2.20, SAVE %: .930)

ABOUT THE SHARKS (54-32-9, 48-36 O/U): Norris Trophy-finalist Brent Burns recorded his playoff-leading 12th assist on Tomas Hertl's first-period goal, but his costly turnover led to Jori Lehtera's go-ahead tally in the second. "That's the way the games are going to go, little bounces here and there," Burns told reporters. "That's the way it is going to be the rest of the series." Hertl's goal, which was his first since the second-round opener versus Nashville, was result of a fortunate carom off his skate and past Brian Elliott.

ABOUT THE BLUES (58-28-11, 38-43 O/U): Elliott turned aside all 16 shots he faced in the second period and 31 total on Sunday to improve to 4-0 with a 1.29 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in five career playoff meetings with San Jose. "When your goalie is your best player, it gives you a great chance of winning, and that was the case," Backes said of Elliott. "It was that way for the first two rounds and nothing's changed in Game 1 of the third round." Backes' seventh goal on Sunday matched him with Vladimir Tarasenko for the team lead in that category and the two are also tied with rookie Robby Fabbri with a club-best 13 points.

TRENDS:

* Sharks are 3-13 in their last 16 Conference Finals games.
* Blues are 13-3 in their last 16 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
* Over is 4-0-3 in Sharks last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Over is 4-0-3 in Blues last 7 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
* Over is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings.

CONSENSUS: As of Monday evening, 53 percent of the Consensus public is picking the Blues to extend their series lead to 2-0. Over 5 goals is picking up 60 percent of the public action.

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, May 17

San Jose-St Louis (StL 1-0)
Blues won four of last six games with San Jose; three of last four series games stayed under total. San Jose is 3-2 in last five visits here, they've lost last four road games overall, two in OT- over is 3-1-1 in their last five games overall. St Louis won five of last seven games (over 3-1-3); they lost two of last three home games. In Game 1, Sharks didn't score for last 44:22 and lost 2-1 despite outshooting Blues 32-23. San Jose was 0-3 on power play i Game 1, the Blues were 0-2.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 2-1, Over 0-2-1

NHL

Tuesday, May 17

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
SAN JOSE vs. ST. LOUIS
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of San Jose's last 21 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
San Jose is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of St. Louis's last 21 games when playing at home against San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 7 games when playing at home against San Jose

NHL
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 17

San Jose @ St. Louis

Game 7-8
May 17, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
13.495
St. Louis
11.966
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Jose
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose
(+110); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Tuesday, May 17

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

SAN JOSE (54-33-0-8, 116 pts.) at ST LOUIS (58-29-0-10, 126 pts.) - 5/17/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 58-39 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 35-22 ATS (+1.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 15-5 ATS (+8.7 Units) on Tuesday nights this season.
ST LOUIS is 33-21 ATS (+9.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 21-9 ATS (+11.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 18-9 ATS (+7.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 10-3 ATS (+13.0 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights this season.
SAN JOSE is 31-15 ATS (+11.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-5 ATS (+6.4 Units) in road games after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 23-11 ATS (+10.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 18-5 ATS (+11.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 6-4 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 6-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.1 Units)

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

Preview: Sharks (46-30) at Blues (49-24)
Date: May 17, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) The San Jose Sharks got just three power plays in their Game 1 loss to open the Western Conference finals, and no call when Joe Thornton's bushy beard got tugged on by St. Louis Blues captain David Backes in the first period.

Coach Peter DeBoer didn't make a big deal about it Monday. Still, he believes his team deserved a lot more chances with the man advantage, and is hopeful referees will have a firmer grip in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

'St. Louis is one of the most-penalized teams in the league, regular season and playoffs,' DeBoer said. 'They need to call the game accordingly. Need to make them pay a price for being the most-penalized team in the power play, which we didn't last night.'

The Blues were the ninth-most penalized team in the regular season and they've got the second-most minutes in the postseason, although they've played more games than anybody.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, informed of those comments, wanted to know whether DeBoer was 'whining for calls.'

'Well, we were told not to whine for calls, so we're not going to whine for calls,' Hitchcock said. 'We'll play the game, we'll play it the right way, we'll play it honest, but we'll play it hard, let the refs decide.'

Five minor penalties were called, three on the Blues, and there were none in the second period when the Sharks were at their best, ringing up a 16-6 shots advantage but coming up empty and falling behind for good on Jori Lehtera's unassisted goal.

Thornton shrugged off the beard-tugging incident, saying it might have actually helped him.

'It's all good for me,' Thornton said. 'I think it gets you more involved in the game.'

Backes joked off the tactic, too.

'Yeah, just seeing whose was real and making sure they weren't glued on,' Backes said.

Blues players spent little time celebrating their hard-earned 2-1 victory, showing up to the rink to dissect areas in need of improvement before sitting down with Hitchcock.

'Everyone knows this was kind of like a heavyweight fight, round one, just jabbing a little bit,' defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. 'Now we know how they play. We'll make some adjustments and off we go.'

The Sharks weren't disappointed in their effort, just the bottom line.

Both teams seemed to sense they might be in for a long haul, perhaps a seven-game marathon.

The Blues have twice gone the distance, putting them in the conference final for the first time since 2001. The Sharks dispatched the Kings in five games in the first round but needed seven to eliminate the Predators and earn a first trip to the conference final in five years.

Entering Game 2, the Sharks trail in a series for the first time this postseason.

'I think this team has shown short memory,' Thornton said. 'Get the last game out of your head and focus on the next game. We'll see if we can do it again tomorrow.'

The Blues took the opener despite getting outshot 32-23, relying heavily on another standout effort from goalie Brian Elliott. He's 4-0 with a 1.29 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in five career playoff appearances against the Sharks.

'Whenever it seems like he's down and out and we may give up what we call a bad scoring chance, he has a knack for really just working to get back and getting a piece of it,' defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. 'It's not only in games, we see him do it every day in practice.'

Backes scored his seventh goal, matching sharpshooter Vladimir Tarasenko for the team lead, with his fourth deflection of the postseason. He has 13 points, matching his career postseason total from 2006-07, and also was credited for 11 hits, most ever by a Blues player in a postseason game.

The Sharks were shut out on the power play for the first time since Game 2 of the second round.

'We stepped up to the challenge,' Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. 'It was a big topic for us all week.'

DeBoer said the team isn't going to 'overreact' to power play failures or anything else.

'It was a winnable game,' DeBoer said. 'We probably had more quality chances than they did.'

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Sharks at Blues
Sun, May 15 Final 1 to 2
Recaps

GAME 2
Sharks at Blues
Tue, May 17 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 3
Blues at Sharks
Thu, May 19 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 4
Blues at Sharks
Sat, May 21 - 7:15PM EDT

GAME 5
Sharks at Blues
Mon, May 23 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Blues at Sharks
Wed, May 25 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Sharks at Blues
Fri, May 27 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

Sharks want more penalties called
May 16, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) The San Jose Sharks got just three power plays in their Game 1 loss to open the Western Conference finals, and no call when Joe Thornton's bushy beard got tugged on by St. Louis Blues captain David Backes in the first period.

Coach Peter DeBoer didn't make a big deal about it Monday. Still, he believes his team deserved a lot more chances with the man advantage, and is hopeful referees will have a firmer grip in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

''St. Louis is one of the most-penalized teams in the league, regular season and playoffs,'' DeBoer said. ''They need to call the game accordingly. Need to make them pay a price for being the most-penalized team in the power play, which we didn't last night.''

The Blues were the ninth-most penalized team in the regular season and they've got the second-most minutes in the postseason, although they've played more games than anybody.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, informed of those comments, wanted to know whether DeBoer was ''whining for calls.''

''Well, we were told not to whine for calls, so we're not going to whine for calls,'' Hitchcock said. ''We'll play the game, we'll play it the right way, we'll play it honest, but we'll play it hard, let the refs decide.''

Five minor penalties were called, three on the Blues, and there were none in the second period when the Sharks were at their best, ringing up a 16-6 shots advantage but coming up empty and falling behind for good on Jori Lehtera's unassisted goal.

Thornton shrugged off the beard-tugging incident, saying it might have actually helped him.

''It's all good for me,'' Thornton said. ''I think it gets you more involved in the game.''

Backes joked off the tactic, too.

''Yeah, just seeing whose was real and making sure they weren't glued on,'' Backes said.

Blues players spent little time celebrating their hard-earned 2-1 victory, showing up to the rink to dissect areas in need of improvement before sitting down with Hitchcock.

''Everyone knows this was kind of like a heavyweight fight, round one, just jabbing a little bit,'' defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. ''Now we know how they play. We'll make some adjustments and off we go.''

The Sharks weren't disappointed in their effort, just the bottom line.

Both teams seemed to sense they might be in for a long haul, perhaps a seven-game marathon.

The Blues have twice gone the distance, putting them in the conference final for the first time since 2001. The Sharks dispatched the Kings in five games in the first round but needed seven to eliminate the Predators and earn a first trip to the conference final in five years.

Entering Game 2, the Sharks trail in a series for the first time this postseason.

''I think this team has shown short memory,'' Thornton said. ''Get the last game out of your head and focus on the next game. We'll see if we can do it again tomorrow.''

The Blues took the opener despite getting outshot 32-23, relying heavily on another standout effort from goalie Brian Elliott. He's 4-0 with a 1.29 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in five career playoff appearances against the Sharks.

''Whenever it seems like he's down and out and we may give up what we call a bad scoring chance, he has a knack for really just working to get back and getting a piece of it,'' defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. ''It's not only in games, we see him do it every day in practice.''

Backes scored his seventh goal, matching sharpshooter Vladimir Tarasenko for the team lead, with his fourth deflection of the postseason. He has 13 points, matching his career postseason total from 2006-07, and also was credited for 11 hits, most ever by a Blues player in a postseason game.

The Sharks were shut out on the power play for the first time since Game 2 of the second round.

''We stepped up to the challenge,'' Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. ''It was a big topic for us all week.''

DeBoer said the team isn't going to ''overreact'' to power play failures or anything else.

''It was a winnable game,'' DeBoer said. ''We probably had more quality chances than they did.''

CNOTES · May 17, 2016

5/16 - Yesterday's Results : 0 - 0 - 1 0.00
Overall : + 7.18

TUESDAY, MAY 17

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

SJ at STL 08:00 PM

SJ +112

O 5.0

CNOTES · May 18, 2016

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Odds on random football games this coming fall..........

-- Week 2: Colts @ Broncos (-4)

-- Week 3: Bears @ Cowboys (-6)

-- Week 4: Dolphins @ Bengals (-6.5)

-- Week 5: Giants @ Packers (-7)

-- Week 6: Falcons @ Seahawks (-9.5)

-- Week 7: Patriots @ Steelers (-1.5)

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Good to be home after vacation......

13) 76ers won the NBA Draft Lottery, will probably take Ben Simmons, seeing as how coach Brett Brown coached Simmons' dad in Australia a long time ago.

12) Cavaliers 115, Raptors 84-- Cleveland is now 9-0 this postseason. Looks like the drama in this round will be in the series out west.

11) Warriors' Klay Thompson scored 25 points in first three quarters of Game 1 with the Thunder, but was scoreless in the fateful 4th quarter.

10) MLB suspended Rougned Odor eight games after Sunday's fight with Toronto, but because of a ridiculous appeal system MLB has, Odor is playing this week. Once the suspension is announced, the player should be suspended immediately. The way it is now, the player basically gets to choose when he is suspended.

9) Rays 12, Jays 2-- Toronto lost its last four games, was outscored 25-4 in the last two; they've also lost four in a row at home.

8) Indians 13, Reds 1-- Cincinnati reliever Stever Delabar issued four consecutive bases-loaded walks, first time a pitcher has done that.

7) Braves fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, then lost 12-9 to the Pirates, with one of its top pitching prospects giving up nine runs in less than two innings. No bueno.

6) Pirates gave catcher Dominic Cervelli $31M for three years, a sign of the ballclub's commitment to winning. Good for them.

5) Had great seats for the Marlins-Phillies game in Philly Monday night. Sat right next to ballgirl in right field. They don't have an easy job.

When the Phillies change pitchers, the ballgirl sprints out to the bullpen in centerfield to get the pitcher's jacket from the clubhouse attendant- they're not allowed to interact with the players directly. When the visiting team changes pitchers, the ballgirl down the leftfield line gets the jacket.

There are 22 ballgirls in Philly; they rotate between field duty and running the team's 50-50 raffle for charity and working in the team's recycling drive.

4) Restaurant recommendations: Crab Trap in Ocean City, NJ and the Anchorage Tavern in Somers Point, where I got a piece of chicken parm that looked like it could tip over Fred Flintstone's car.

3) A's 8, Rangers 5-- Khris Davis homered three times, the last one a walk-off grand slam to send everyone home happy. Oakland has won four of last five games since the epic pounding their pitching staff took in Boston last week.

2) Good to see Mets fans give Daniel Murphy an ovation on his return to Citi Field last night; he was my dad's favorite player and is hitting .399 this year.

1) My dad passed away a year ago today; I miss him a lot. Would be great to sit and watch a game with him one more time- he really loved baseball, especially the Mets.

CNOTES · May 18, 2016

NHL

Wednesday, May 18

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday's NHL Conference Finals betting preview: Penguins at Lightning
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Sidney Crosby’s first career playoff overtime goal gave the Penguins a 3-2 victory on Monday to rescue a split in the first two games in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning (A: +165, H: -200, O/U: 5)

Series tied 1-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins attempt to regain home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 3 on Wednesday. Captain Sidney Crosby’s first career playoff overtime goal gave the Penguins a 3-2 victory on Monday to rescue a split in the first two games despite an overall 76-41 edge in shots.

“We just stayed with it,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. “We tried to play the game the right way. That’s what I like about the group. As the game wore on we got better and better.” Crosby hopes to build off his first goal in nine games and fellow center Evgeni Malkin has gone without a point for the last six contests while Tampa Bay’s top two scorers in the playoffs – Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson – have been held off the scoresheet in the series. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (left leg) is still day-to-day after getting injured in Game 1, but whether he or Andrei Vasilevskiy is in net, Tampa Bay needs more offensive zone time. “We were just too much one and done and not taking advantage of what we’re good at,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters after Game 2. “We do it in spurts, but we haven’t done it for six periods now against these guys.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Penguins - Matt Murray (W/L: 8-3, GAA: 2.14, SAVE %: .929)

Lightning - Andrei Vasilevskiy (W/L: 1-1, GAA: 1.74, SAVE %: .947)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (57-29-9, 41-36 O/U): Sullivan shuffled his lines a bit to create a spark, even putting Crosby and Malkin together for a few shifts, and it was former fourth-liner Bryan Rust who set up Crosby’s winner 40 seconds into the extra period. Phil Kessel continues to produce with a team-high 14 points after tying Patric Hornqvist for the goal-scoring lead with his sixth on Monday. Justin Schultz replaced Olli Maatta on defense in Game 2 and Sullivan told reporters, “I liked his game. … I thought his mobility was evident going back for pucks and helping us get out of our zone efficiently.”

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (55-33-6, 37-44 O/U): Anton Stralman (broken fibula) returned to the lineup Monday for the first time in more than seven weeks and notched a goal in the first period while captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot) is still in a holding pattern. The Lightning hope to get right wing Ryan Callahan back after he missed Game 2 with the flu and was replaced by Jonathan Marchessault. The 21-year-old Vasilevskiy has stopped 63-of-67 shots since coming on for Bishop in the first period of Game 1 and Stralman told reporters Monday, “He played like he’s done nothing else but play in playoff games.”

TRENDS:

* Penguins are 23-5 in their last 28 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Lightning are 5-1 in their last 6 overall.
* Under is 3-0-1 in Penguins last 4 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 3-0-1 in Lightning last 4 overall.
* Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Tampa Bay.

CONSENSUS: As of Tuesday night the Lightning are getting 53 percent of the public picks and Over 5 is grabbing a lofty 74 percent of the totals wagers.

CNOTES · May 18, 2016

NHL
Short Sheet

Wednesday, May 18

Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 8:05 PM ET
Pittsburgh: 32-14 SU after 1 or more consecutive unders
Tampa Bay: 28-31 SU after having won 3 of their last 4

NHL

Wednesday, May 18

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

8:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Pittsburgh's last 17 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 18

Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay

Game 9-10
May 18, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
12.549
Tampa Bay
10.908
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh
by 1 1/
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-125
5
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh
(-125); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, May 18

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

PITTSBURGH (57-29-0-9, 123 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (55-33-0-6, 116 pts.) - 5/18/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 37-19 ATS (+5.6 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 201-210 ATS (+493.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 57-38 ATS (+6.0 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 19-13 ATS (+32.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
PITTSBURGH is 39-19 ATS (+12.7 Units) second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 6-5 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 6-5-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.7 Units)

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

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, May 18

Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh (1-1)
Lightning didn't score for last 41:30 of Game 2, after scoring twice in 3:33 of first period to tie score; they won five of last six home games- under is 3-0-1 in their last four games. Pittsburgh is 5-2 in its last seven games, splitting last four on road. Tampa Bay won five of its last seven games with Penguins- they scored 15 goals in winning last three played here. Over is 7-1-1 in last nine series games, but under is 5-2-3 in last ten Tampa Bay games overall. Lightning is 1-3 on power play in first two games in this series, Pittsburgh is 1-6.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 2-2, Over 0-3-1

CNOTES · May 18, 2016

Preview: Penguins (48-26) at Lightning (46-31)
Date: May 18, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Lightning are back home after splitting the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, feeling good about themselves, though hardly satisfied.

'We've got to play better to win this series, there's no doubt,' coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday, adding the team has yet to 'put our best foot forward' against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

'I think now that we've played them two times, we know a little bit more what to expect,' Cooper added. 'But I know we've got more in the tank than what we've showed.'

Game 3 is Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.

'By no means am I sitting here saying: `Oh gosh we're a way better team.' Not at all. They have a lot to do with it as well,' Cooper said. 'You don't get to the conference final by fluke. They've got a really good team. There's a reason they've had the (NHL's) best record since February, whatever it is, and they're playing well.'

The Lightning have been one of the NHL's most resilient teams during the playoffs, so they're confident they have the resolve to bounce back from a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 to regain the edge in the best-of-seven matchup.

Cooper is more concerned with eliminating mistakes that have contributed to a lack of scoring opportunities, as well as playing better defense in front of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who's filling in for injured starter Ben Bishop.

Bishop left Game 1 with a lower left leg injury and is day to day. And, although Cooper said he's optimistic the Vezina Trophy finalist will be able to return at some point in the series, it doesn't seem likely Wednesday.

Not that the Lightning lack confidence in Vasilevskiy, who had 38 saves in Game 2 on Monday night.

'I feel bad for Vasilevskiy. That kid just plays lights out for us every time, and we just haven't played very well in front of him. We seem to hang him out to dry at times during games,' Cooper said.

'We limited a lot of chances in the second period, but the first and the third were just way too many chances against,' Cooper added. ' Clearly, he was the reason the game was so close.'

The young goaltender settled after allowing two early goals, giving Tampa Bay a chance to dump the Penguins into a 2-0 series hole until Sidney Crosby scored the first overtime playoff winner of his career just 40 seconds into the extra period.

'He was unreal ... obviously the guy who kept us in it,' Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. 'He's been phenomenal.'

Crosby couldn't have picked a better moment to snap a personal scoring drought.

The goal was his first since Game 4 of the opening round against the New York Rangers, a puzzling eight-game slump the Penguins hope is behind their star.

'To be in the playoffs ... it's a great opportunity, and to score and contribute, it feels good,' Crosby said. 'But it's one game, and whether you win 5-1 or 3-2 in overtime, it's one win. So you've got to keep that in mind.'

Although Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said he didn't detect any growing frustration within Crosby, he conceded it was good to see him finally find the back of the net.

'I think it's a big boost for Sid,' Sullivan said. 'I think it's a big boost for our team.'

While Cooper stressed that Tampa Bay can play better, he doesn't want anyone to get the impression that he's disappointed in the way his team - who's been without injured star Steven Stamkos the entire playoffs - has performed.

The Lightning, trying to reach the Stanley Cup final for the second straight year, advanced in five games in each of the first two rounds. And, they have yet to lose consecutive games this postseason.

' We've played our hearts out,' Cooper said. 'We sit here today and we're 9-3 in the playoffs. That's as good a run as we've had in regular season. so it's pretty tough to be hard on our guys. But in saying that, we have to have a better response (Wednesday night).'

Center Tyler Johnson agreed.

'Coming back 1-1, if you told us we were going to do that before (the series began), most of us would have taken that,' Johnson said. 'It's a good thing. But at the same time, we know we have to be better.'

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Lightning at Penguins
Fri, May 13 Final 3 to 1
Recaps

GAME 2
Lightning at Penguins
Mon, May 16 Final 2 to 3
Recaps

GAME 3
Penguins at Lightning
Wed, May 18 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 4
Penguins at Lightning
Fri, May 20 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 5
Lightning at Penguins
Sun, May 22 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Penguins at Lightning
Tue, May 24 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Lightning at Penguins
Thu, May 26 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 18, 2016

5/17 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 1 - 1 - 0 + 0.12
OVERALL: + 7.30

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PIT at TB 08:00 PM

TB +115

U 5.0

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Westgate Superbook's odds on random football games this coming fall..........

-- Week 8: Packers (-3.5) @ Atlanta

-- Week 9: Broncos @ Oakland (-1.5)

-- Week 10: Seahawks @ New England (-3.5)

-- Week 11: Bears @ NJ Giants (-4)

-- Week 12: Vikings (-1) @ Detroit

-- Week 13: Colts @ NJ Jets (-2.5)

**********

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

13) Warriors 118, Thunder 91-- No one on Oklahoma City had more than 9 points, other than Durant/Westbrook. They need a third double figure scorer to compete.

12) Knicks are apparently going to name Jeff Hornacek head coach; good coach, good basketball guy, but kind of feel about him the same way I felt when the Mets hired Art Howe as manager-- not very New York-ish. Sometimes that matters.

11) Chicago White Sox turned their second triple play of the season last night; they are first team since '07 Phillies to turn two triple plays in same season.

10) A's 8, Rangers 1-- Khris Davis has nine HRs, 20 RBI in first 18 days of May.

9) NBA playoff favorites of 8+ points are 19-6 vs spread this season.

8) Why is the price of gasoline 45 cents a gallon cheaper in New Jersey than here in New York? Is Crhis Christie that good a governor that his constituents don't get ripped off like we do? By the way, in New Jersey they put the gas in your car for you.

7) NBA Summer League will be July 8-18 at UNLV and on TV every day on NBA TV. Solid entertainment; I'll be out there for the AAU tournaments later in the month.

6) Illinois got good news: big man Mike Thorne got a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, very important for John Groce's team.

5) More transfers, as number approaches 600 this year (there are 351 D-I teams):
-- Anthony Livingston goes from Arkansas State to Texas Tech.
-- Kendall Stephens goes from Purdue to Nevada

4) This will be the sixth NFL season for 49er QB Blaine Gabbert, who will have his sxith different head coach, sixth offensive coordinator, sixth QB coach. Oy.

3) Why would the Ravens intentionally break the NFL rule about not using full pads during rookie minicamps? Sounds like they did just that.

2) Minnesota Twins are 4-2 against the Cleveland Indians, 0-15 against the rest of the AL Central. No bueno. Minnesota is 5-12 in games where the winning run scores from the 7th inning on.

1) Werid story about Robert Griffin III and his relationship with his coaches in Washington; if that story is remotely true, Daniel Snyder is the worst owner in the NFL and the Browns may have made a colossal mistake acquiring RGIII, who appears to be a complete jerk if you believe the article, which is excerpted up above.

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

NHL

Thursday, May 19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday's NHL Conference Finals betting preview: Blues at Sharks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sharks rolled to a 5-0 win in Game 2, their fifth victory by a margin of at least three goals in the past 10 games.

St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks (A: +125, H: -145, O/U: 5)

Series tied 1-1

After seizing home-ice advantage with a dominant victory in St. Louis on Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks look to continue the momentum when they host the Blues in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night. The Sharks rolled to a 5-0 win in Game 2, their fifth victory by a margin of at least three goals in the past 10 games.

The Blues were outplayed in both games at home and only a stellar performance by netminder Brian Elliott in Game 1 is keeping them from staring at a 2-0 series deficit. "(They have) got their 'A' game going right now, and it's our job to catch up," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of San Jose after Tuesday's beating. "We have played two 'B' games, and I think at times quite frankly, we're fortunate it's 1-1. We'll take 1-1 right now with the way we've played." The Sharks were 18-20-3 during the regular season at SAP Center -- the worst mark of any playoff team -- but have rectified those issues by winning five in a row at home, with their only loss coming in overtime in the first round. "SAP Center is different come playoff time," San Jose forward Logan Couture said. "It's full, it's loud, it's an intimidating building, and that definitely helps."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Blues - Brian Elliott (W/L: 9-7, GAA: 2.26, SAVE %: .930)

Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 9-5, GAA: 2.02, SAVE %: .919)

ABOUT THE BLUES (58-29-11, 38-44 O/U): St. Louis captain David Backes acknowledged that San Jose was the best team for five of the six periods in Games 1 and 2, one reason why coach Ken Hitchcock said he is planning to make some changes to his lineup to jump-start his team. "I think changing your lineup has a real impact. There can't be any emotion in the coaches' decisions at this time," Hitchcock told reporters Wednesday. "You have to do what's best for your team. ... We're probably going to have to make a few more tomorrow and hopefully they work." Leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko registered a game-high six shots on goal Tuesday but has been held off the scoresheet in the series.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (55-32-9, 48-37 O/U): Brent Burns established franchise records for a defenseman during the regular season with 27 goals and 75 points and has not slowed down in the playoffs, netting a pair of pair of power-play goals in Game 2 to give him six for the postseason. "Best I've ever seen," San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said of Burns' shooting prowess from the point. "I think [it's] just how he can get it off from every angle, how he can get it to the net off balance, in bad spots. He finds a way to get it there. If it's in the right spot, it's going in. That's a great weapon for us." Logan Couture had a pair of assists Tuesday to set a team record with 19 points.

TRENDS:

* Blues are 9-2 in their last 11 games following a home loss of 3 or more goals.
* Sharks are 2-11 in their last 13 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 6-1-2 in Blues last 9 Thursday games.
* Over is 5-0-1 in Sharks last 6 Thursday games.
* Road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

CONSENSUS: At the time of publication (Tuesday evening) the San Jose Sharks are picking up 66 percent of the moneyline wagers for Game 3. There is also plenty of action on the total, with Over 5 nabbing 61 percent of the picks.