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[CNOTES]

Preview: Hurricanes (28-26) at Devils (30-26)
Date: March 01, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils remain within striking distance of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spots, but appear to be focused beyond this season.


The Hurricanes made one of the most high-profile moves before the trade deadline while the Devils shipped off their leading scorer ahead of Tuesday night's matchup in New Jersey.


Carolina (28-26-10) began by sending Eric Staal, its captain and second-leading scorer in franchise history, to the New York Rangers on Sunday for a prospect and a pair of second-round draft picks.


That deal was completed an hour before the Hurricanes' 5-2 defeat to St. Louis, their third in a row, and they completed another trade after the game.


Carolina sent forward Kris Versteeg to Los Angeles for a prospect and a fifth-round pick. Before Monday's trade deadline, the Hurricanes moved defenseman John-Michael Liles to Boston for a prospect and two more draft selections.


They now have 11 picks in this year's draft, seven in the first three rounds.


"It's not easy for the players. It's not easy for our fans. You have to make those tough decisions, and we felt this was a direction we could go in," general manager Ron Francis said. "I still believe in the guys in the locker room. I know they're not going to quit. I wouldn't put it past them to continue to surprise people down the stretch."


New Jersey (30-26-7) sent veteran forward Lee Stempniak, who has 41 points, to Boston for two draft picks Monday. The Devils made two more deals, sending winger Stefan Matteau to Montreal for Devante Smith-Pelly and defenseman Eric Gelinas to Colorado for a third-round pick in 2017.


New Jersey's flurry of activity followed its fifth loss in six games, a 4-0 defeat to visiting Tampa Bay on Friday. The Devils were blown out 6-1 in Columbus the previous night.


"We're never going to give up. I think we're a proud group of guys here," goaltender Cory Schneider said. "We haven't shown it the past two (games). We know what we can do, and we've done it for most of the year so we're not going to let a few games get us down."


New Jersey is trying to avoid missing the playoffs for a fourth straight season while Carolina has the league's second-longest active drought, six seasons.


The Devils have won two of three over the Hurricanes this season, rallying for a 3-2 victory in the previous home matchup Dec. 29. Kyle Palmieri and David Schlemko scored in the third period after Staal tallied both of Carolina's goals in the second.


New Jersey is 3-0-1 in the past four visits from the Hurricanes but has lost three of four home games since Feb. 16. Carolina is 0-2-1 in its last three on the road.


Keith Kinkaid has started both of the Devils' wins against Carolina this season and is 3-1-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average in four career matchups. Schneider, who has a 3.93 GAA in his last four starts, is 4-2-1 with a 1.85 GAA in seven lifetime starts versus the Hurricanes.


Palmieri, owner of a team-best 23 goals and 40 points, has found the net in each of the past two matchups. Adam Henrique has seven goals and one assist in his last 11 meetings, but he has one assist in his past seven games.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Penguins (31-21) at Capitals (45-12)
Date: March 01, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Washington's perch atop the NHL standings provides a nice view of the other Eastern Conference teams with virtually no hope of catching it, leaving little reason for general manager Brian MacLellan to make a significant deal ahead of the trade deadline.


Pittsburgh is fighting to at least become the Capitals' first-round playoff opponent, but the Penguins also didn't find the need for a major move.


They dealt Washington one of its very rare regulation home defeats earlier this season and will try to win their third straight visit to the nation's capital Tuesday night.


MacLellan admitted Monday's deadline was quieter than he'd hoped as he tried to strengthen the Capitals (45-12-4) for a deep postseason run. He traded mainstay Brooks Laich and a draft pick to Toronto for forward Daniel Winnik to go along with last Tuesday's deal that brought in defenseman Mike Weber from Buffalo.


Weber has yet to make his team debut following his wife giving birth to their child but should be with the Capitals soon. It's unclear if Winnik will be available for this contest.


'We were trying to add some depth players, but I'm comfortable with where we're at as a team," MacLellan said. "I like where we are. We're well-balanced. I like our four lines. I like our eight (defensemen). I expect us to continue to evolve, to play well down the stretch and then peak at the playoffs and have a long run.'


Washington has lost two of three, though, after falling 3-2 at Chicago on Sunday despite power-play goals from Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Alex Ovechkin had four goals and four assists during a five-game point streak that was snapped against the Blackhawks.


He hasn't recorded a point in either meeting this season with the Penguins (32-21-8), who dealt Washington one of its five regulation home losses with a 3-1 victory Oct. 28. They lost 4-1 at home in a rematch Dec. 14 but have won each of their last two visits to D.C.


Pittsburgh could be playing at least its first two playoff games at the Verizon Center if it finishes in the East's second wild-card spot. It has won three of its last four and leads Philadelphia by three points for that position.


Patric Hornqvist had a hat trick, Sidney Crosby had three assists and Chris Kunitz had a goal and an assist in Monday's 6-0 win over Arizona. Crosby has just one goal in his last nine, but he helped generate chances for Kunitz and Hornqvist.


'Glad to see (the top line) got rewarded for their efforts,' coach Mike Sullivan said. 'I think they've played hard here the last week or so. It hasn't necessarily translated on the score sheet but (Monday) it did for them. You can see when those guys are going."


General manager Jim Rutherford decided to move forward with his current group rather than make a splash before Monday's trade deadline. He traded Russian rookie forward Sergei Plotnikov to Arizona and made a separate deal with the Coyotes later, but the players acquired aren't expected to make an impact at the NHL level.


The Penguins will get an idea of how they stack up with that group against Washington, which is expected to have Braden Holtby in net. Holtby has a 1.35 goals-against average and two shutouts in his last six against Pittsburgh.


Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his fifth shutout Monday, leaving it unclear if he or backup Jeff Zatkoff will get the start against Washington.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Oilers (23-34) at Sabres (25-31)
Date: March 01, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

The Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers spent the trade deadline tweaking their rosters amidst largely disappointing seasons, but the future of each franchise will meet on the ice this week.


The top two picks of the June draft clash for the first time on Tuesday night when Connor McDavid and the Oilers visit Jack Eichel and the Sabres.


The teams already played this season with Edmonton (23-34-7) earning a 4-2 home win on Dec. 6 despite an Eichel goal for Buffalo (25-31-7), but that was about a month into the top pick McDavid's three-month recovery from a fractured left clavicle.


McDavid, though, has played all of February and will finally meet his highly-touted 19-year-old rookie counterpart at First Niagara Center. Eichel is third in rookie scoring with 17 goals and 41 points in 63 games behind Chicago's Artemi Panarin (22 goals, 57 points) and Arizona's Max Domi (17 goals, 42 points), while McDavid is ninth with 10 goals and 29 points in 27 games.


"For me, it's more of a bigger game because I have some family coming, some buddies coming in from Erie, so I'm more excited about the game from that sense," McDavid said. "I'm sure it's going to be pretty well-covered (by media), I think everyone expects that. I think for the both of us, it's just another game."


Despite the added punch this season from their top picks, the Sabres and Oilers are trudging through miserable offensive seasons.


Putting the puck in the back of the net has been Buffalo's Achilles heel this decade with four of the team's five lowest-scoring seasons coming in the last five years: 2.46 in 2012-13, 1.83 in 2013-14, 1.87 in 2014-15 and 2.32 in 2015-16.


This season's mark ranks in the bottom three of the NHL and is on pace to tie the third-worst mark in franchise history with the 2002-03 club.


After matching a season-high four-game point streak (3-0-1) from Feb. 12-19, the Sabres have lost three of four and have been shut out in two of their last three - giving them six scoreless games this season.


Three nights after a 1-0 loss at Anaheim, Buffalo closed a three-game road trip with Saturday's 2-0 defeat in Los Angeles. The Sabres failed to score on seven power-play chances on their trip and are 3 for 28 in the last nine games.


"Without a question, I think we haven't been able to establish any offensive presence with the power play," coach Dan Bylsma told the team's official website. "It's been a draining factor for our team."


Robin Lehner suffered the tough-luck losses in Buffalo's two shutout defeats last week, despite making 61 saves while surrendering only three goals between them.


The Sabres have scored twice in each contest of a three-game skid against the Oilers.


Edmonton, though, is almost as offensively challenged. The Oilers scored 11 goals during an 0-5-2 skid from Feb. 13-26 before snapping it with Sunday's 3-1 win over the New York Islanders. Cam Talbot made 36 saves, improving his save percentage to .953 his last three starts.


The Oilers now open a four-game road trip, hoping to improve on their league-worst 2.03 scoring average away from home. Edmonton has lost five straight road contests, dropping its NHL-worst road record to 7-20-5, but Buffalo owns the league's worst home mark at 11-17-3.


Hence, each team's selling status at the trade deadline. After departing with goaltender Anders Nilsson, defenseman Justin Schultz and forward Teddy Purcell on Saturday, Edmonton acquired forward Patrick Maroon from the Ducks Monday in exchange for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick and defenseman Martin Gernat.


Buffalo traded Jamie McGinn to Anaheim for a conditional third-round pick. McGinn ranked fifth on the team with 14 goals and 27 points.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Blues (36-20) at Senators (30-27)
Date: March 01, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong offered a very reasonable defense for his inactivity at the trade deadline: The eventual returns of multiple injuried players will add more than enough depth than the Blues could've acquired without giving up someone off the current roster.


The same went for Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray, who made a significant deal in early February and simply kicked the tires on potential acquisitions before leaving the onus on his current group to fill the void left by Kyle Turris' injury.


St. Louis is in a much more enviable position playoff-wise than the Senators, though, and it'll look to snap Ottawa's three-game home winning streak Tuesday night.


Alexander Steen, Jori Lehtera, Steve Ott and Brian Elliott are battling injuries at the moment, with Lehtera the only one not on injured reserve. Those setbacks haven't slowed the Blues (36-20-9) much, however, considering they can jump Chicago for second in the Central Division with a victory over Ottawa (30-27-6).


Armstrong traded prospect Niklas Lundstrom and a fifth-round pick to Edmonton for Anders Nilsson on Saturday to add goaltending depth while Elliott recovers, but he stood pat Monday and let the deadline pass.


Forward Ryan Reaves also is set to return after serving a three-game suspension.


"We've got a little scar tissue this year, a little battle-tested," Armstrong said. "The great thing is, we have a very good record, but we're in the best division in hockey bar none.


"I didn't see a player that was going to fit into our (forward) group of nine when we're 100 percent healthy."


Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo returned from missing the previous nine with a knee injury and scored the last of St. Louis' four unanswered goals in Sunday's 5-2 win at Carolina that snapped a three-game skid.


'Petro makes a huge difference. What can you say?' coach Ken Hitchcock said. 'He organizes our team better, puts players in better position play-wise, gets us better matchups. He really helps us a lot.'


The Blues have lost four of five meetings with the Senators after falling 3-2 on Bobby Ryan's overtime goal Jan. 4. Ryan has only two goals over his last 10, but his teammates have picked up the slack lately.


Ottawa has won five of six after Mika Zibanejad recorded a hat trick during a span of 2:38 in the third period of Saturday's 6-4 victory at Calgary. It is chasing Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot and will have to do so without Turris, who was shut down indefinitely Monday because of a nagging high ankle sprain.


The Senators made a couple of minor trades before the deadline but decided not to do anything drastic after acquiring defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Toronto in a nine-player trade Feb. 9. Murray admitted to having conversations with Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman regarding Jonathan Drouin and nearly acquired Brandon Pirri before Florida dealt him to Anaheim.


"At the end of the day, we decided that we had enough players to fill (Turris') role," Murray said. "I certainly wasn't going to pay a first- or second-round pick for a rental player at this point. We think that the group that we have right now gives us a chance."


Craig Anderson has a 1.36 goals-against average while winning five straight home starts and could be in net for this matchup.


The Blues, who have four days off before completing a four-game road swing Sunday against Minnesota, likely will give Jake Allen the nod.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Panthers (35-19) at Jets (26-31)
Date: March 01, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Dale Tallon's mission to improve the Florida Panthers prior to the trade deadline resulted in a flurry of deals he hopes will bolster their chances of winning their first playoff series in 20 years.


Fending off three other suitors for the Atlantic Division crown remains the top priority for now, though.


The Panthers have dropped two in a row to begin a five-game trip heading into Tuesday night's contest in Winnipeg, where the Jets have handled them easily during their last five visits.


Tallon hit the phones hard Saturday and dealt four draft picks to acquire Jiri Hudler from Calgary, fellow forward Teddy Purcell from Edmonton and defenseman Jakub Kindl from Detroit. The only move he made Monday was sending injured center Brandon Pirri to Anaheim for a sixth-round selection.


Tallon is expecting those moves to help the Panthers (35-19-8) in their pursuit of their second division title in franchise history. Tampa Bay tied Florida atop the Atlantic with Monday's win at Toronto, with Boston sitting four points back and Detroit also very much in the race.


The eventual goal is a deep playoff run for Florida, which hasn't won a postseason series since making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1995-96.


"I like our team once we're healthy, like what our young guys have brought to the table,' Tallon said. "We have a lot of depth now with the acquisitions. We had a good week and we improved our club with a defenseman and two forwards."


Neither of the three were in uniform for Sunday's 3-1 loss at Minnesota that followed a 3-0-2 stretch. Hudler and Purcell still are working through visa issues, but they'll be able to play against the Jets (26-31-4) with the game being in Canada. Their statuses for Thursday's game at Colorado are unclear.


Jonathan Huberdeau hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury Feb. 20, when Jaromir Jagr scored twice in a 3-1 win over Winnipeg for the Panthers' second straight victory in the series. Both were played in Florida, though, and the Panthers have been outscored 30-8 while losing their past five at Winnipeg.


Mathieu Perreault scored four goals in the last meeting north of the border, an 8-2 victory Jan. 13, 2015. Perreault missed practice Monday, though, due to his wife expecting the birth of their first child, and it's uncertain if he'll be with the team Tuesday.


His absence would mean another lineup change for the last-place Jets, who shipped captain Andrew Ladd to Chicago on Thursday in a deal that brought back forward Marko Dano and a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. They're also without Bryan Little, who is out for the season with a fractured vertebrae.


Dano made his team debut in Saturday's 4-1 loss at Pittsburgh. Winnipeg has dropped five of six and was quiet on deadline day following the Ladd deal.


"(Younger players need) to get into some games. They've got to make some mistakes," coach Paul Maurice said. "You've got to push them, but experience for these guys is what they need to get better."


The Jets are beginning a five-game homestand, but they've dropped four straight and nine of 11 at MTS Centre. It's unclear if Michael Hutchinson will make a third straight start or if Ondrej Pavelec will get the nod in net.


Roberto Luongo has a 1.78 goals-against average in his last four appearances, beginning with the win over the Jets last month.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Flames (26-31) at Bruins (34-23)
Date: March 01, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

Boston went ahead and made two moves for a playoff push at Monday's trade deadline, though the group it had wasn't having too difficult of a time picking up points against its next opponent.


The Bruins haven't lost a regulation game to Calgary since 2008-09, a streak they'll try to extend Tuesday night in Boston while furthering the Flames' crippling overall skid.


The Bruins (34-23-6) acquired forward Lee Stempniak from New Jersey in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2016 and a second-round draft pick in 2017. They also acquired defenseman John-Michael Liles from Carolina for a third-round draft pick in 2016, a fifth-round pick in 2017 and Anthony Camara.


In 63 games, Stempniak has 16 goals and 41 points. Liles has six goals and 15 points in 64 games.


Both are expected to be available Tuesday.


"Lee's versatility, the type of year he's having, I think will complement our group very well. He can play in a bunch of different positions for us," general manager Don Sweeney said. "And John-Michael Liles is another player that brings a lot of versatility to our group."


The Bruins are playing their second of a four-game homestand, and they'll probably appreciate the new bodies more with Chicago and Washington following the Flames in. Boston's coming off Sunday's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay - a hiccup after taking a 1-0 lead that followed consecutive wins by a 9-2 total.


Many of the problems it has had over a 2-2-0 span have been special-teams related with the Bruins going 0 for 9 on the power play and 5 for 10 on the penalty kill with two power-play goals allowed against the Lightning.


Tuukka Rask was in goal and has a .938 save percentage over a 4-2-0 span. He's 3-0-3 with a .937 save percentage against Calgary.


The Flames (26-32-4) have won the three meetings since the start of last season - including a 5-4 overtime victory in Calgary on Dec. 4 - but the Bruins have emerged from each with a point as part of a 5-0-3 span in the series with 3.87 goals per game.


Before Monday's 5-3 loss in Philadelphia, the Flames acquired goaltender Niklas Backstrom and a sixth-round draft pick from Minnesota for right wing David Jones. The move comes after Karri Ramo was lost for the season in mid-February. The Flames also sent defenseman Kris Russell to Dallas for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, forward prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional 2016 second-round pick.


The defeat started a four-game East Coast swing and extended their losing streak to a season-worst five games.


Sean Monahan has scored in three of the last four games, which have all been regulation losses, while Johnny Gaudreau has 12 points on an eight-game point streak. But Calgary has wasted almost all of it with an average of 4.11 goals allowed over a 1-7-1 span, and its penalty kill has been hideous for even longer with a 61.3 percent rate (27 of 44) over the last 11 games.


"It's a tough day," captain Mark Giordano told the team's official website. "You try to go through your routine as much as possible. You sort of always have one ear opened and you're listening to what's going on. Our will was there, our compete was there."


Jonas Hiller could be in goal for both games on the back-to-back having gone 1-4-0 with a 4.32 goals-against average and .860 save percentage spanning six games. He's 5-1-1 with 1.89 and .938 marks in eight against Boston.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Islanders (33-20) at Canucks (24-25)
Date: March 01, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The New York Islanders are among the best offensive teams in the NHL, but that's not the case on the road.


Roughly 16 hours after that problem was on full display, the Islanders opted to practically stand pat at the trade deadline.


Now, they'll try to bounce back from their first loss on this season-high road trip Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.


New York (33-20-7) is eighth in the league with 2.78 goals per game, a crucial reason why it's third in the Metropolitan Division - one point ahead of Pittsburgh.


The Islanders' average of 3.23 goals at home is second only to Washington's 3.32, but duplicating that production away from Brooklyn has been a problem. New York ranks toward the bottom of the league with 2.31 per game on the road while going 14-12-3.


The offense let the Islanders down again Sunday, failing to capitalize on a 37-26 shot advantage and losing 3-1 at Edmonton. They had an 18-6 edge on shots in the third period but surrendered three goals to ruin a 3-0 start to their seven-game trip.


"You have to score more than one goal per game," coach Jack Capuano told the team's official website. "We had the game that we wanted, we were playing pretty well, then we mishandled a couple of opportunities and before you know it - they have some skill - and it's in the back of your net."


Despite the need to improve scoring on the road, the Islanders only made two minor trades at Monday's deadline. The most significant was acquiring left wing Shane Prince and a seventh-round pick from Ottawa in exchange for a third-rounder.


Prince, 23, had 12 points in 42 games for the Senators this season after leading Binghamton of the AHL with 65 in 72 in 2014-15. It's unknown if he'll make his team debut at Vancouver.


New York outshot the Canucks 48-26 on Jan. 17, but ended up falling 2-1 in a shootout. It was the fifth time the Islanders lost to them in six tries.


John Tavares has no points in the past three. The captain didn't get on the scoresheet in Edmonton after netting eight goals with 11 assists over the previous 14 games.


Kyle Okposo has one point on this trip with just 17 of his 46 coming away from home. However, he has four in his last two games at Vancouver.


The Canucks (24-25-12), eight points back of Colorado for the West's second wild-card spot, were quiet at the deadline.


Vancouver was expected to deal Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata, but both enacted no-trade clauses after wanting to go to certain teams. Both are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this summer.


"It wasn't from a lack of trying," general manager Jim Benning said. "There weren't a lot of buyers in the marketplace. The teams that were buying weren't really paying a lot to get those players."


The Canucks fell short of a third straight win, surrendering four unanswered goals in the third period of a 4-1 loss to San Jose on Sunday.


Daniel Sedin scored for just the second time in 13 games, but he's made up for the lack of scoring with eight assists over that stretch.


The left wing has 14 points in 14 career meetings with the Islanders but none in the last two at home.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Stars (38-19) at Predators (31-21)
Date: March 01, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Predators hope left winger Filip Forsberg plays down the stretch the way he has been the past few games.


That way the fun - and the wins - will continue in Nashville.


The surging Predators hope Forsberg can continue his torrid pace Tuesday night when they host the Dallas Stars.


Forsberg was named the first star of the week Monday by the NHL after he became the first player since 1986-87 with two natural hat tricks in three or fewer games. Forsberg had six goals and an assist last week as the Predators won four straight games.


'It's always good to score goals,' Forsberg said after practice. 'I mean a hat trick is obviously pretty special. To get two in a short period of time is probably something I never thought was going to happen. It's been a lot of fun these past few days. I've got to keep it going.'


Forsberg became the first player in Nashville franchise history with two hat tricks in a single season Saturday in a 5-0 win against St. Louis, and he set a very high standard after his first came on Feb. 23 in a 3-2 win at Toronto. The feat hadn't been done in the NHL since November 1986.


That's when Petri Skriko did it in back-to-back games for Vancouver against Calgary on Nov. 18 and Nov. 21 against the Rangers.


Forsberg's hat tricks capped an amazing February for the 21-year-old from Ostervala, Sweden. He set a franchise record with 12 goals in 11 games in February, the most goals scored in a single month. That tied Alex Ovechkin of Washington and Boston's Brad Marchand for most goals in the league during February.


He already has tied his previous career best of 26 goals set last season, and he is seven goals from the franchise record of 33 with 19 games left.


'Forsberg seems to score on every shot this month,' teammate Mike Fisher said.


It's a big difference from how Forsberg started the season. He scored only three goals through the first 23 games. Lately, he's been working on the second line with veteran center Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith. As a result, Forsberg now leads Nashville in both goals and points (46) through 63 games.


Predators coach Peter Laviolette said that line is playing really well with a lot of speed and confidence, which is creating chances in the offensive zone for Forsberg to shoot. Laviolette also noted Ribeiro is a tremendous playmaker whose pass on the power play Saturday against St. Louis set up Forsberg's third goal.


'That's when Filip can really shine,' Laviolette said. When he gets the puck in the situation like he did, to bury that one on the power play, he has the skill level to do it.'


Combined with goalie Pekka Rinne playing like the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist he is, the Predators enter this contest on a nine-game point streak (6-0-3). They have won four straight to match a season high and currently hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand and a five-point lead over Colorado.


'He's looked unbelievable and made some great plays,' Fisher said of Forsberg. 'I would say just overall playing smarter, taking advantage of his chances and you know pretty impressive week he had, month really. Hopefully, he can keep that going and stay hot and continue.


'It's really fun to watch as a teammate.'


Predators captain Shea Weber could return after missing three games with a lower-body injury. Weber was a full participant in practice Monday, the first time he'd taken the ice with the full team since Feb. 23.


"I feel good," Weber told the team's official website Monday. "It's hard, you don't like to sit out. You feel like you're letting your teammates down, so it's not easy."


The Stars got a late goal from Vernon Fiddler before falling 3-2 in overtime to Detroit on Monday, their third straight loss.


All three of those defeats came at home, but now Dallas (38-19-7) plays three of its next four on the road where it's averaged 3.6 goals during a 6-1-1 surge. Included in that stretch is a 3-2 overtime victory at Nashville on Feb. 15.


Kari Lehtonen figures to be in net after Antti Niemi made 26 saves Monday. Lehtonen is 0-3-1 with a 3.82 goals-against average in his last four starts, and has the same record with a 3.04 GAA his past four in Nashville.


The Stars have won four in a row against the Predators, with Jamie Benn tallying four goals and seven points in the last three meetings.


This game could mark the Stars debut of defenseman Kris Russell, who was acquired from Calgary on Monday for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, forward prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional 2016 second-round pick.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Avalanche (32-28) at Wild (28-25)
Date: March 01, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

The Colorado Avalanche added a piece at Monday's trade deadline with intentions of making a postseason push, but their biggest competition for the Western Conference's final playoff spot did the same - with similar plans to follow.


Two of the teams vying for the West's second wild card clash for a pivotal Central Division matchup on Tuesday night when the Avalanche visit the Minnesota Wild.


Colorado (32-28-4) currently holds the West's final playoff spot - two points ahead of Minnesota (28-25-10) - though the Wild have put some pressure on with improved play over the last two weeks while their health concerns have taken a turn for the better.


The Avalanche front office delivered a vote of confidence to the team on Monday by acquiring forward Mikkel Boedker from Arizona in exchange for forward Alex Tanguay and prospects Conner Bleackley and Kyle Wood.


Boedker, a speedy left winger, had 13 goals and 39 points with the Coyotes.


"It sends a message to everybody in here that they are willing up top to give us the best chance possible to win and go deep in the playoffs, and that's what we want to do," captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "I think this adds some depth up top, and I think (Boedker) has obviously tremendous speed and a lot of skill, so we are excited to have him."


Colorado, which also acquired defenseman Eric Gelinas from New Jersey for a 2017 third-round draft pick, could use a boost for the final five weeks as Minnesota has clawed back into the postseason discussion with a 5-3-0 run following a 1-11-2 stretch.


The Avs have lost two of three and are coming off Saturday's 5-3 defeat to Detroit in an outdoor game at Coors Field. Semyon Varlamov surrendered four goals for the second straight game and has a 3.96 goals-against average in his past four starts.


Varlamov has faced the Wild plenty in his career between stints with Washington and Colorado, going 9-10-1 with a 2.35 GAA. He suffered losses in this season's first two matchups before making 19 saves in a 2-1 overtime win on Dec. 7. That was just the Avalanche's second victory in the last 10 games of this series, including Minnesota's 2014 seven-game first-round playoff series win.


After totaling 21 goals during a season-high four-game win streak Feb. 15-21, Minnesota scored five while dropping three straight last week. The Wild, though, recovered with Sunday's 3-1 victory over Florida, just their second win in their last 11 at Xcel Energy Center.


With the push over the last two weeks and a few players returning from injury in the coming days, Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher added former Colorado forward David Jones on Monday in a trade with Calgary for oft-injured goalie Niklas Backstrom.


"I wanted to give the coaches some versatility in terms of lineup options," Fletcher said. "Give them some depth, and create some competition."


Jones, who played his first six seasons with the Avs and logged back-to-back 20-goal campaigns from 2010-12, had nine goals and six assists in 59 games with the Flames this season.


In addition, Minnesota continues to get healthier. Star forward Zach Parise returned on Sunday after a two-game absence with an upper-body injury, and defenseman Jonas Brodin is probable for Tuesday after missing 11 games with a broken foot. Also, forward Jason Zucker is expected back Thursday in Toronto after missing four games with a concussion.


Like Varlamov, Minnesota's Devan Dubnyk has also faced Colorado 20 times and is 11-6-1 with a 2.13 GAA.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Islanders (33-20) at Canucks (24-25)
Date: March 01, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The New York Islanders are among the best offensive teams in the NHL, but that's not the case on the road.


Roughly 16 hours after that problem was on full display, the Islanders opted to practically stand pat at the trade deadline.


Now, they'll try to bounce back from their first loss on this season-high road trip Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.


New York (33-20-7) is eighth in the league with 2.78 goals per game, a crucial reason why it's third in the Metropolitan Division - one point ahead of Pittsburgh.


The Islanders' average of 3.23 goals at home is second only to Washington's 3.32, but duplicating that production away from Brooklyn has been a problem. New York ranks toward the bottom of the league with 2.31 per game on the road while going 14-12-3.


The offense let the Islanders down again Sunday, failing to capitalize on a 37-26 shot advantage and losing 3-1 at Edmonton. They had an 18-6 edge on shots in the third period but surrendered three goals to ruin a 3-0 start to their seven-game trip.


"You have to score more than one goal per game," coach Jack Capuano told the team's official website. "We had the game that we wanted, we were playing pretty well, then we mishandled a couple of opportunities and before you know it - they have some skill - and it's in the back of your net."


Despite the need to improve scoring on the road, the Islanders only made two minor trades at Monday's deadline. The most significant was acquiring left wing Shane Prince and a seventh-round pick from Ottawa in exchange for a third-rounder.


Prince, 23, had 12 points in 42 games for the Senators this season after leading Binghamton of the AHL with 65 in 72 in 2014-15. It's unknown if he'll make his team debut at Vancouver.


New York outshot the Canucks 48-26 on Jan. 17, but ended up falling 2-1 in a shootout. It was the fifth time the Islanders lost to them in six tries.


John Tavares has no points in the past three. The captain didn't get on the scoresheet in Edmonton after netting eight goals with 11 assists over the previous 14 games.


Kyle Okposo has one point on this trip with just 17 of his 46 coming away from home. However, he has four in his last two games at Vancouver.


The Canucks (24-25-12), eight points back of Colorado for the West's second wild-card spot, were quiet at the deadline.


Vancouver was expected to deal Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata, but both enacted no-trade clauses after wanting to go to certain teams. Both are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this summer.


"It wasn't from a lack of trying," general manager Jim Benning said. "There weren't a lot of buyers in the marketplace. The teams that were buying weren't really paying a lot to get those players."


The Canucks fell short of a third straight win, surrendering four unanswered goals in the third period of a 4-1 loss to San Jose on Sunday.


Daniel Sedin scored for just the second time in 13 games, but he's made up for the lack of scoring with eight assists over that stretch.


The left wing has 14 points in 14 career meetings with the Islanders but none in the last two at home.

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack


Six of the best minor league prospects for the New York Mets.......


1) Steven Matz, P-- Was 4-0, 2.27 in six major league starts LY.


3) Dominic Smith, 1B-- Hit .290 in three seasons in minors; needs more power.


5) Brandon Nimmo, OF-- Mets drafted him instead of Jose Fernandez. Oy.


9) Matt Reynolds, 2B/SS-- Arkansas alum knocked in 65 runs in AAA LY.


18) Logan Verrett, P-- Baylor alum started four big league games LY.


23) LJ Mazzilli, 2B-- Hit .263 in AA LY; his dad played for the Mets.


**********


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


13) Boston Red Sox had a payroll LY of $185,568,958, 3rd-highest in baseball; they added David Price LY, so I'm assuming their payroll will be at least that high again this season, but their 3B will be Pablo Sandoval, their 1B Hanley Ramirez. Not exactly Brooks Robinson and JT Snow. Could be lot of bunts against the Sox this season.


12) Was fun watching the Red Sox play two college teams Monday; not the same as a real big league game (those start today), but good nonetheless. Spring training park the Red Sox call home is a facsimile of Fenway Park, kind of cool.


11) Red Sox' new 1B coach is Ruben Amaro, Jr, who for last seven years was the GM of the Phillies. Odd situation; no one can ever remember this happening before, but apparently Amaro wants to be a field manager and this is how he is learning the ropes. Plus, he needed a job after the Phillies fired him.


10) Win a bar bet: only Hall of Famer to get his 3,000th hit against another Hall of Famer was Dave Winfield (for the Twins) against Dennis Eckersley (for the A's) way back in 1993, in the Metrodome.


Winfield played baseball/basketball at U of Minnesota, where his hoop coach was Bill Musselman, whose son Eric now coaches at Nevada-Reno.


9) Speaking of which, our Bad Beat of Week: Nevada 87, Colorado State (+3.5) 80


If you had Colorado State +3.5 Sunday, you weren't happy. Rams were down two as one of their guards raced downcourt for the last shot with 0:04 left. It looked good for the cover-- he was either going to shoot or run out of time, but a Nevada player didn't know the score- he thought they were up 3-- and he fouls the guy intentionally.


Colorado State guy makes both foul shots, game goes OT and Nevada covers. Oy.


8) Michigan Wolverines are having spring football practice in Florida; a damn good idea, very creative, but what is the price tab? Has to be steep.


7) Just watched a movie while I was writing this-- The Judge, with Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr-- a really, really good movie. Great cast- Billy Bob Thornton was a lawyer, one of the judges was Ken Howard, the coach from The White Shadow, one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Movie is on Cinemax this month.


6) Los Angeles Kings acquired Kris Versteeg this week; poor guy has been traded seven times in his career, going from Boston to Chicago to Toronto to Philly to Florida to Chicago to Carolina and now, to Los Angeles. These guys have families and their kids have to change schools and sure, they make a lot of money, but you get traded seven times by the time you're 29- it has to mess with your mind some.


5) St Mary's plays in WCC tourney starting Saturday in Las Vegas, but they don't like a week between games, I guess, so the Gaels are playing Grand Canyon tonight as a prep. Dan Majerle's Antelopes are 24-5, tied for second in the WAC- they've beaten San Diego State this season, so it should be a good prep for St Mary's.


4) Tennessee State forced 23 turnovers in beating Belmont Sunday; teams are likely to play in OVC semi-finals and Belmont will be favored again- they're younger and less athletic. OVC has four pretty good teams; any of them could win the tourney.


3) Has been fun watching Oregon State play this year; Gary Payton watching his son's senior year in college, at same school he starred for. Beavers' best two players for next year are the coaches' sons, so they ain't leaving early- Oregon State will be a force in the Pac-12 the next few years.


2) College basketball starts around Veterans' Day, second week in November, but it is a long season; think back to the Maui Classic-- Indiana lost to Wake Forest, UNLV- they couldn't guard a freakin' chair. Looked like Tom Crean was going to get fired.


But fast-forward three months; Indiana is 23-6, a top 20 team. UNLV, Wake Forest are a combined 10-24 in conference play- Rebels fired their coach. Teams improve or they regress, they seldom stay the same. It is part of why handicapping is difficult.


1) I've tried to be more interested in politics this year, partly because its the only decent daytime TV (thank God exhibition baseball starts today), but this election has become a sad indictment of our system, lot of jackasses acting like 10-year olds.


Our society is so disgusted with politicians that a rich, egotistical bully might become President-- if this guy wasn't a billionaire no one would give him the time of day, he'd just be the kind of guy you try to avoid. But he is rich, so he's a hero to some.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Dunkel

Tuesday, March 1


NY Islanders @ Vancouver

Game 15-16
March 1, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Islanders
10.057
Vancouver
11.154
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Vancouver
by 1
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Islanders
-145
5
Dunkel Pick:
Vancouver
(+125); Over

Pittsburgh @ Washington

Game 17-18
March 1, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
10.107
Washington
12.931
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 3
6 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
N/A

Carolina @ New Jersey

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

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
11.677
New Jersey
10.215
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Carolina
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New Jersey
-130
4 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Carolina
(+110); Over

Calgary @ Boston

Game 3-4
March 1, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Calgary
11.615
Boston
10.764
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Calgary
by 1
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-210
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Calgary
(+180); Under

Edmonton @ Buffalo

Game 5-6
March 1, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Edmonton
9.770
Buffalo
11.165
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Buffalo
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Buffalo
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
Buffalo
(-130); Over

St. Louis @ Ottawa

Game 7-8
March 1, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
12.577
Ottawa
11.040
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-120
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(-120); Under

Florida @ Winnipeg

Game 9-10
March 1, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida
10.431
Winnipeg
8.890
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Florida
-125
5
Dunkel Pick:
Florida
(-125); Under

Colorado @ Minnesota

Game 11-12
March 1, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Colorado
8.350
Minnesota
12.363
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 4
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
-150
5
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-150); Over

Dallas @ Nashville

Game 13-14
March 1, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
12.829
Nashville
11.718
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 1
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Nashville
-140
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+120); Under

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Long Sheet

Tuesday, March 1

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

CAROLINA (28-26-0-10, 66 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (30-26-0-7, 67 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 17-45 ATS (+80.0 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 3 seasons.
CAROLINA is 7-19 ATS (+26.9 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
CAROLINA is 30-57 ATS (+99.5 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 11-6 ATS (+17.7 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 7-4 (+2.6 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY is 7-4-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.9 Units)

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

CALGARY (26-32-0-4, 56 pts.) at BOSTON (34-23-0-6, 74 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 24-17 ATS (+44.2 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 237-212 ATS (-99.0 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 2-7 ATS (+2.0 Units) in home games on Tuesday nights this season.
BOSTON is 2-10 ATS (-12.6 Units) in home games in non-conference games this season.
BOSTON is 2-10 ATS (-14.3 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
BOSTON is 13-20 ATS (-14.6 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 9-15 ATS (-12.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 187-157 ATS (-56.5 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
BOSTON is 88-80 ATS (-65.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 3-2 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 3-2-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.8 Units)

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

EDMONTON (23-34-0-7, 53 pts.) at BUFFALO (25-31-0-7, 57 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 47-99 ATS (+189.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 7-21 ATS (+35.0 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
BUFFALO is 13-9 ATS (+24.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
BUFFALO is 12-37 ATS (+65.5 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
BUFFALO is 5-21 ATS (+35.1 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 4-1 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 4-1-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.1 Units)

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

ST LOUIS (36-20-0-9, 81 pts.) at OTTAWA (30-27-0-6, 66 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OTTAWA is 29-21 ATS (+50.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
OTTAWA is 18-12 ATS (+32.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 100-81 ATS (+182.7 Units) in road games after a non-conference game since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 109-80 ATS (+28.4 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 7-1 ATS (+6.0 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
OTTAWA is 29-46 ATS (-19.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 4-1 (+5.7 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 4-1-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.8 Units)

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

FLORIDA (35-19-0-8, 78 pts.) at WINNIPEG (26-31-0-4, 56 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 137-211 ATS (+369.2 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
FLORIDA is 154-193 ATS (-80.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1996.
WINNIPEG is 48-37 ATS (+89.5 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 45-31 ATS (+77.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
FLORIDA is 35-27 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games this season.
FLORIDA is 11-2 ATS (+8.7 Units) on Tuesday nights this season.
WINNIPEG is 2-9 ATS (-9.7 Units) in home games second half of the season this season.
WINNIPEG is 12-21 ATS (-14.6 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 3-2 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
FLORIDA is 3-2-0 straight up against WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.2 Units)

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

COLORADO (32-28-0-4, 68 pts.) at MINNESOTA (28-25-0-10, 66 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 126-109 ATS (+16.1 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 39-32 ATS (+71.1 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 12-7 ATS (+20.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
COLORADO is 17-11 ATS (+29.4 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
COLORADO is 9-3 ATS (+12.8 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 18-14 ATS (+37.4 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 13-5 ATS (+18.8 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
COLORADO is 31-21 ATS (+52.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 28-35 ATS (-12.0 Units) in all games this season.
MINNESOTA is 8-19 ATS (-20.1 Units) second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 11-9 (+0.8 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 11-9-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
10 of 18 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.1 Units)

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

DALLAS (38-19-0-7, 83 pts.) at NASHVILLE (31-21-0-11, 73 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 10-15 ATS (-10.0 Units) second half of the season this season.
NASHVILLE is 206-167 ATS (+395.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent since 1996.
DALLAS is 39-26 ATS (+67.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 36-22 ATS (+11.0 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 9-3 ATS (+12.4 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive home games over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 31-32 ATS (-17.9 Units) in all games this season.
NASHVILLE is 4-11 ATS (-11.8 Units) in home games in March games over the last 3 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 8-14 ATS (-11.9 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
NASHVILLE is 5-11 ATS (-10.2 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
NASHVILLE is 13-26 ATS (-15.9 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
NASHVILLE is 14-25 ATS (+40.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 7-5 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 7-5-0 straight up against NASHVILLE over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.5 Units)

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

NY ISLANDERS (33-20-0-7, 73 pts.) at VANCOUVER (24-25-0-12, 60 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY ISLANDERS are 9-1 ATS (+7.7 Units) on Tuesday nights this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 17-7 ATS (+8.0 Units) in non-conference games this season.
VANCOUVER is 24-37 ATS (-27.8 Units) in all games this season.
VANCOUVER is 222-214 ATS (-116.2 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 4-1 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 4-1-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.6 Units)

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

PITTSBURGH (32-21-0-8, 72 pts.) at WASHINGTON (45-12-0-4, 94 pts.) - 3/1/2016, 7:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 6-4 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 6-4-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+5.1 Units)

 

[CNOTES]

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, March 1

Hot teams
-- Bruins are 4-0 in game after their last four losses.
-- Senators won five of their last six games.
-- Colorado won five of its last eight games.
-- Nashville won its last four games, outcoring foes 13-4.
-- Islanders won seven of their last ten games.
-- Washington won five of last seven games. Penguins won three of their last four games.

Cold teams
-- Carolina lost five of its last seven games. Devils lost five of their last six.
-- Flames lost eight of their last nine games.
-- Edmonton lost seven of its last eight games. Sabres lost three of last four games.
-- St Louis lost three of its last four games.
-- Panthers lost three of their last four road games. Winnipeg lost five of its last six games.
-- Minnesota lost three of its last four games.
-- Dallas Stars lost six of their last seven games.
-- Vancouver lost five of its last seven games.

Series records
-- Devils won seven of last ten games with Carolina.
-- Calgary won three games in row against Boston, all in OT/SO.
-- Oilers won four of last five games with Buffalo.
-- Ottawa won four of last five games with St Louis; all four wins were in SO/OT.
-- Home team won last six Florida-Winnipeg games.
-- Minnesota won eight of last ten games with Colorado.
-- Dallas Stars won their last four games with Nashville.
-- Islanders lost six of last seven games with Vancouver.
-- Washington won four of its last six games.

Totals
-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Carolina games.
-- Six of last eight Calgary games went over the total.
-- Last five Edmonton games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 3-1-1 in last five St Lojuis games.
-- Five of last six Florida games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Colorado-Minnesota games.
-- Six of last eight Dallas-Nashville games stayed under.
-- Last six Islander games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Washington-Pittsburgh games.

Back-to-backs
-- Calgary lost four of last five if it played the night before.
-- Dallas Stars lost five of last seven if they played night before.

 

[CNOTES]

NHL

Tuesday, March 1

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

7:00 PM
CALGARY vs. BOSTON
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Calgary's last 8 games
Calgary is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Boston is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games at home

7:00 PM
CAROLINA vs. NEW JERSEY
Carolina is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
New Jersey is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 6 games

7:30 PM
EDMONTON vs. BUFFALO
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Buffalo is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games

7:30 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing Washington
Pittsburgh is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing Washington
Washington is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Washington is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games

7:30 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. OTTAWA
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of St. Louis's last 18 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Ottawa's last 18 games when playing St. Louis
Ottawa is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis

8:00 PM
COLORADO vs. MINNESOTA
Colorado is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 8 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games when playing at home against Colorado
Minnesota is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Colorado

8:00 PM
DALLAS vs. NASHVILLE
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Dallas's last 14 games
Dallas is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Nashville is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home
Nashville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas

8:00 PM
FLORIDA vs. WINNIPEG
Florida is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing Florida
Winnipeg is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Florida

10:00 PM
NY ISLANDERS vs. VANCOUVER
NY Islanders are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games on the road
NY Islanders are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Vancouver's last 7 games
Vancouver is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games when playing NY Islanders

 

[CNOTES]

Things learned at the NHL trade deadline
March 1, 2016


The Western Conference isn't a two-horse race between the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings.


Instead, trade deadline day showed the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks are ready to challenge for the Western Conference title and for the Stanley Cup. The Stars acquired defenseman Kris Russell from the Calgary Flames, while the Ducks got winger Jamie McGinn from the Buffalo Sabres and winger Brandon Pirri from the Florida Panthers in preparation for the playoffs.


Dallas gave up defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, a conditional second-round pick and a prospect but got better in the West by picking up Russell.


''Our focus was on the back end, seeing what was out there,'' general manager Jim Nill said on a conference call. ''It gives (coach Lindy Ruff) lots of different options. Kris can play high minutes. ... He's got great endurance.''


Russell and the Stars are going to need endurance to get out of the Central Division, where the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues are real threats.


---


Here are five other things we learned at the NHL trade deadline:


THE CAP MATTERS: General managers pointed to the uncertain salary-cap situation as a reason for the slow deadline day. ''A lot of teams not only are they up or near the salary cap, but even looking in the future and the uncertainty of where the cap is going, the current contracts of all who have been committed - general managers are just more cautious,'' Don Maloney of the Arizona Coyotes said. Blame the Canadian dollar, which has hurt league revenue.


CANADA DRY: There's always next year, Canada. All seven Canadian teams are on track to miss the playoffs, but the Vancouver Canucks didn't trade defenseman Dan Hamhuis and the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't trade Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau before the deadline. ''It wasn't from a lack of trying,'' Vancouver GM Jim Benning said. ''The market this year, there wasn't a lot of buyers in the marketplace.''


HOME ON THE RANGE: The New York Rangers seem far more imposing than before they acquired center Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes. When Rick Nash gets back from injury, he and Staal make the Rangers a force in the Eastern Conference that even the NHL-leading Washington Capitals should be concerned about.


DROUIN'S GOT VALUE: Just because the Tampa Bay Lightning didn't trade Jonathan Drouin doesn't mean they won't cash in on him. The soon-to-be-21-year-old winger could have brought GM Steve Yzerman some immediate help, but he can also circle back at the draft and restock the Lightning for the next few years.


AVALANCHE ARE IN IT: Colorado is going to make the Minnesota Wild earn the final playoff spot in the West after getting winger Mikkel Boedker from the Arizona Coyotes and defenseman Eric Gelinas from the New Jersey Devils. Add Boedker to the group led by Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, and the Avalanche are ready to make a run.

 

[CNOTES]

TUESDAY, MARCH 1


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS




CAR at NJ 07:00 PM


NJ -134




CAL at BOS 07:00 PM


BOS -219




STL at OTT 07:30 PM


OTT +105 BEST BET




PIT at WAS 07:30 PM


PIT +133 BEST BET




EDM at BUF 07:30 PM


EDM +113 BEST BET




COL at MIN 08:00 PM


COL +144 BEST BET




FLA at WIN 08:00 PM


FLA -116




DAL at NAS 08:00 PM


NAS -140




NYI at VAN 10:00 PM


NYI -149

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Blackhawks (39-20) at Red Wings (32-20)
Date: March 02, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Residing in different conferences, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings don't see much of each other these days.


They'll quickly get reacquainted while completing their entire season series this week.


In the first of two matchups over five days, the Red Wings try for a fourth straight win Wednesday night against the visiting Blackhawks.


Since moving to the Eastern Conference in 2013-14, Detroit (32-20-11) improved to 3-1-0 against its longtime Original Six archrival by taking both matchups last season. Riding a five-game point streak and looking to win four in a row for the second time this season, the Red Wings appear primed for the latest installment before visiting Chicago on Sunday.


"They're a team that's a measuring stick throughout the league with the success they've had in the past several years," goalie Jimmy Howard said. "It's going to be another tall task."


While the Blackhawks (39-20-5) play Boston on Thursday, this is a home-and-home set for Detroit. On Monday, the Red Wings faced the other team currently in the mix for the top spot in the West and pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory at Dallas. Rookie Andreas Athanasiou scored twice and Pavel Datsyuk had the winner to snap Detroit's 0-for-20 power-play drought.


The Red Wings are third in the Atlantic Division but very much within striking distance of the top two spots.


"The points are critical," coach Jeff Blashill said. "We gotta keep doing everything we can to get as many points as we can."


Though Howard made 39 saves Monday to record his first win since Dec. 3, the Red Wings need Petr Mrazek healthy and effective again. Detroit's No. 1 netminder, 3-1-1 in his last five starts despite posting a 3.24 goals-against average, should be ready to start this contest.


"We were precautionary (Monday)," Blashill said. "We wanted to make sure he didn't injure it any more. It would be day to day so we'll know more for sure on Wednesday but we expect him ready to play."


Mrazek has never faced the Blackhawks, who won for the third time in eight games, 3-2 over NHL-leading Washington on Sunday. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each scored and newly-acquired forward Andrew Ladd had an assist in his return to Chicago.


Tomas Fleischmann, who came over along with Dale Weise from Montreal on Friday, played 13 minutes and did not record a point.


"It can be energizing for sure, some fresh faces," goaltender Corey Crawford said. "With the new guys in the lineup it felt like the chemistry was building throughout the game. ... We just want to build off that."


It's uncertain if Weise will make his Chicago debut in this contest as he continues to deal with visa issues in Canada. In a minor deal Monday, the Blackhawks also acquired light-scoring veteran forward Tim Jackman and a draft pick from Anaheim.


Crawford, who made 28 saves Sunday to match a career high with 33 wins, has yielded seven goals while losing his last two at Detroit.


The Blackhawks have also allowed their last eight opponents to going 10 of 24 on the power play.


Kane recorded 12 of his league-leading 85 points - three shy of his career best - in 11 games last month.


Toews has five points in four road contests and four in his last three at Detroit, including the playoffs.


Tomas Tatar has four goals in five games against Chicago.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Canadiens (30-28) at Ducks (34-19)
Date: March 02, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

With a little more offensive punch added to the mix, the Anaheim Ducks are in position to catch the Pacific Division leader.


The Ducks will do so with a ninth consecutive victory Wednesday night, when recently acquired forward Jamie McGinn is expected to take the ice against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.


Riding a 10-game point streak amid a 17-2-1 stretch, Anaheim (34-19-8) moved within two points of first-place Los Angeles after Sunday's 4-2 home win over the Kings.


'We're near the top of the mountain, but we're not at the top of the mountain yet, so we have to keep persevering," said coach Bruce Boudreau, whose team has won 22 of 28 since Christmas.


The Ducks are on their longest winning and point streaks since an 11-0-2 run in 2013-14 which included a franchise-record 10 consecutive victories. That season also marks the last time they won eight straight at home, something they could achieve Wednesday along with taking a piece of the Pacific lead, though Los Angeles currently holds the tiebreaker.


'We've put ourselves in a good spot just to continue and keep pushing forward,' said forward Corey Perry, who ended a four-game point drought with three goals and an assist Sunday. 'It's right there. We can see it in our sights now, and it's getting closer.'


Anaheim has averaged a league-high 3.8 goals in 20 games since Jan. 13, is 13 of 29 on the power play in the last eight and gets deeper with Monday's acquisitions of McGinn and forward Brandon Pirri.


Pirri, who came over from Florida for a sixth-round pick, could miss two weeks with an ankle injury, but McGinn should be ready after being acquired from Buffalo for a conditional third-round selection. McGinn has 27 points in 63 games, and among the current Ducks, only Perry (26) and Rickard Rakell (16) have more than his 14 goals.


"(McGinn) fits with how we play out here right now," general manager Bob Murray said. "It was something we had talked about, and when he became available, it took to the last day to get it done."


The Ducks made two other minor moves shortly before Monday's trade deadline, including sending forward Patrick Maroon to Edmonton for a minor leaguer.


'I just thought we became deeper and more versatile," Murray said. 'I'm comfortable with what we did without (messing) up the chemistry too much.'


Murray didn't need to part with soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Frederik Andersen, who is 10-0-2 with a 1.81 goals-against average as a starter in 2016.


Backup John Gibson, who made 27 saves Sunday, has won three in a row and made 37 saves in a 3-1 home victory over Montreal last March when these teams last met.


Anaheim is 3-0-2 in its last five home games against the Canadiens (30-28-5), who have the fourth-fewest points in the Eastern Conference and were sellers prior to the deadline. After trading veteran forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to Chicago last week, Montreal sent ex-Duck Devante Smith-Pelly to New Jersey on Monday.


"I'd say that for (rest of the season), our primary objectives are experience and evaluation," general manager Marc Bergevin told the Canadiens' official website.


Montreal's four-game point streak ended with Monday's 6-2 loss at San Jose.


"Nights like these are going to happen," coach Michel Therrien said. "We have a very young team right now. There are nights that are going to be tougher than others."


Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher has three goals in the last four games.

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Maple Leafs (21-30) at Capitals (45-12)
Date: March 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

Comfortably atop the NHL, the Washington Capitals realize their amazing regular season won't mean anything without some playoff success. They made moves to improve those chances, with one sending longtime center Brooks Laich to the Toronto Maple Leafs.


Laich faces his former team three days after the deal as the league-worst Maple Leafs try to hand the Capitals a rare home loss Wednesday night.


Washington (46-12-4) leads the race for the Presidents' Trophy by 13 points with 20 games left in the regular season. Knowing that the pressure will mount in the playoffs after failing to reach the conference finals in seven of the past eight seasons, the Capitals made several deals before Monday's trade deadline.


Perhaps the most significant involved Laich going to Toronto in a package that returned rugged forward Daniel Winnik on Sunday. Laich spent 10-plus seasons in Washington, collecting 133 goals and 191 assists in 742 games, which rank eighth in franchise history.


The center makes his return to the nation's capital already after his Maple Leafs debut ended in a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Monday.


"I don't know if I am looking forward to it, and I don't know if I'm not," Laich said. "Still, the emotions are pretty heavy. Very fortunate for my time there. Really appreciative of the fans and the support that I've received in the last couple days and certainly over the 12 years, and just the friendships.


"There's going to be a lot of mixed emotions. Gonna have to try to control myself a little bit."


Winnik has been through this before, playing for six teams in nine seasons. He could make his Capitals debut after he was scratched for Tuesday's 3-2 win over Pittsburgh in a preview of a possible first-round playoff matchup.


While Washington improved to 19-2-1 in the last 22 at home, coach Barry Trotz wasn't happy with the team having to rally from a 2-0 deficit. It's surrendered the first goal in eight of the past nine games, but the Capitals have been able to win six of them.


"We're going to have to re-adjust our alarm clocks or whatever," Trotz said. "The starts, if we don't get that corrected ... That's gotta come from within. I've tried for awhile to get those starts all year. I'm putting it back in the room. I'm throwing it on them."


Evgeny Kuznetsov has 27 points in his last 20 games, scoring five goals over the past eight with one in each of the last two. The center has only managed three assists in six career meetings with Toronto.


Alex Ovechkin regularly torments the Maple Leafs. He has 31 goals and 25 assists in 38 career matchups, collecting seven points in the past four. He had two before netting the only successful shootout attempt in a 3-2 home win over Toronto on Nov. 7.


The Caps have won five straight and are 10-1-1 in their last 12 home meetings with the Leafs. They've outscored them 16-6 while winning four straight overall.


Toronto (21-30-10) is having major problems defensively on the road, giving up an average of 3.92 goals while dropping 10 of its last 13.


Nazem Kadri ended his nine-game goal drought Monday, but he doesn't have a point in four straight road games after getting 12 in the prior 13.


The center hasn't produced a point in his past six visits to Washington, where the early focus will be on Laich's return.


"The fans will be great to him. He's been great to the Washington area," Trotz said.