Sunday 12/27/15 service plays chatter/comps/requests & other stuff...

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

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[superbeets]

Scottish Premiership TODAY 14:00

Hearts

v

Celtic

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS1		5	3	8/15	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT HEARTS	RECENT FORM
AWHWHDADALAD​ Most recent​	1 - 2 0 - 4 0 - 2 0 - 7	HDHLAWADAWHL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Hearts have won only one of their last 13 games

EXPERT VERDICT: Celtic boss this fixture. They haven’t lost against Hearts in four meetings since the launch of the Scottish Premiership, keeping three clean sheets in the process. Hearts haven’t won in four league outings, drawing three of those, and this looks beyond them.

RECOMMENDATION: Celtic
3


REFEREE: Steven McLean STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Championship TODAY 16:30

Nottm Forest

v

Leeds

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS1		21/20	12/5	16/5	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT NOTTM FOREST	RECENT FORM
ALHWHWADADHW​ Most recent​	1 - 1 2 - 1 4 - 2 0 - 4	HLALHWADAWHW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Forest have lost only one of their last seven games

EXPERT VERDICT: Leeds have lost only two of their 11 league away games and followed up their 3-2 success at Wolves with a 1-0 victory at home to Preston. However, Forest seem to have found their fluency of late and are taken to make it five County Ground wins on the spin.

RECOMMENDATION: Nottingham Forest
1

 

[superbeets]

Football Conference Mo 28Dec 12:30

Grimsby

v

Lincoln

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BT1		8/13	3		More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT GRIMSBY	RECENT FORM
HWHDHDALHWAW*​ Most recent​	1 - 3 1 - 1 1 - 1 3 - 1	ADHDALHDNLHL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Grimsby have conceded just three goals in their last six home league games

EXPERT VERDICT: Grimsby have won their last three home league games, with Cheltenham the only visitors to win at Blundell Park since September. Lincoln have conceded 18 goals on the road, which is bad news facing a Grimsby side who have scored 30 goals on their own patch.

RECOMMENDATION: Grimsby
3


REFEREE: Adrian Holmes STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Championship Mo 28Dec 12:45

Bolton

v

Blackburn

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS1		5/2	23/10	13/10	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT BOLTON	RECENT FORM
HDHLALADHDAL​ Most recent​	2 - 1 4 - 0 1 - 0 2 - 1	AWHDAWHWHDAL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Blackburn have just lost one of their last five away games

EXPERT VERDICT: Beleaguered Bolton haven’t won any of their last eight Championship home games, but the Trotters are still picking up points having drawn eight of 11 at the Macron. However, Blackburn are thriving under Paul Lambert, with Rovers winning at Bristol City and Preston since his arrival.

RECOMMENDATION: Blackburn
3


REFEREE: Jonathan Moss STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Premier League Mo 28Dec 15:00

Everton

v

Stoke

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		Evs	13/5	3	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT EVERTON	RECENT FORM
ADAWHDADHLAW​ Most recent​	0 - 1 4 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1	ALHWHWADHLHW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Stoke beat Everton 2-0 and 1-0 last season

EXPERT VERDICT: This could be a cagey contest at Goodison Park as, apart from tonkings of Sunderland and Aston Villa, Everton haven’t won in front of their fans since September. Stoke were involved in 11 straight games containing fewer than three goals before Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

RECOMMENDATION: Draw
1


REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Premier League Mo 28Dec 15:00

C Palace

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Swansea

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		11/10	12/5	3	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT C PALACE	RECENT FORM
HLHWADHWAWAD​ Most recent​	1 - 0 0 - 2 0 - 3 0 - 1	HDALHLALHDHW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Swansea have lost five of their last six away games

EXPERT VERDICT: Swansea finished eight points clear of Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season, but the two sides have gone in very different directions during 2015-16. While the Swans are fighting against relegation the Eagles are flying high with Europe the ambition for Alan Pardew’s men.

RECOMMENDATION: Crystal Palace
2


REFEREE: Neil Swarbrick STADIUM:

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NHL notebook: Canadiens' Gallagher returns to practice
By The Sports Xchange

Montreal Canadiens right winger Brendan Gallagher practiced Saturday for the first time since fracturing two fingers on his left hand last month.
Gallagher was injured against the New York Islanders on Nov. 22 after blocking a shot by defenseman Johnny Boychuk in the second period.
Gallagher, 23, skated with his teammates in a non-contact jersey on Saturday. It was the first time he was cleared to handle pucks. He has 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 22 games this season.
Gallagher did not travel with the Canadiens to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien has not ruled out Gallagher's return over the course of their current road trip that includes the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday and the Florida Panthers on Tuesday before the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 1.
The Canadiens also announced defenseman Tom Gilbert will miss at least the next four games with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 2-1 loss at the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday.

---Defenseman Dysin Mayo signed an entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes.
Mayo, 19, ranks second on the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League with 21 assists and third in points with 22, including one goal. Mayo posted career highs in of 14 goals and 37 assists with a plus-14 rating last year with Edmonton.

---The Toronto Maple Leafs reassigned goaltender Antoine Bibeau and forward Rich Clune to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Bibeau, 21, has appeared in 13 games with the Marlies this season, posting a 9-3-0 record, .883 save percentage and 3.38 goals-against average. He was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL draft.
Clune, 28, has been held pointless in two games with the Maple Leafs this season. He has skated in 22 games with the Marlies, collecting 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and 70 penalty minutes.

---The Washington Capitals recalled defenseman Connor Carrick from the Hershey Bears of the AHL.
Carrick, 21, has registered six points (one goal, five assists) and 23 penalty minutes in 34 career NHL games with Washington. He has recorded 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) and 32 penalty minutes in 26 games with Hershey this season.

---The Los Angeles Kings recalled forward Michael Mersch from the Ontario Reign of the AHL.
Mersch, 23, has appeared in six games this season with the Kings. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 11.

---The St. Louis Blues recalled forward Jordan Caron from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.
Caron, 25, was signed by the Blues as a free agent this past offseason and made his team debut on Dec. 22. He has played in 25 games for the Wolves this season, posting 14 points (nine goals, five assists) and 30 penalty minutes.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Bruins (17-11) at Senators (14-12)

Date: December 27, 2015 5:00 PM EDT

With a tightly packed Atlantic Division, both the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins look to pick up some valuable points Sunday when they start a home-and-home series at Scotiabank Place.

The top six teams in the Atlantic are separated by four points, with the Bruins (19-11-4) third on 42 points and the Senators (17-12-6) fifth on 40. Boston had surged near the top of the division on the strength of an 11-1-3 run, but has slumped back with consecutive regulation losses around the Christmas break.

On Saturday, the Bruins fell apart in the final 20 minutes of their 6-3 home loss to Buffalo - one of the two teams not in that log jam - by conceding five goals in the third period.

"That was our team not respecting the game of hockey," coach Claude Julien fumed. "When you take the lead like that and you make some of those plays that we made, you've got yourselves to blame."

To a man, Bruins players were willing to take blame and heed their coach's words, with center Patrice Bergeron noting that the loss was "Hopefully an eye-opener for a lot of guys that we're not even close to being where we want to be," per the team's Twitter account.

Bergeron scored a goal and did have one of his best nights of the season on the faceoff dot, winning 17 of 25 draws, but his season winning percentage of 55.9 is still well off his 2014-15 mark of 60.2 percent. He won 62.3 percent of his draws (71 for 114) in five games versus Ottawa last season but was held to two assists.

Ottawa will be playing its first game since the holiday recess after getting one point in a pair of losses in Florida. The Senators followed a 5-2 defeat at Tampa Bay with a 2-1 shootout loss Tuesday to the Panthers, salvaging a point with Mark Stone's third-period power-play goal but wasting a 39-save effort from Craig Anderson.

Anderson, who could be making his 18th start in 20 games for the Senators, felt the break came at the right time for a team that went 2-4-1 in its last seven games and will play three times in four days starting with this contest.

"I think the timing was right for us," he noted. "We played a lot of games in December and showed we weren't at our best towards the end of the month."

The Senators are also hoping the break allowed forward Bobby Ryan to heal a finger injury that kept him out of Tuesday's loss. He's tied for second on the team with 32 points but has only two goals in his last nine games.

"I always enjoy playing them, they're more of an old-school, traditional team in the sense they grind and they got some big bodies," said Ryan, who had game-winners in Ottawa's two non-shootout wins over Boston last season and the winning shootout goal in a third victory. "They always seem to bring the best out against us and I tend to rise to the occasion playing that same style."

The Bruins have lost three of four in Ottawa after a 11-game win streak there.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Maple Leafs (9-14) at Islanders (16-11)

Date: December 27, 2015 6:00 PM EDT


The New York Islanders finally saw a glimpse of their best player in good form before the NHL's Christmas break, and they hope he reappears on the other side.

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With John Tavares possibly back on track, the Islanders hope to build off the win they posted almost a week ago as the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Sunday night.

New York (19-11-5) stretched a 10-game point streak into mid-December but then lost three straight entering Monday's final game before the break. Tavares, though, logged his first multipoint game since Nov. 16 with a pair of primary assists 43 seconds apart in the first period to help the Islanders to a much-needed 5-2 win over Anaheim.

Tavares, who had only one point in his previous eight games, snapped a 12-game drought without an assist. The 2009 No. 1 overall pick tied for ninth in the NHL last season with 48 assists and had 10 through this season's first 19 games.

'I know I need to be a lot better,' Tavares said. 'I've been feeling a lot better, more like my game.'

The Islanders' five goals were their most since the last day of November. They had totaled two goals during their three-game skid.

'You get some goals and it does wonders for you,' Tavares said.

New York continued to struggle on the power play, however, with three empty chances - dropping to 1 for 19 in the last five games - but set a club record by not allowing an opponent to score on the man advantage for the 13th straight game.

The Islanders held the second-worst penalty kill in the league from Nov. 3-25 at 68.8 percent but is the only team with a perfect mark since. Toronto entered the break with the second-best power play in the league (26.4 percent) since the beginning of November and has scored on four of its last five chances.

The Maple Leafs (12-14-7) had a six-game point streak snapped with Tuesday's 3-2 loss at Arizona, the second game of a stretch in which they play seven of nine away from home.

The loss followed a 4-0-2 span during which Toronto scored 26 goals, including a season high in Monday's 7-4 win at Colorado, but the Leafs posted their lowest goal total in five games the next night despite outshooting the Coyotes 39-26.

'A couple of bad bounces in the first, but we stuck with it as a team,' said Jonathan Bernier, who made 23 saves. 'A lot of good things out there.'

With James Reimer not quite ready to return from his groin injury that has kept him out most of December, Bernier will make his fourth straight start while trying to improve on a subpar campaign. The Maple Leafs' opening-day starter is 2-9-3 with a 3.21 goals-against average and .889 save percentage, both of which rank among the league's worst. His numbers are also bad against the Islanders with a 3.29 GAA and .907 save percentage in six career starts.

His counterpart will be Jaroslav Halak, who has allowed three goals on 58 shots in his last two starts. He is 8-3-3 in 15 starts against the Maple Leafs despite a 2.95 GAA.

Halak's 32 saves helped the Islanders win 3-2 in the teams' last meeting in New York on Feb. 12. They also took the last one in Toronto 4-3 on March 9 for their fourth win in the last five matchups.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Blues (20-11) at Stars (25-7)

Date: December 27, 2015 6:00 PM EDT

The Dallas Stars are on the brink of their first five-game losing streak to the St. Louis Blues, and they're hoping a return home can prevent setting that dubious record.

After losing to the Blues for the second time in two weeks, the Stars attempt to salvage a split of this home-and-home set Sunday night.

Dallas (26-7-3) has a NHL-high 55 points, and it's 6-2-1 in its last nine games. However, two of those defeats have come at St. Louis (22-11-4), the Stars' closest pursuer in the Central Division.

The Stars have lost four straight to the Blues. They fell 3-2 following a nine-round shootout Saturday after the Christmas break.

"I thought it was just a little bit of scattered play where we had some pockets of energy, but we didn't skate as well as a team as we've normally skated," coach Lindy Ruff told the team's official website. "Probably the break affected us a little bit."

Perhaps a return home will help. Dallas is 14-4-0 at American Airlines Center, winning six of its last seven while averaging 3.86 goals.

Tyler Seguin is tied with linemate Jamie Benn for second in the NHL with 47 points, and his 20 goals rank fourth. The center has 12 points over the past nine games and netted his sixth goal over that stretch Saturday.

Seguin has three goals and three assists in the last four matchups with the Blues.

Like Seguin, Benn has 12 points in the last nine games, including six in the last four. The left wing has seven points over his past five home meetings with St. Louis.

The Blues have won five of six after David Backes scored in the final round of the shootout Saturday, tying the longest tiebreaker in team history.

"It's not my forte but when called upon hopefully I can contribute and (Saturday) was one of those nights," said Backes, unsuccessful in his previous four shootout attempts.

Robby Fabbri scored the tying goal with 1:50 left in regulation. The rookie center, who turns 20 next month, has found the net in three straight games after scoring five times in his first 28.

"He's a scorer," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "You don't shoot the puck like that, snap it like that, get it away like that. He's a scorer. He's going to be a big-time scorer in the National Hockey League because he gets open, he finds those pockets and the puck's gone."

Vladimir Tarasenko is already among the league's elite scorers. He's tied with Benn for the league lead with 22, six coming during an eight-game point streak in which he also has six assists.

Tarasenko, though, has only scored eight goals on the road, two over the past seven games. However, he has four goals in his last two visits to Dallas, including one of his two career hat tricks in a 4-3 overtime win on Oct. 28, 2014.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Blue Jackets (12-21) at Panthers (14-12)

Date: December 27, 2015 6:00 PM EDT

The Florida Panthers are hoping a break for Christmas won't hurt any momentum they've built.

The league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets don't figure to pose much of a threat, especially now that their mastery of Florida ended last season.

The Panthers can record their first six-game win streak in nearly eight years Sunday night when they host the Blue Jackets.

Florida (19-12-4) has four games left on a homestand it opened with shootout wins over Vancouver on Sunday and Ottawa on Tuesday. The Panthers are enjoying an 11-3-0 surge and are eager to get back to work.

"Make sure we come back after Christmas playing the same way," said veteran winger Jaromir Jagr, who has a team-high 25 points. "A team game, everybody, five guys back-check, play as a team."

Roberto Luongo has started four games in this run, posting a 1.44 goals-against average. His last five-game win streak was from Dec. 3-14, 2013, with Vancouver.

'Right now we're finding different ways to win every night, whether that's 1-0 or a shootout or a high-scoring game. Good teams do that,' Luongo said.

Florida seeks its first six-game win streak since March 2-16, 2008.

Jagr says he is OK after he lost four teeth Tuesday when he took a stick to the face midway through the first period.

The Panthers had gone 0-7-3 in a 10-game stretch against Columbus (13-21-3) before sweeping both meetings last season by one goal.

The Blue Jackets are much worse this season and will be battling fatigue after falling 5-2 at Tampa Bay on Saturday.

A season full of lowlights produced another one for the Blue Jackets, who were holding a 2-1 lead when they were whistled for three minor penalties in a three-second span in the second period. Columbus proceeded to allow two 5-on-3 goals in 32 seconds to cough up the lead.

'I've never seen that before,' coach John Tortorella said. 'And certainly that was the beginning of the end.

'Those are the type of things that really define us.'

The Blue Jackets went into the Christmas break averaging a league-worst 12:58 penalty minutes.

Columbus is 3-7-3 in its last 13 games. Its power play since Nov. 17 is at 10.2 percent for the NHL's second-worst mark.

Rene Bourque and Scott Hartnell had the Blue Jackets' goals. Ryan Johansen has gone 11 straight games without one after scoring 26 a season ago.

Columbus is 3-6-0 in the second half of back-to-back sets. It's unclear who will start in goal after rookie Joonas Korpisalo was pulled Saturday when he yielded four goals on 18 shots with Curtis McElhinney replacing him.

Blue Jackets winger Nick Foligno sat out his second consecutive game with a lower body injury.

Columbus forward Gregory Campbell is 16-2-2 in his career against the Panthers, the club with which he spent his first six seasons.

The Panthers got two injured players back Tuesday in former Blue Jackets center Derek MacKenzie and defenseman Alex Petrovic. MacKenzie missed four games and Petrovic sat out 12.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Hurricanes (14-16) at Blackhawks (19-12)

Date: December 27, 2015 7:00 PM EDT

The Chicago Blackhawks' road play has left much to be desired. There have been no such problems at home, however.

They'll try to make it seven wins in the last eight games at the United Center on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blackhawks return from the holiday break following a 4-0 loss at Dallas on Tuesday, as their three-game win streak was snapped in a less-than-stellar performance. Chicago was outshot 32-20 and superstar forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews combined for just one shot.

'They just grabbed the momentum and never let us get it back,' said Toews, who was has held without a shot for the third time in five games. 'I think we didn't do what we had to do to take it back, either.'

The defeat dropped the Blackhawks to 6-8-3 on the road, but they'll be happy to get back to the United Center, where they are 14-4-1 and have outscored opponents 21-8 during a 6-1-0 run.

No player better exemplifies the team's discrepancy between home and road success than goaltender Corey Crawford. He is 12-4-1 with a 1.65 goals-against average and all five of his shutouts - tied for the league lead - in Chicago (20-12-4) compared to 6-5-1 with a 3.08 GAA on the road.

Crawford has been in net for each of the last seven home games, posting a .968 save percentage and three shutouts. He seems sure to start this game with four consecutive wins and a 1.72 GAA versus Carolina.

Kane has produced at a very high rate regardless of location, but has been practically unstoppable at home. The league's leading scorer with 50 points, Kane has at least one in 18 of 19 contests at the United Center, tallying 12 goals and 18 assists.

The Hurricanes (14-16-5) have done a good job keeping Kane in check, limiting him to two points in six career meetings. Toews, though, has three goals and two assists in the past three matchups.

Carolina came out of the break Saturday with a 3-1 victory over visiting New Jersey, as Justin Faulk snapped a third-period tie and assisted on Joakim Nordstrom's insurance goal.

Brett Pesce also scored and Cam Ward stopped 19 shots for the Hurricanes, who improved to 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

"It's a little bit of a battle coming off the break, but I thought for the most part our guys did a lot of good things," Carolina coach Bill Peters told the team's official website.

Faulk scored his first even-strength goal after his first 12 came on the power play.

'That's the running joke right now, that I can score - finally - even strength,' said Faulk, who leads the NHL in power-play goals.

Carolina is 3-0-1 in its last four road games, and has a chance to record points in five straight away from home for the first time since Feb. 4-12, 2013.

Ward made a season-high 37 saves in a 2-1 win at Pittsburgh on Dec. 19 in his only start on consecutive days. Backup Eddie Lack is 2-0-1 with a 2.96 GAA in three starts this month - all on the road.

The Blackhawks could get forward Marian Hossa back after he missed the final two games prior to the break with an upper-body injury.

Carolina has dropped four straight in Chicago since Ward bested Crawford in a 4-0 victory March 12, 2008.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Penguins (16-14) at Jets (15-17)

Date: December 27, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

Consecutive wins are reason enough for the Pittsburgh Penguins to feel optimistic. A matchup with the Winnipeg Jets is another.

The Penguins look to continue their dominance of the Jets as they go for their longest winning streak in seven weeks Sunday night.

Pittsburgh (17-14-3) had dropped seven of eight before entering the holiday break with a 5-2 win over Columbus on Monday. The Penguins picked up where they left off Saturday, outshooting Minnesota 27-12 through two periods en route to a 3-1 road victory.

The Penguins haven't won three in a row since a season-high six-game streak from Oct. 24-Nov. 6.

"Watching the Columbus game I thought we did a lot of good things there, too, and I think this was building off of that, a very similar effort and we got rewarded for it," said Sidney Crosby, who missed Monday's win with a lower-body injury.

Consistency from Crosby could go a long way to getting closer to that mark. The superstar has struggled by his lofty standards, with seven goals and 17 assists this season. He ended a seven-game goal drought Saturday before adding an assist on Patric Hornqvist's tally in his return from a one-game absence.

Crosby has five points over his past three games.

"When Sid's in the lineup and we have Sid and (Evgeni Malkin) back-to-back, I think they're dangerous," coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought we had some balance throughout our lineup (Saturday) and everyone contributed. The penalty kill was great. I thought the role players did a great job.

"That's the type of identity we want to create here. It's about the group. And I think the last couple of games we're starting to understand the importance of it and that we need one another to get to where we want to go."

The Penguins have won six straight meetings with Winnipeg (15-17-2) and 21 of the past 24, dating back to when the Jets were the Atlanta Thrashers.

Crosby has 47 points in 28 career matchups, 22 over the last 10.

The Jets were relieved to head into the holiday break after losing for the fourth time in five games, 4-1 at Calgary on Tuesday.

"We needed it," right wing Drew Stafford told the team's official website, "to regroup and recharge the batteries a little bit. For us to get that break, I think we can turn that into a positive.

"Losing isn't fun for anybody. We're all in a bad mood. When you string a few losses together it's hard to find the energy, the enthusiasm. It takes a toll on you. It was good timing for us to get this break. ... The guys are excited to turn this around."

They may also be excited to return to MTS Centre, where they've won six of eight compared to a 1-10-1 stretch on the road.

Winnipeg, though, may have been dealt a blow after Mark Scheifele collided with Andrew Ladd during practice Saturday, according to the official team website. The center was helped off the ice and needed stitches to close a cut on his head, leaving his status clouded.

"We'll give it some time and see how he's feeling (Sunday)," coach Paul Maurice said.

Scheifele is second on the Jets with 12 goals and fourth with 22 points. However, he's accumulated 17 of those in 15 home games.

Blake Wheeler leads the team with 35 points, collecting seven - all assists - over the past four games. He has six points in his last five home matchups with Pittsburgh after setting up two goals and scoring in the shootout of a 4-3 home loss Nov. 6, 2014.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Flyers (14-12) at Ducks (11-15)

Date: December 27, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

While the Philadelphia Flyers soared into the NHL's Christmas break, the Anaheim Ducks limped behind.

The Flyers hope to keep both teams moving in opposite directions Sunday night when they visit the Ducks, who will try to extend their point streak in this series to double digits.

Philadelphia (15-12-7) entered the break as one of the hottest teams in the league with an 8-2-2 record since Nov. 27. It seemed as if the Flyers would back into their five-day hiatus when faced with a 3-0 deficit on Monday against St. Louis, but they scored four times in the final 30 minutes for a 4-3 victory, capped by Evgeny Medvedev's goal with just over three minutes left.

Wayne Simmonds ended his seven-game goal drought with two as Philadelphia completed a 3-0-1 run into the holiday.

'We thought we'd been playing really, really good hockey of late, so it was only right for us to go into the break with a win,' Simmonds said. 'We channeled our energy and got the win.'

After a rough start to the season, goaltender Steve Mason has a 1.62 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage while going 2-0-1 in his last three starts. However, he is 0-3-2 with a 4.28 GAA and .869 save percentage in his last six starts against the Ducks.

That includes the last four losses of Anaheim's current nine-game point streak against the Flyers. The Ducks are 7-0-2 in this series dating to January 2009.

Things haven't gone nearly as well for Anaheim (12-15-6) this season, though, as it has struggled to string wins together and has the worst goal differential (minus-23) in the Western Conference. The Ducks will play their only home contest in a stretch of eight games, which started with a 1-2-1 trip ahead of the break.

The most recent was Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, which dropped the Ducks to 1-3-1 in their last five. Anaheim forced extra time with Rickard Rakell's first goal since Nov. 30 but dropped to 1-6 after regulation.

The Rangers' two goals in the first 60 minutes both came on Anaheim turnovers in the defensive zone. The Ducks rank toward the bottom of the league with 9.6 giveaways per game.

"We have to make those plays," coach Bruce Boudreau told the team's official website. "To break out of this, we need to simplify our game."

It's unclear if Frederik Andersen or John Gibson will start for Anaheim. Andersen is 1-2-0 with a 3.76 GAA and .841 save percentage in his last four appearances and Gibson is 0-2-1 with a 3.01 GAA and .875 save percentage in his last four.

The Ducks are 8-3-3 at home since an 0-2-1 start, but they've totaled just five goals in four December games at Honda Center.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Coyotes (16-15) at Avalanche (17-17)

Date: December 27, 2015 8:00 PM EDT

The Colorado Avalanche didn't work on much in their last practice, though they are making some line changes to help their top unit.

John Mitchell and Nathan MacKinnon will switch lines for the Avalanche on Sunday night when they face an Arizona Coyotes team that has dropped six straight on the road.

Colorado (17-17-1) got back to work at practice Saturday after having a season-high five-game win streak snapped Monday with a 7-4 home defeat to lowly Toronto.

"They seemed rusty a bit at the start, but we had a good-tempo practice, lot of passing, lot of shooting," coach Patrick Roy said. "That's what we wanted, not much about the structure, more about getting the legs going."

The big news is that Mitchell will join Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene on the top line with MacKinnon centering Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla. Duchene is pointless in his last three games with two of his team-high 16 goals in his last nine while Landeskog has one goal in his last 10 games.

Roy used these combinations for stretches against the Maple Leafs.

"We need to get some scoring from our top line and I thought that was good at some point to do that," he said.

Semyon Varlamov will start Sunday, with backup Calvin Pickard slated to start Monday in San Jose. The club is without Reto Berra, who is out for at least 10 days with an ankle injury.

Defenseman Nate Guenin suffered a head injury Monday and will not play against the Coyotes. Roy said his spot in the lineup will be taken by Brandon Gormley alongside Zach Redmond. Gormley hasn't played since Dec. 13.

Arizona (16-15-3) is enduring its longest road slide since a seven-game streak Feb. 10-March 16. The Coyotes completed a 3-1-2 homestand with Saturday's 4-3 overtime defeat to Los Angeles.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice and Antoine Vermette added a goal and an assist. Each had a power-play goal in a 30-second span late in the third period that helped Arizona salvage a point.

"It's hard coming out of those three days (off), you're not mentally engaged," coach Dave Tippett said. "We challenged our guys this morning and they really responded, I like the way we played."

The Coyotes will likely be without center Boyd Gordon, who left Saturday after taking a blow to the head. Martin Hanzal has missed two straight games and six of seven with a lower-body injury.

Louis Domingue made 29 saves Saturday in his third straight start. Anders Lindback, who has a 3.94 goals-against average in three career starts against the Avalanche, will start Sunday.

"We'll go to Lindy tomorrow, it's a tough turnaround, two games in 24 hours," Tippett said.

Mikkel Boedker had three assists Saturday, but has scored just two of his team-high 11 goals in 11 games this month. Rookie Max Domi has scored twice in his last 18 games and Anthony Duclair has two in his past 12, with each having 10 for the season.

The Avalanche had won four straight over the Coyotes before falling 4-2 on the road Nov. 5. Arizona's Nicklas Grossmann scored two of his three goals this season in that contest.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Oilers (13-18) at Flames (15-16)

Date: December 27, 2015 9:00 PM EDT

Johnny Gaudreau has been held without a point at home only twice in 16 games. One of them was against the Edmonton Oilers, but a repeat performance is unlikely.

Gaudreau looks to continue his incredible scoring barrage as the Flames go for a franchise-record 11th straight home win Sunday night against the struggling Oilers.

Gaudreau leads Calgary (16-16-2) with 15 goals and 22 assists, but much of that damage has been done at Scotiabank Saddledome. The left wing has 13 goals and 14 assists while the Flames have gone 11-5-0 there.

All of those goals and seven of those assists have come during Calgary's 10-game home winning streak, which ties the team record set from Nov. 7-Dec. 12, 2006.

The Flames are aiming for the longest home winning streak in the NHL since Pittsburgh won 13 in a row from Nov. 15, 2013-Jan. 15, 2014.

Gaudreau has six goals in the last three games, netting his second hat trick during the winning streak in Tuesday's 4-1 victory over Winnipeg.

"I enjoy coaching him so much because not only is he skilled and a great scorer but he's a competitor," coach Bob Hartley said. "Second, third, fourth effort, it doesn't bother him. He gets on the ice, he's on a mission out there."

Gaudreau, though, has two goals in seven career meetings with Edmonton and no points in the last five, including two matchups this season.

The Flames fell 5-2 to the Oilers on Oct. 17 as part of their 0-4-0 start at home. However, they won 5-4 at Edmonton behind a hat trick from Michael Frolik on Oct. 31.

Frolik, though, has missed four games with an upper-body injury.

Sean Monahan has no points against the Oilers this season, but he's got 13 during a career-high nine-game streak at home.

Edmonton's 12 points on the road (5-13-2) rank only better than Anaheim's league-low 10. The Oilers are 2-8-2 in their last 12 as the visitors after giving up a goal with 59 seconds left in overtime to fall 2-1 at Vancouver on Saturday.

"I liked a number of our players coming out of the Christmas break," coach Todd McLellan told the team's official website. "I thought they had a little jump in their stride and made some plays. And then there was about five or six that I thought was pulling us down anchor-wise. And hopefully they give us better games (Sunday)."

Taylor Hall is in search of a bounce-back effort after he was held pointless while taking seven shots Saturday. His 15 goals lead the team, but he's failed to score in the past four games and has tallied once in the last 10 on the road.

Hall's struggles away from home have been evident with five goals and seven assists compared to 10 and 17 at home. However, the Calgary native has 14 points in 10 visits there, including one goal and two assists Oct. 17.

Leon Draisaitl also had a goal and two assists versus the Flames on Oct. 31. The center has nine of his career-high 30 points on the road, but only two in the past six.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Grand Salami - December

The Grand Salami in pro hockey is decided by adding up all the goals scored in every game scheduled for that particular day. You can wager on 'over' or 'under' the Grand Salami total. The total is set by adding up all listed 'over/under' odds for each game on that particular day.

Note: The Grand Salami will have no action if any game is suspended or cancelled before the regulation time of three twenty minute periods. Also, regardless of the number of goals scored during the shoot out portion of the overtime, the final scored recorded for the game will give the winning team on more goal than its opponent based on the score at the end of regulation time.

*The majority of sportsbooks do not put out a total on the Grand Salami when there is only one game on the card. For tracking purposes, we will continue to show the 'over/under' for goals and combined goals scored on days with just one game.


NHL GRAND SALAMI
Date No. of Games Total Goals Combined Goals Scored Result
12/1 10 53.5 51 UNDER
12/2 4 22.5 18 UNDER
12/3 8 41.5 37 UNDER
12/4 7 36 33 UNDER
12/5 10 52 54 OVER
12/6 7 36 37 OVER
12/7 3 16 15 UNDER
12/8 9 48.5 55 OVER
12/9 4 21.5 20 UNDER
12/10 7 37 44 OVER
12/11 7 36 37 OVER
12/12 10 52 47 UNDER
12/13 3 15 12 UNDER
12/14 5 25.5 24 UNDER
12/15 11 58.5 61 OVER
12/16 2 10.5 6 UNDER
12/17 11 59.5 56 UNDER
12/18 6 30.5 38 OVER
12/19 10 52 46 UNDER
12/20 6 31 42 OVER
12/21 8 42.5 54 OVER
12/22 10 54.5 45 UNDER
12/23 No games scheduled - - -
12/24 No games scheduled - - -
12/25 No games scheduled - - -
12/26 9 47.5 48 OVER
12/27 9 - - -
12/28 6 - - -
12/29 10 - - -
12/30 5 - - -
12/31 9 - - -

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NHL

Hot teams
-- Lightning won three of last five games.
-- Washington won its last six games, allowing ten goals.
-- Boston won five of its last seven games. Sabres won three of last five games.
-- Minnesota won four of its last six games.
-- Nashville won its last two games, 5-1/3-2.
--
Dallas Stars won six of their last eight games. Blues won four of last five. -- Arizona won last two games 3-2/1-0; they allowed 4+ goals in last seven losses.

Cold teams
-- Blue Jackets lost six of their last eight games.
-- Devils, Carolina both lost three of their last four games.
-- Canadiens lost nine of their last ten games.
-- Penguins lost five of their last six games.
-- Red Wings lost four of their last five games.
-- Los Angeles lost four of its last five games.
-- Edmonton lost three of its last four games. Vancouver lost four of its last six.

Series records
-- Lightning won four of last five games with Columbus.
-- Devils won six of last eight games with Carolina.
-- Washington won six of last nine games with Montreal.
-- Bruins won four of last five games with Buffalo.
-- Penguins won five of last six games with Minnesota.
-- Detroit won six of its last eight games with Nashville.
-- St Louis won its last three games with Dallas.
-- Kings lost three of last four visits to Arizona.
-- Canucks won five of last six games with Edmonton.

Totals
-- Six of last seven Columbus-Tampa Bay games stayed under.
-- Five of last six Carolina-New Jersey games stayed under.
-- Under is 7-2-1 in last ten Montreal-Washington games.
-- Under is 4-0-1 in last five Buffalo games.
-- Over is 3-1-1 in last five Minnesota games.
-- Five of last six Detroit-Nashville games went over .
-- Three of last four St Louis-Dallas games stayed under total.
-- Under is 4-2 in last six Arizona games.
-- Over is 5-3 in last eight Edmonton-Vancouver games.

Back-to-backs
-- None

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NBA notebook: Curry named AP Male Athlete of Year
By The Sports Xchange

Guard Stephen Curry, who led the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA title in 40 years and then helped the defending champions get off to a record-setting start this season, has been named the Associated Press 2015 Male Athlete of the Year.
Curry's record-setting shooting along with his dribbling and passing skills are changing the game. He has become the face of the NBA and the Warriors have become the NBA's must-watch team. Curry has improved his scoring from 23.8 points per game last season to 30.8 this year.
The 27-year-old Curry was the runaway winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as league MVP for the 2014-15 season after he led the Warriors to the title, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors got off to a NBA-record 24-game winning streak to start this season before losing. Golden State has the best record in the NBA at 28-1.
Curry finished first in a the AP vote by U.S. editors and news directors, with the results released Saturday. He joined LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird as the only basketball players to win the honor in the 85 years of the award.
Curry beat out golfer Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and American Pharoah, who became the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown.
American Pharoah got three more first-place votes than Curry's 24, but Curry appeared on 86 percent of the 82 ballots that ranked the top five candidates. More than one-third of the voters left American Pharoah off their list.
"That's a real honor," Curry said. "I'm appreciative of that acknowledgement because it's across all different sports. ... It's pretty cool."

---A rematch of the championship series between the Warriors and Cavaliers drew nearly 11 million viewers -- the most-watched NBA Christmas Day telecast since 2011.
The Warriors' 89-83 victory over the Cavaliers on ABC was a rematch of the most-watched NBA Finals in ABC history. Friday's game drew 10.923 million viewers, according to Fast Nationals from Nielsen. It was up 17 percent from the comparable Christmas Day game in 2014 between the Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
The average audience for the Oklahoma City Thunder-Chicago Bulls game on ABC also was up from last year, averaging nearly 6 million viewers. The ABC Christmas Day doubleheader average was up 13 percent from 2014.
This year's five-game telecast averaged 5.546 million -- up 6 percent compared to last year's five-game slate. The Heat-New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets-San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers-Lakers games also were on Christmas Day.
A record 34 million total minutes streamed across the five games. The Warriors-Cavs game generated 11 million total minutes streamed, the most ever for a Christmas Day game.

---Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers are struggling so mightily in his final season in the NBA that it's painful for his fans to watch one of the game all-time greats.
So imagine his surprise to learn that he is leading the early voting for the All-Star, by a wide margin.
Bryant has 719,235 votes, far ahead of runner-up Stephen Curry (510,202), the NBA's reigning MVP for the Warriors, and more than double LeBron James of the Cavaliers (357,937).
"Listen, I was making a little coffee run (Christmas) morning, got some gas and decided to just go on Instagram and peruse," Bryant told reporters. "(I) saw the damn votes, and I was like, 'What the hell?' Shocked doesn't do it justice. ... It's exciting. What can I say? Just thankful."
The 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto would be Bryant's 18th in his 20 seasons in the league, and he is second behind former Lakers and Bucks great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 19 appearances.
Bryant is averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30.5 minutes per game this season and the Lakers have a record of 5-25, worst in the Western Conference.