Wednesday 2/24/16 service plays chatter/comps/requests & other stuff...

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

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[superbeets]

Champions League TODAY 19:45

Dynamo Kiev

v

Man City

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BTEU		5/2	12/5	5/4	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT DYNAMO KIEV	RECENT FORM
HWAWAWHWAWHW​ Most recent​	2 - 0	HWAWAWHLHLAL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Dynamo Kiev have conceded one goal in their last six matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Manchester City rested players in the FA Cup defeat at Chelsea to be ready for this Champions League tie in Ukraine and Manuel Pellegrini's men look capable of grabbing a vital draw. Dynamo Kiev qualified ahead of Porto in the group stages but could be rusty having not played a match since December.

RECOMMENDATION: Draw
1


REFEREE: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Champions League TODAY 19:45

PSV Eindhoven

v

Atl Madrid

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BT2		7/2	5/2	17/20	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT PSV EINDHOVEN	RECENT FORM
HWAWHWAWAWHW​ Most recent​	0 - 3	HDHLALHWAWHD​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Atletico Madrid have won five of their ten games against Dutch opposition

EXPERT VERDICT: PSV are into the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since 2007 but have main goal threat Luuk de Jong suspended for the first leg. 2014 finalists Atletico Madrid were unbeaten in three away group games, are long odds-on to qualify and can win in Eindhoven.

RECOMMENDATION: Atletico Madrid
3


REFEREE: Daniele Orsato STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Europa League Th 25Feb 18:00

Liverpool

v

Augsburg

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BTEU		4/9	15/4	7	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT LIVERPOOL	RECENT FORM
HDALHDAD*AWAD​ Most recent​	Unknown	ADHDALHLHDAW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Liverpool are unbeaten in five European home games

EXPERT VERDICT: Despite the 0-0 draw, Liverpool were the better team in last week’s Europa League first-leg clash and the Reds should finish the job comfortably at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp may rest a few players ahead of the League Cup final, but his side had six shots on target to Augsburg’s two in Germany.

RECOMMENDATION: Liverpool
2


REFEREE: Clement Turpin STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Europa League Th 25Feb 20:05

Man Utd

v

Midtjylland

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BT2		2/9	6	15	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT MAN UTD	RECENT FORM
AWHWADALALAW​ Most recent​	Unknown	HWADALALHDHW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Memphis Depay has scored four European goals this term

EXPERT VERDICT: Midtjylland stunned Man United with a 2-1 first-leg victory last week at odds of 5-1, but the Red Devils can bounce back in Manchester. Memphis Depay, who seems to be saving his best performances for the European competitions, opened the scoring in Denmark and can repeat the trick at Old Trafford.

RECOMMENDATION: M Depay first goalscorer
1


REFEREE: Istvan Vad STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Europa League Th 25Feb 20:05

Tottenham

v

Fiorentina

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BT S		4/5	11/4	4	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT TOTTENHAM	RECENT FORM
AWAWHWAWADHL​ Most recent​	1 - 1	ADHWADHWHDAW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Fiorentina have scored eight goals in three European away games this season

EXPERT VERDICT: Both managers made changes to their usual side for last week’s 1-1 first-leg draw and it’s likely they will do the same again. However, Tottenham and Fiorentina are blessed with attack-minded midfielders that should lead to goals, particularly as the Italians need to score to qualify.

RECOMMENDATION: Both teams to score
2


REFEREE: Ovidiu Alin Hategan STADIUM:

 

[superbeets]

Europa League Th 25Feb 16:00

Lok. Moscow

v

Fenerbahce

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
BT2		7/4	23/10	9/5	More markets

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RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT LOK. MOSCOW	RECENT FORM
HLHLADHDAWAL​ Most recent​	Unknown	AWHWALHWHWAD​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Lokomotiv have won only two of their last 12 competitive matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Fenerbahce’s 2-0 win in the first leg was as comprehensive as it gets. Lokomotiv, without a competitive game since early December and minus top scorer Oumar Niasse who was sold to Everton, looked really rusty. They need to up their efforts to have any chance of going through though the Turkish Super Lig giants can punish them on the counter.

RECOMMENDATION: Fenerbahce
3

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Soccer: CL Best Bets - Round of 16
By Toby Maxtone-Smith

Champions League Round of 16 - First Legs

With the two favorites for the 2015-16 Champions League, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, not playing last week, there was little change in the outright betting for the tournament.

But it was still a very interesting week of games:

On Tuesday, Chelsea put in one of their best performances of the season only to lose 2-1 away to PSG, leaving the tie as balanced as it was before the match, and Benfica stole a late win over Zenit St Petersburg. On Wednesday a Cristiano Ronaldo strike gave Real Madrid a one-goal advantage going into their home leg against Roma, while Wolfsburg conceded two late goals away to Gent in a 3-2 victory.

Wednesday, Feb. 24
Games scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET on FS1 & FS2

Dynamo Kiev vs. Manchester City: Dynamo Kiev to win at 5/2

First of all, let’s get one obvious fact out of the way. Manchester City are better than Dynamo Kiev, and it would be a surprise if the Ukrainians made it through to the quarterfinals. However at 5/2 Dynamo Kiev look far too big. City are in appalling form (although their 5-1 defeat at Chelsea in the FA Cup can be discounted from this, given that they gave five players first team debuts), and Dynamo have a good home Champions League record.

Dynamo have won 14 of their 16 games in the Ukrainian Premier League while City have lost their last two league games - at home to fellow-title contenders Spurs and Leicester City. Both defeats showed that City’s vulnerability in big games persists, and there are many doubts over whether a squad low on confidence can find a good result in what will be an intimidating atmosphere in Kiev, against talented opposition.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Atletico Madrid: Atletico Madrid to win 1-0 at 5/1

Atletico Madrid have proved over a significant period of time that, despite their financial constraints, they are one of Europe’s best five or six sides. Despite a kind draw against PSV Eindhoven (they are 2/9 to qualify with PSV 16/5) they are still as big as 12/1 to win the Champions League.

For the first leg of the tie PSV are 4/1 with Atletico strong favorites at 17/20. But given that a draw would be a satisfactory result for Atletico this seems too short to back. A better bet may be to back a low-scoring game. Atletico’s last seven away Champions League games have yielded just nine goals. PSV, while prolific in the Eredivisie, only scored eight goals in six games to qualify from their group.

Atletico’s advantage in quality is big enough that a 1-0 win should not be too difficult, and at 5/1 this seems a good bet.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NHL notebook: Blues put G Elliott on IR
By The Sports Xchange

St. Louis Blues on Tuesday placed goaltender Brian Elliott on long-term injured reserve.
Elliott suffered a lower-body injury in the first period against San Jose on Monday. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated in four weeks. Jake Allen, who replaced Elliott, was activated earlier in the day after missing 17 games. To replace Elliott on the roster, the Blues recalled goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
Elliott, 30, has appeared in 34 games for the Blues this season, posting the NHL's fifth-best win percentage at .667 (17-7-6). He ranks fifth overall in goals against average (2.14) and third in save percentage (.929) while his recent stretch of 18 consecutive starts is the longest by any goaltender this season.

---A 1-month-old baby struck in the head by a hockey puck at the end of the Montreal Canadiens practice on Sunday has been released from the hospital.
Beatrice Meloche suffered a concussion when a struck in the head when players threw souvenirs to young fans who were at the practice. P.K. Subban's tossed puck knocked out the 1-month-old, who was given CPR and taken to Montreal Children's Hospital in stable condition.
The infant's mother, Valerie Meloche, told reporters she didn't think Subban realized what happened and she didn't blame the Canadiens defenseman. A Canadiens representative and family have met, and the Meloche family has been invited to watch a game from a safer location, a private suite at Bell Centre. Subban wants to meet the family.

---The Detroit Red Wings activated defenseman Niklas Kronwall from injured reserve and assigned defenseman Jakub Kindl to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
Kronwall was expected to play Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, coach Jeff Blashill told reporters on Monday. Kronwall missed the past 15 games because of arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 18. He has 17 points in 45 games this season.
Kindl, 29, has appeared in 25 games for the Red Wings this season, totaling six points, 14 penalty minutes, 13 hits and 15 blocked shots.

---St. Louis Blues forward Ryan Reaves will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for an incident with San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson during a game on Monday.
The incident occurred at 8:37 of the first period. Reaves was assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Tennyson left the game and did not return.
Tennyson went into the San Jose corner to retrieve the puck when Reaves drilled him into the boards from behind. Tennyson's body appeared to freeze before he fell to the ice unconscious during the Sharks' 6-3 win.

---The New York Rangers announced that defenseman Brady Skjei had been recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Skjei, 21, has skated in two games with the Rangers this season, registering two shots on goal and two penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 15 against Edmonton.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Canadiens (28-27) at Capitals (44-10)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Washington Capitals' sizable lead atop the NHL affords them the luxury of already preparing for a playoff run, something they clearly had in mind with their first in-season acquisition.

With Mike Weber potentially making his team debut, the Capitals go for a six-game home winning streak Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Washington (44-10-4) has a comfy 10-point edge on Western Conference-leading Dallas in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. It's also 17 points ahead of Florida for the top seed in the East.

The Capitals will ultimately be judged by what happens in the playoffs, and the pressure will be on after being ousted before the conference finals in seven of the past eight seasons despite winning five division titles and one Presidents' Trophy. They're also trying to shake the reputation of a finesse team that's unprepared for more rugged play in the postseason.

Weber, a tough defenseman, was acquired from Buffalo on Tuesday in the hopes that he can help prevent that from happening again.

"Mike is a stay-at-home defenseman, who plays a physical game and is respected by his teammates," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "We felt it was important to add depth to our blue line by adding another quality veteran defenseman."

The Capitals allow just 2.28 goals per game to rank behind only New Jersey's league-low 2.25.

They also lead the league with an average of 3.29 goals scored thanks in large part to Alex Ovechkin's NHL-leading 39.

Ovechkin is on a tear, scoring 11 goals during Washington's 9-1-0 run. He has two points in three straight games, netting a goal with an assist in a 3-2 win over Arizona on Monday.

"For us it doesn't matter how many points we're going to have," Ovechkin said of the Caps' chances at breaking the team-record 121 from 2009-10. "We just have to be in first place to make sure we're going to have home advantage. That's the most important thing."

He has just one assist in two games against Montreal (28-27-5) this season, but Washington has won both after taking the last meeting in 2014-15.

Braden Holtby is 8-0-2 with a 1.36 goals-against average in 10 career starts against the Canadiens, starting each of the last three matchups. He's 17-0-1 with a 2.03 GAA in 19 home starts since his most recent regulation loss on Oct. 28 against Pittsburgh.

Montreal, which is seven points back of the East's second wild-card spot, is 3-14-1 in its last 18 road games. The club has dropped five in a row while surrendering an average of 4.8 goals.

A 2-1 home loss to Nashville on Monday was the Canadiens' fourth in five overall, and bouncing back in Washington seems unlikely.

"We've got to go in there with the mindset that it's going to take a full 60 minutes, if not more, to beat a team like that," left wing Max Pacioretty told the team's official website. "We have to have that mindset that we're willing to do whatever it takes every shift."

Pacioretty leads the Canadiens with 21 goals, but he only has two in the last 14 and none in the past three versus the Capitals.

P.K. Subban doesn't have a point in the two matchups this season despite leading Montreal with 46.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Penguins (30-20) at Bruins (32-22)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Mike Sullivan's tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a bad start in December, and the Boston Bruins played a significant part.

Pittsburgh has fared much better lately even with Evgeni Malkin missing for much of this month, and he'll remain out at least one more game as the Penguins attempt to claim a rare win over the Bruins on Wednesday night.

Sullivan lost his first four games after taking over for the fired Mike Johnston on Dec. 12, including a home-and-home sweep to Boston in which the Penguins were outscored 9-2. Pittsburgh (30-20-8) is 15-6-5 since that skid and has gone 9-3-1 in its past 13.

"We're a very different team today than we were then," Sullivan told the team's official website. "Our mindset has changed. We've evolved."

The Penguins improved to 3-0-1 in their last four on the road with a 4-3 win over Buffalo on Sunday, their ninth consecutive game without Malkin. Rookie Scott Wilson scored for the third straight game after failing to do so in his first 12.

Malkin went through his first practice Tuesday since suffering a lower-body injury Feb. 2, but the team's second-leading scorer was ruled out of Wednesday's game. So was center Nick Bonino (hand), but he also returned to practice Tuesday after being sidelined since Jan. 12.

"It's a big step for them to join the team," Sullivan said.

Defenseman Ben Lovejoy, though, is expected to remain out "long term" because of an upper-body injury suffered in a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Pittsburgh will try to overcome that short-handed lineup to earn just its third win in 13 games against Boston, a stretch that began with a sweep in the 2013 Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins (32-22-6) are 5-0-1 in the past six home meetings, including the playoffs, and won 3-0 on Dec. 16 with Tuukka Rask stopping 34 shots.

Rask has started each of Boston's last 12 games against Pittsburgh, going 10-1-1 with a 1.35 goals-against average.

Boston has found it far more difficult keeping opponents off the scoreboard during a 1-3-1 slump at home, giving up 26 goals. Backup netminder Jonas Gustavsson allowed five in a 6-4 defeat to Columbus on Monday.

It was the Bruins' first home game since a 9-2 loss to Los Angeles on Feb. 9, the most goals they've allowed in eight seasons. Boston is 12-15-3 at home and 20-7-3 on the road.

"Whatever curse we have at home, we can't seem to find our energy or get the tempo of our game up," defenseman Joe Morrow said. "It has to change sooner than later. We don't have that much time left in the season to be able to turn it around. It's pretty unacceptable."

Patrice Bergeron doesn't have a point in five straight home games despite leading the team with 50. He scored twice in a 6-2 victory in Pittsburgh on Dec. 18.

Brad Marchand has only one goal in his past 17 regular-season matchups with Pittsburgh but has scored 15 in his last 16 contests overall. Loui Eriksson scored two Monday to give him seven goals in the past seven games.

Ryan Spooner has six of his career-high 40 points in this season's two meetings.

Pittsburgh's Kris Letang had no points in those matchups and only three in his last 10 games against the Bruins, including the playoffs. Former Bruin Phil Kessel doesn't have a point in three straight against Boston but has four goals in Pittsburgh's last five games.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Sharks (32-21) at Avalanche (31-27)

Date: February 24, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Both the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche recently looked to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs to help provide depth to their rosters.

While the visiting Sharks should have their two new additions available Wednesday night, the Avs might still be without their recent acquisition for the teams' final regular-season meeting.

Hours before San Jose (32-21-5) improved to 3-1-0 on a five-game trip with Monday's 6-3 win at St. Louis, it acquired veteran defenseman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling from Toronto for second-round picks in 2017 and 2018 and forward Raffi Torres. Third in the Pacific Division, the Sharks are one point behind Anaheim and very much in striking distance of first-place Los Angeles.

'We've put ourselves in a really good position and you make the determination on this team now with these added ingredients," San Jose general manager Doug Wilson said.

Polak remains a physical presence in his 10th season. He recorded one goal, 12 assists and was a career-high plus-8 in 55 games for the Maple Leafs.

On his fourth team in seven seasons, Spaling had only seven points in 35 games but should see plenty of time on the penalty kill.

"Roman and Nick are both quality, character players that will complement and enhance our current roster," Wilson said. "Our existing group of players has battled hard and they have earned the right to have every chance to succeed this season."

Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl each had two goals Monday as the Sharks improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games and 21-9-2 on the road. San Jose went 0 for 7 on the power play in the first three games of the trip but scored twice on a two-man advantage in the first period at St. Louis.

Thornton, who also had two assists, has 10 goals and 29 assists in his last 29 games. Three of those assists came while San Jose split its two home meetings with Colorado (31-27-4).

The Sharks have scored at least four goals in four of six contests, and totaled 13 in winning two of three from the Avs in 2015-16.

Hoping to bolster its group of forwards, Colorado acquired ninth-year center Shawn Matthias from Toronto on Sunday for rookie Colin Smith and a fourth-round pick.

In his return from missing five games with whiplash, Matthias scored his sixth of the season for the Maple Leafs on Saturday. However, he might not have a U.S. visa in time to make his Avalanche debut. When Matthias is ready, coach Patrick Roy appears set to line him up along side Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau.

"He's a big man and he's a good skater," Roy said of Matthias, who had a career-high 18 goals for Vancouver last season. "He's capable of playing on the penalty (kill). He's going to help."

The Avs recorded 38 shots but only Matt Duchene's 26th goal in the final minute of Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Canucks. They are 1 for 17 on the power play in the last five contests but 7 for 15 against the Sharks this season.

Three of Nathan MacKinnon's four goals in the last two games against San Jose came with the man-advantage. He registered a hat trick in the 6-3 victory over the Sharks on Dec. 28, but has gone five straight games without a point.

Couture has five goals and seven assists in 12 contests.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Sabres (24-29) at Ducks (31-19)

Date: February 24, 2016 10:30 PM EDT

The Anaheim Ducks of today hardly resemble the offensively challenged group that was blanked by the Buffalo Sabres a little more than two months ago.

One of the league's hottest clubs, the Ducks can avenge that defeat by matching a season high with their sixth consecutive victory Wednesday night against the visiting Sabres.

Following a 3-0 loss at Buffalo on Dec. 17, Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau called out his team, particularly his top players for their effort in that contest and pretty much overall up to that point. The defeat opened a 1-2-1 trip for the Ducks, who were a Western Conference-worst 12-15-6 and averaging a league-low 1.9 goals when it ended.

Following a four-day break, Anaheim (31-19-8) beat Philadelphia 4-2 to begin its current 19-4-2 run. The Ducks have averaged 4.0 goals while winning 14 of the last 17 and have scored at least five in four straight games for the first time in club history. They're amid a 12-1-1 stretch while continuing to put heat on Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles.

'It's been fun,' forward Ryan Kesler said. 'Every night, we go into the game thinking - not thinking, but knowing - we're going to win, and going out there with that attitude.'

Kesler had two goals with an assist as Anaheim returned from a 5-1-1 trip to defeat Calgary 5-2 on Sunday.

"We're playing good hockey and we're on a roll right now," defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. 'We don't want to see it slide. We want to play the right way."

Bieksa had one of two power-play goals for the Ducks, who are 8 for 18 in the last five.

'They're one of the best teams in the league right now, there's no doubt about it,' Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said. "Confidence is going a long way for them now."

Buffalo (24-29-7) resides near the bottom of the East but has blanked the Ducks seven times in 31 meetings, including Chad Johnson's 44-save effort in December, for its highest shutout-to-games ratio against any opponent. However, sweeping this season series could be tough without leading scorer Ryan O'Reilly.

The Sabres' 3-0-1 stretch ended with Sunday's 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh in their first game minus O'Reilly, who will miss three to four weeks with a lower body injury. Besides his team-high 49 points, O'Reilly leads the league in faceoffs won (848) and average ice time (21:51) among forwards.

"It's tough to replace him because you can't replace him," teammate Sam Reinhart told the Sabres' official website. "It's not going to be one or two guys; it's got to be everyone."

That now includes O'Reilly's brother, Cal, who was called up from Rochester of the AHL. Cal O'Reilly was third on that team with 28 points.

Buffalo, though, will be without defenseman Mike Weber after he was traded to Washington on Tuesday for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. Weber had a goal and four assists and averaged almost 16 minutes a game for the Sabres.

Evander Kane scored against the Ducks in December and has two goals with two assists in his last three at Anaheim.

Ryan Getzlaf has six points in the Sabres' last two visits. He enters this matchup on an eight-game point streak during which he has four goals and nine assists.

Teammate Frederik Andersen has a 1.75 goals-against average during his four-game home winning streak. He is 3-0-0 with a 1.34 GAA against the Sabres but hasn't faced them since October 2014.

Johnson, who posted his only shutout of the season against Anaheim, is rumored to be on the trading block and has not played since Feb. 12. Robin Lehner has started the past four games, giving up a combined two goals in the first three before allowing four Sunday.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Grand Salami - February

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
2/1 No games scheduled - - -
2/2 12 64.5 75 OVER
2/3 3 16 15 UNDER
2/4 12 64.5 77 OVER
2/5 4 21 27 OVER
2/6 12 62 67 OVER
2/7 3 16.5 17 OVER
2/8 4 20 20 PUSH
2/9 12 64.5 72 OVER
2/10 3 16.5 10 UNDER
2/11 9 49.5 66 OVER
2/12 7 35.5 47 OVER
2/13 10 52 56 OVER
2/14 5 25 24 UNDER
2/15 7 38.5 47 OVER
2/16 8 43.5 39 UNDER
2/17 3 16.5 21 OVER
2/18 11 60.5 68 OVER
2/19 5 26.5 24 UNDER
2/20 9 47 59 OVER
2/21 6 30.5 34 OVER
2/22 4 21 27 OVER
2/23 9 49.5 - -
2/24 4 - - -
2/25 10 - - -
2/26 5 - - -
2/27 9 - - -
2/28 7 - - -
2/29 6 - - -

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NHL

Hot teams
-- Washington won eight of its last nine games.
-- Penguins won three of their last four road games.
-- San Jose won three of its last four games. Colorado won four of its last six.
-- Anaheim won its last five games, scoring 24 goals.

Cold teams
-- Montreal lost four of its last five games.
-- Boston lost three of its last five games.
-- Sabres lost six of their last nine games.

Series records
-- Washington won five of last seven games with Montreal.
-- Bruins won six of last seven games with Pittsburgh.
-- Sharks won five of last six games with Colorado.
-- Ducks won four of last five games with Buffalo.

Totals
-- Under is 6-1-1 in last eight Montreal-Washington games.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Pittsburgh-Boston games.
-- Seven of last nine San Jose-Colorado games went over.
-- Over is 8-0-2 in last ten Anaheim games.

Back-to-backs
-- None

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NBA notebook: Grizzlies' Gasol has season-ending surgery
By The Sports Xchange

The Memphis Grizzlies announced Tuesday that center Marc Gasol underwent successful surgery on Saturday to repair a midfoot fracture in his right foot and will not return this season.
Gasol finished the year with averages of 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.35 blocks in 34.4 minutes in 52 games.
"Marc remains a cornerstone of our franchise and we are pleased to hear that the surgery went according to plan," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said.
Gasol is believed to have been injured in a Feb. 8 game against Portland.

---Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic remains sidelined as he continues recovering from surgery to his right Achilles.
The former first-round pick had surgery on April 8, 2015, and was able to return to action on Jan. 6 against Denver. He played in 12 games and averaged 4.5 points and 1. 8 rebounds. But he has been inactive the past eight games and the team confirmed that he will remain out indefinitely.
The team indicated the typical recovery period from that type of surgery is anywhere from nine to 15 months.

---Forward DeJuan Blair was a member of the Phoenix Suns for less than five days. As expected, the seven-year veteran was released late Monday after being acquired from the Washington Wizards in a deal that involved forward Markieff Morris last Thursday.
In addition to Blair, the Suns acquired forward Kris Humphries and a protected first-round draft pick for Morris.
Blair averaged 2.1 points and two rebounds in 29 games for the Wizards this season. For his career, Blair is averaging 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The move Monday leaves Phoenix with an open spot on the 15-man roster.

---After Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was bitten by bed bugs during the weekend in Oklahoma City, Hilton Hotels apologized.
Irving played only nine minutes in Sunday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after he said he got only three hours of sleep because of his encounter with the little critters on his pillow at the Skirvin Hilton forced him onto a couch, leading to tightness in his back.
The Hilton chain said in a statement that health inspectors found no other signs of bed bugs in Irving's suite or adjacent rooms and that it was sorry about the inconvenience.
The Cavaliers said Sunday that Irving was suffering from flu-like symptoms, forcing him to leave the game. But, in reality, he was dealing with a lack of sleep and the aftereffects of bug bites.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Knicks (24-34) at Pacers (30-26)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Indiana Pacers were left lamenting a costly defeat in their quest for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs their last time out.

That advantage has been evident when they have faced the New York Knicks.

The Pacers have beaten the Knicks nine straight times at home including the postseason heading into Wednesday night's first 2015-16 matchup between these clubs.

Indiana (30-26) fell short in its bid for a perfect three-game trip with Monday's 101-93 overtime loss to Miami. The Pacers blew an early 14-point lead and fell two games behind the Heat and Boston - teams they are chasing for a top-four Eastern Conference finish.

'We control the game for so long and then it's always late in the game where it gets away from us," star forward Paul George said. "It's always been the story and really our history here.'

The Pacers' recent history against New York (24-34) has been kinder with a four-game sweep last season that included two more wins in Indianapolis. Indiana's nine-game run at home in this series includes three victories in the 2013 conference semifinals.

Indiana only faced Carmelo Anthony once a season ago and is getting its first look at Kristaps Porzingis, who is third among rookies with 13.9 points per game.

Porzingis has been a bright spot during a stretch in which New York has dropped eight of nine and 12 of 14. The Knicks were blown out at home Monday by Toronto 122-95.

"We just weren't connected defensively all night," interim coach Kurt Rambis said.

The Knicks allowed the Raptors to shoot 52.9 percent and spent a good portion of Tuesday's practice working on defense, with team president Phil Jackson observing. They have struggled to defend the 3-point arc in the last four games, allowing foes to make 40 of 80 attempts.

Prior to this dismal stretch, New York was in contention for a playoff spot and now seems likely to miss out for the third straight season. This is its fifth game since Rambis replaced Derek Fisher as coach.

"Regardless of the record, just losing, accepting that, it is hard to accept that," Anthony said. "You can't be satisfied with losing basketball games."

Porzingis is averaging 16.5 points on 46.4 percent shooting in his last six games. His worst effort in that span was a six-point performance in Saturday's 103-95 win over Minnesota that ended New York's seven-game road slide.

It won't be easy for New York to prevail in Wednesday's return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Its last win there was a 102-88 victory March 17, 2012, that came when Jeremy Lin was enjoying his flash-in-the-pan success for the Knicks.

George is averaging 25.3 points in his last seven after scoring 31 with 11 rebounds against the Heat. The Pacers were hurt by Monta Ellis going 2 of 17 for seven points after he totaled 48 in the first two games of the trip as Indiana dropped to 0-6 in road games on the second of back-to-back days.

"I thought late in the game we were a little fatigued," George said. "Guys were banged up. We tried, this is a game that we felt we should've won."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Hornets (29-26) at Cavaliers (40-15)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

LeBron James has played more games than any player in the league since the Cleveland Cavaliers made him the No. 1 overall pick out of high school in 2003.

He prides himself on his durability and habits to quickly heal his aching body, but it's becoming apparent he'll need some rest before the Cavs attempt another deep playoff run.

James certainly doesn't have plans to take himself out of the lineup, though, despite Cleveland playing its third game in four days Wednesday night against a Charlotte Hornets team trying to win five straight on the road for the first time in more than 14 years.

James played his 1,143rd career game on Monday, a total that includes six trips to the NBA Finals and two championships with Miami. After 14 consecutive 20-point games, James tied his season low with 12, shot 5 of 18 from the field, missed all four of his 3-point attempts and committed six turnovers as Cleveland (40-15) fell 96-88 to Detroit at home.

Coach Tyronn Lue admitted he considered resting James for the second of a back-to-back set after the Cavs beat Oklahoma City on Sunday, then decided against it.

"One night he doesn't have the legs and that's fine," said Kyrie Irving, who scored 30 points after playing only nine minutes against the Thunder following an overnight battle against hotel bed bugs. "We just have to pick it up from everybody on the team."

Kevin Love scored 24 points, but the performances from him and Irving weren't enough to overcome come James' struggles. Cleveland has a three-game lead on Toronto atop the Eastern Conference, and Lue seems to have plans to rest multiple players, including James, if it gets closer to locking up home-court advantage in the playoffs.

"There's nothing to talk about," James said. "I mean, obviously, if coach Lue wanted to sit me I'll follow his orders, but for me I'm available every night, unless I'm injured. I've been hurt all year, but unless you injured, you play, so I'm OK with that."

Charlotte (29-26) lost Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the season following shoulder surgery last Wednesday and didn't have Kemba Walker or Al Jefferson on Feb. 3 against Cleveland, but Jeremy Lin finished with 24 points to help beat the Cavaliers 106-97.

That victory was the second of seven during an eight-game stretch for the Hornets, who are tied with Chicago for seventh in the East.

Jefferson returned for Friday's win over Milwaukee after missing the previous 23 following knee surgery, then hit 9 of 13 from the field and scored 18 points in Sunday's 104-96 win over Brooklyn.

Walker scored 28 for Charlotte, which has won a season-high five straight overall and the first three of a six-game trip.

"You've got to get ready for the next game,' Jefferson said. 'It's a great feeling as of right now. We're playing well, especially winning games on the road, but we've still got a long road trip to go.'

The Hornets are on the verge of winning five consecutive road games for the first time since Jan. 29-Feb. 20, 2002, and were 6-17 away from home prior to this run. They lost 129-90 in their last trip to Cleveland on Jan. 23, 2015.

"We know that we have to play better on the road, and that's what we're trying to do,' Walker said.

Irving didn't play Nov. 27 in Charlotte as James finished with 25 points and 13 boards and Love added 18 and 16 rebounds in Cleveland's 95-90 win.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: 76ers (8-48) at Pistons (28-29)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Stan Van Gundy, president of basketball operations, had every right to take into account health concerns when he vetoed a trade that could've added to the Detroit Pistons' depth.

He had no idea how that would affect Stan Van Gundy the head coach.

Detroit suddenly is without two forwards for at least the next couple of weeks of its playoff push, but it will try to build on a victory over the Eastern Conference's top team when the league-worst Philadelphia 76ers visit Wednesday night.

Van Gundy acquired Tobias Harris from Orlando last week before agreeing to send Joel Anthony to Philadelphia at the trade deadline in a three-team deal that would give Houston a protected first-round pick in exchange for big man Donatas Motiejunas and guard Marcus Thornton.

Motiejunas, though, failed a pair of physical exams because of lingering back problems, and Van Gundy voided the deal. It was a good thing there were no issues with the Harris trade.

Anthony Tolliver will miss two to four weeks because of a right knee sprain, and Van Gundy said in a radio interview Tuesday that rookie Stanley Johnson will be "probably out a couple weeks" after injuring his shoulder in the second half of Monday's 96-88 win at Cleveland.

That's bad news for the Pistons (28-29), who are two games back of Charlotte and Chicago for the East's final playoff spot. Reggie Bullock, who has appeared in only 19 games and hasn't played more than seven minutes since Nov. 15, is expected to see time in place of Johnson.

"We're going to have to play really well right now," Van Gundy said. "We're very thin up front. We came out of the game (Monday) with Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris as our only forwards to play the 3 and 4 spots."

The game went well overall, though. Detroit had lost a season-high five straight, with the disappointment lingering over the All-Star break. It hadn't won since beating New York on Feb. 4

Reggie Jackson scored 23 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 19 and Andre Drummond added 16 and 15 rebounds. Morris and Harris scored 14 points apiece.

'We're desperate, man,' Jackson said. 'We've got to be hungry for every last win after dropping the last five. We've been trying to find a way to battle and be resilient, and I couldn't be more proud of the guys for stepping up with us so shorthanded.'

The Sixers (8-48) have lost five in a row while allowing an average of 124.7 points over their last three after falling 124-115 to Orlando on Tuesday. Their 54.4 field-goal percentage marked their third-highest of the season, but they fell behind early and couldn't recover.

Ish Smith finished with 22 points, and Nerlens Noel had 16 and 11 boards. Rookie Jahlil Okafor had 17 points after finishing with a season-high 31 in Sunday's loss to Dallas.

'The energy's not where we need it to be,' coach Brett Brown said. 'That starting group's got to get going, really. We need better defense from that starting group.'

The Sixers have shown that a good start doesn't mean much, though. They led Detroit by eight after the first quarter in the last meeting Jan. 27, but Jackson scored 27 points and Drummond finished with 25 and 18 rebounds in a 110-97 win. The Pistons led by 21 after the first 12 minutes and won 117-95 in the first matchup Dec. 11.

Philadelphia might be short a reserve in this one. Rookie guard T.J. McConnell left in the third quarter with a sprained ankle and didn't return, leaving his status against the Pistons unclear.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Timberwolves (18-39) at Raptors (37-18)

Date: February 24, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

DeMar DeRozan has now played in more Toronto Raptors' victories than anyone, including a bevy at home recently.

The Raptors will seek to match the longest single-season home winning streak in franchise history Wednesday night by adding to the Minnesota Timberwolves' woes in Toronto and on the road in general.

DeRozan played in his 233rd victory in his seventh season with the Raptors in a 122-95 rout in New York on Monday. He scored 22 points to tie for team high with Kyle Lowry, who also had 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his first triple-double this season.

DeRozan broke a tie with Chris Bosh and Morris Peterson to become the team's winningest player.

"It sounds good saying it, honestly," DeRozan said. "I mean, it's an honor for me, man. I've been here, it felt like since the beginning, and just to have that, that's big."

He could help Toronto (37-18) make more history this week. The Raptors have won eight consecutive home games and haven't had a longer streak in one season since a franchise-record run of nine straight March 7-April 4, 1999. They won 10 in a row across the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.

It would seem they are getting the ideal opponent. Minnesota (18-39) has lost 13 of 14 on the road and 11 straight in Toronto, currently its longest road losing streak versus any opponent. The Timberwolves are 3-17 there all-time.

The Raptors, however, blew an 18-point lead and lost 117-112 in Minnesota on Feb. 10 despite DeRozan matching a season high with 35 points.

Toronto native Andrew Wiggins had 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter in the comeback win and has totaled 51 in the past two matchups. Wiggins, regularly cheered in the recent Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend in Toronto, scored 15 in his only previous regular-season game in his hometown March 18. He's averaging 23.0 in eight contests this month.

Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns had a career-high 35 points against the Raptors and scored 28 in a 124-122 victory over Boston on Monday, when the Timberwolves nearly blew a 10-point lead in the final 75 seconds.

"It's great to have a 'W,' but for me personally I'm just not happy with the way we played at the end," Towns said. "That's us, especially me. We've got to do a better job."

Towns has averaged 23.8 points and 12.7 rebounds in the last six games. All but one of those was at home, however, and he is averaging 14.0 points in three road games this month.

Ricky Rubio is averaging 6.7 points on 28.0 percent shooting in his last seven road games.

The Timberwolves might need to keep leaning on Towns as they'll have a depleted frontcourt for their three-game road trip.

Nikola Pekovic remains out indefinitely as he continues to deal with discomfort from Achilles surgery in April, which has limited him to 12 games. Reserve forward Nemanja Bjelica has a strain in his right foot and is not expected to return until next month at the earliest. Kevin Garnett is doubtful for Wednesday's game because of a sore right knee that's kept him out since Jan. 23.

The Raptors are relatively healthy, aside from DeMarre Carroll's knee injury, as they enter a stretch in which they'll play nine of 10 at home.