NHL Betting Info. 2/28

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Preview: San Jose at Vancouver
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
The Vancouver Canucks host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday in the first contest of their five-game series as a scheduling quirk has them playing the entire set in 33 days, including three in the next seven. Vancouver trails third-place San Jose by 10 points in the Pacific Division, but the Canucks’ best playoff hope – however bleak – comes in the wild-card race, where it trails Colorado by eight points with four games in hand on the Avalanche.
“With San Jose, we just have to make sure we’re focused on one game,” Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins told reporters. “If we get (this) one we can worry about the next.” The Canucks, who have lost seven straight to the Sharks at home, could be sellers as Monday’s trade deadline approaches as defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Radim Vrbata appear to be hot commodities. San Jose went shopping Saturday as they acquired goaltender James Reimer and minor-league forward Jeremy Morin from Toronto for goalie Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft. The Sharks, who are 1-2-1 in their last four games with the regulation losses to a pair of teams out of playoff position, are eight points behind first-place Los Angeles in the Pacific and four points back of red-hot Anaheim as those three fight it out for home ice in at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sportsnet (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (32-22-6): Joe Pavelski (team-high 26 goals) and Joe Thornton (club-most 42 assists) share the team lead in points (56) and in plus-minus at plus-19. Brent Burns scored twice in his last four games and leads NHL defenseman with 20 goals, and has 51 points this season while pulling within one of 400 in his career. The acquisition of the veteran Reimer gives San Jose the opportunity to spell Martin Jones (29-17-4, .916 save percentage in 51 games), who appeared in a combined 34 contests over his first two seasons while backing up Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-24-12): Hamhuis is attractive to a Stanley Cup contender in need of a steady veteran defenseman, who can log plenty of minutes but becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Vrbata (12 goals), also a soon-to-be UFA who is an NHL-worst minus-32, missed Thursday’s 5-3 victory over Ottawa after leaving last Sunday’s game with a leg injury and isn’t expected to play against the Sharks despite returning to the ice Friday. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski and forward Emerson Etem scored two goals apiece Thursday, giving them five and three, respectively, on the season.
OVERTIME
1. The Sharks lost to Buffalo 3-1 on Friday in a game with no penalties – the first such contest in San Jose club history.
2. Entering Saturday, San Jose had the No. 3 power play in the NHL at 22.5 percent after going 3-for-18 in its last seven games.
3. The Canucks host the Sharks on Thursday — after each plays one home game — and the clubs meet again in San Jose on Saturday.
PREDICTION: Sharks 3, Canucks 2

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Preview: Los Angeles at Anaheim
When: 9:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Hockey in Southern California has been heating up of late, and the race for the Pacific Division title could get even hotter when the second-place Anaheim Ducks host the division-leading Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Los Angeles raced out to a large lead in the Pacific before sliding back to the pack recently, but the club appears to have found its form despite struggling offensively as it enters the showdown with Anaheim with a four-game winning streak.
The Kings have scored only two goals in each victory — and fewer than three in seven straight contests — but have allowed a total of three tallies during the run after Jhonas Enroth blanked his former Buffalo team Saturday for his seventh career shutout. Anaheim is the only team in the Western Conference that has been playing better than Los Angeles, winning a season-high seven consecutive contests and earning points in nine straight (8-0-1) to pull within four of its regional rival. Captain Ryan Getzlaf has been a major contributor during the Ducks’ surge, as he is riding a 10-game point streak that includes six two-point performances. Anaheim is 16-2-1 since Jan. 13, with one of the regulation losses — as well as one of the victories — coming against Los Angeles.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE KINGS (37-20-4): Rob Scuderi began his second career stint with Los Angeles on Saturday and notched an assist for his fifth point in 43 games with three teams this season. The 37-year-old defenseman, who was acquired from Chicago on Friday, also played for the Kings from 2009-13 — winning the Stanley Cup in 2012. Tanner Pearson’s two-goal performance versus Buffalo was the third of his career and first since Oct. 26, 2014, against Columbus.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (33-19-8): Getzlaf has been kept off the scoresheet in only two of his last 21 games, collecting 27 of his team-leading 50 points in that span. His power-play goal in Friday’s overtime win against Edmonton gave Anaheim a man-advantage tally in seven consecutive games — its longest such streak since a seven-game run from March 25-April 5, 2009. Frederik Andersen has not lost in regulation since Dec. 21, going 11-0-1 with a 1.88 goals-against average and .931 save percentage since falling to the New York Islanders.
OVERTIME
1. The Ducks are 3-0-0 on their five-game homestand and have won six straight at Honda Center since falling to the Kings 3-2 on Jan. 17.
2. Los Angeles C Tyler Toffoli leads the team with 24 goals but has scored just one in his last 10 games.
3. Anaheim C Rickard Rakell has recorded six points in his last six contests, including his team-leading fifth game-winning goal Friday.
PREDICTION: Ducks 3, Kings 2

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Preview: NY Islanders at Edmonton
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
The New York Islanders attempt to remain perfect on their season-high road trip and secure in their position in the Metropolitan Division when they visit the cellar-dwelling Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. New York is 3-0-0 on its seven-game trek, allowing a total of two goals, and sits in third place in the Metropolitan – three points ahead of Pittsburgh and five behind the second-place New York Rangers.
Captain John Tavares has been on an offensive tear, registering eight of his team-leading 23 goals and 13 assists over his last 17 contests while being kept off the scoresheet only three times in that span. Edmonton will be glad to put an end to a horrific February as it is in the midst of seven-game slide (0-5-2) and has dropped 10 of its last 11 this month (1-8-2). Jordan Eberle reached a milestone Friday, netting the Oilers’ lone tally in a 2-1 overtime loss at Anaheim to hit the 20-goal plateau for the third straight season and fourth time in his six NHL campaigns. The Islanders look to sweep the two-game season series after routing the Oilers 8-1 at home on Feb. 7.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), Sportsnet 1 (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (33-19-7): Kyle Okposo is hoping a meeting with Edmonton will help him regain his scoring touch. The 27-year-old, who trails Tavares (50) by four points for the club lead, has gone eight games without a goal since registering his second career hat trick in the triumph over the Oilers earlier this month. Anders Lee and Mikhail Grabovski both need one goal to give the Islanders eight players in double digits.
ABOUT THE OILERS (22-34-7): Three days after shipping the rights to defenseman Philip Larsen to Vancouver, Edmonton continued its housecleaning prior to the trade deadline on Saturday, beginning early in the morning by dealing Anders Nilsson to St. Louis for fellow Swedish goaltender Niklas Lundstrom. Later in the day, Teddy Purcell – who ranked fifth on the team with 32 points – was sent to Florida and defenseman Justin Schultz to Pittsburgh, both for third-round picks in this year’s draft. “With expiring contracts, if you’re not going to move forward with them, you have to move them along,” general manager Peter Chiarelli told reporters.
OVERTIME
1. The Oilers recalled G Laurent Brossoit, who allowed one goal in a shootout loss to Winnipeg on Feb. 13, from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League.
2. Islanders C Frans Nielsen is two tallies away from the second 20-goal season of his career.
3. Edmonton rookie C Connor McDavid has been kept off the scoresheet in his last two games after collecting 16 points over his first 11 contests after returning from a fractured clavicle.
PREDICTION: Islanders 4, Oilers 2

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Re: NHL Betting Info. 2/28

Hot teams
— Washington won eight of its last ten games.
— Florida won three of its last five games.
— Lightning won last five games, allowing five goals in last four. Boston won three of its last four games.
— Vancouver won its last two games, 5-3/5-1.
— Anaheim won its last seven games. Kings won their last four games, allowing three goals.
— Islanders won seven of their last nine games.
Cold teams
— Chicago lost five of its last seven games.
— St Louis lost its last three games, outscored 13-4. Carolina lost three of last four.
— Minnesota lost last three games, scoring five goals.
— San Jose lost three of its last four games.
— Edmonton lost its last seven games.
Series records
— Blackhawks lost last four games with Washington.
— Carolina-St Louis split their last ten games.
— Minnesota won five of last seven games with Florida.
— Lightning won three of last four games with Boston.
— Road team won last eight San Jose-Vancouver games.
— Kings lost four of last five games with Anaheim.
— Home side won last ten Islander-Edmonton games.
Totals
— Over is 4-1-1 in last six Chicago games.
— Last three Carolina games stayed under the total.
— Four of last five Florida games stayed under total.
— Over is 7-3 in last 10 games for both Tampa Bay/Boston.
— Last six Vancouver games went over the total.
— Last seven Los Angeles games stayed under the total.
— Last five Islander games stayed under the total.
Back-to-backs
— St Louis is 4-2 on road if it played night before.
— Florida is 4-2 on road if it played night before.
— Los Angeles is 7-1 if it played the night before.