NHL Betting Info. 3/20

[TheGame]

NHL notebook: Maple Leafs make emergency call-ups
By The Sports Xchange


The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled forwards Frederik Gauthier and Josh Leivo on an emergency basis Saturday from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Gauthier, 20, has collected 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 52 games with the Marlies this season. He has yet to make his NHL debut after being selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round (21st overall) of the 2013 NHL draft.
Leivo, 22, has scored four goals in nine games with the Maple Leafs this season while recording 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 45 games with the Marlies. He was selected by Toronto in the third round of the 2011 draft.


--The Buffalo Sabres assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.
Ruhwedel, 25, was recalled and played in the Sabres' 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday night, recording two penalty minutes and one shot on goal in 15:30 of ice time. He has totaled 22 points in 46 AHL games this season, leading all Rochester defensemen with eight goals. Ruhwedel had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his last 12 games before joining the Sabres on his first recall this season.
The San Diego native has appeared in 33 career games with the Sabres since making his NHL debut in the 2012-13 season. He has two assists with the Sabres.


--The Buffalo Sabres recalled forward Daniel Catenacci from Rochester of the AHL.
Catenacci has played 10 games for the Sabres this season. In 42 games with Rochester, he has nine goals and 11 assists.

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Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Ducks (39-22) at Jets (29-37)


Date: March 20, 2016 3:00 PM EDT


The Anaheim Ducks' inconsistent play at the offensive end has made for some frustrating times recently, but at least they've been able to count on some solid goaltending - no matter who's in net.


That's bad news for a Winnipeg Jets team struggling to score lately.


Anaheim begins a five-game road trip through Canada looking to beat the Jets for the 10th straight time Sunday.


The Ducks (39-22-9) have dropped four of their last six, scoring two or fewer goals in each defeat. They've been efficient offensively in each victory, though, beating New Jersey 7-1 on Monday before a 4-0 win over Boston on Friday.


Coach Bruce Boudreau tinkered with his lines against the Bruins and put Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf together. Both assisted on Jamie McGinn's goal in the first before Getzlaf added another assist on Hampus Lindholm's third-period tally.


"It's always good to go on the road trip feeling good with a win, especially one that's going to be as tough as this one," Boudreau said. "If you go in and you'd lost two in a row, then all of a sudden it's a different mindset. But we have a better mindset going into Winnipeg."


Frederik Andersen got the start in net after John Gibson said he was feeling ill shortly before faceoff. Andersen made 38 saves in his fifth career shutout and is 15-1-1 with a 1.80 goals-against average in 16 starts and two relief efforts since Jan. 13.


Gibson ranks among the league leaders with a 2.07 GAA, giving Anaheim a solid tandem in net that has allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of the last 14. Boudreau said there's a good chance both will get starts in the playoffs.


'It doesn't happen too often, but I don't think too often you have goalies as equal as we have,' Boudreau said. "Both goalies are pushing each other to be better every night. When that happens, you're going to be successful."


Andersen was in net exclusively in last year's playoffs as the Ducks came within a victory of reaching the Stanley Cup Final. That run included a first-round sweep of the Jets, giving Andersen a 2.45 GAA while winning all eight of his career starts against Winnipeg.


Gibson made 19 saves to beat the Jets (29-37-5) in the first meeting Jan. 3, when Rickard Rakell and Kevin Bieksa had a goal and an assist apiece in a 4-1 victory. It's unclear who will be in goal for this matchup as the Ducks try to avoid a third straight road loss.


They'll face five Canadian teams all outside the playoff picture during this trip that begins at Winnipeg, which has struggled to score in back-to-back defeats. It lost 4-1 at Calgary on Wednesday before Friday's 4-0 home loss to Chicago.


The Jets have gone 4-13-1 in their last 18 at home. Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves in the opener of a four-game homestand.


'I don't think we played that bad,' Pavelec said. 'We had some chances, we couldn't score. But 4-0 is 4-0, right? So, you can't really be happy about it."


The Jets have scored fewer than three goals in five of their last seven and have been outscored by 15 during their nine-game skid against the Ducks.


"You've got to put the puck in the net to win hockey games," defenseman Tyler Myers said. "It's tough to chase the game and that's what we ended up doing."

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Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Blue Jackets (29-34) at Devils (34-31)


Date: March 20, 2016 5:00 PM EDT


The New Jersey Devils' faint playoff hopes took another hit when they couldn't solve their recent woes against the Columbus Blue Jackets.


The Devils, though, will get another chance to break the Blue Jackets' dominance in the series Sunday while extending Columbus' road losing streak.


New Jersey's deficit in the Eastern Conference playoff race can be attributed in part to its performance against the lowly Blue Jackets. The Devils suffered their sixth consecutive loss to Columbus when they gave up three goals in the third period Saturday.


"The good thing about hockey is you play a lot of games," said New Jersey forward Kyle Palmieri, who had two goals and an assist. "We're fortunate we have them (Sunday) in our own building. It's time to get some redemption and salvage something from the series this season."


New Jersey rallied from an early 3-0 deficit but Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his first two NHL goals to lead Columbus to a 6-3 win.


"I was just trying to play hard and get pucks to the net. I was lucky to get a good bounce in the third period," said Bjorkstrand, who was playing his second game. "I've got to rest up and get ready for (Sunday)."


With Detroit's 5-3 victory against Florida, New Jersey (34-31-7) fell eight points behind the Red Wings for the East's final playoff spot with 10 games remaining.


"It's more the challenge of trying to beat (the Blue Jackets), that's the focus right now," Devils coach John Hynes said. "I don't necessarily believe in bad matchups. We have to do a better job collectively to beat them."


The Blue Jackets (29-34-8) snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday and scored a combined three goals in those games. They have scored two goals in a string of three consecutive road defeats and will seek to end that by earning their fourth straight win in New Jersey.


Columbus has collected two of those victories this season, giving up one goal in each. Its four overall wins in this season's series are its most, topping its three in 2013-14.


With Sergei Bobrovsky starting Saturday, the Blue Jackets will likely send out Joonas Korpisalo in their attempt to send the Devils to their sixth loss in eight home games.


Korpisalo stopped 25 shots in his only matchup against the Devils on Feb. 25, a 6-1 rout in Columbus. Nick Foligno registered his second career hat trick in that game but has not scored one in nine subsequent contests.


Foligno has six goals and five assists in his last 11 matchups with the Devils. Matt Calvert has six points in his past three and scored the deciding goal in Columbus' most recent visit to New Jersey, a 2-1 victory Nov. 25.


With Cory Schneider still likely out because of his ailing knee, it's unclear if Yann Danis or Keith Kinkaid will get the task of trying again to stop the Blue Jackets.


Danis replaced Kinkaid in the second period Saturday but hasn't started an NHL game since March 18, 2010, during his first stint with the Devils.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Capitals (51-14) at Penguins (39-24)


Date: March 20, 2016 6:00 PM EDT


It's hard to believe Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have only met once in the playoffs, an epic seven-game series won by the Pittsburgh Penguins on their way to lifting the Stanley Cup seven years ago.


At some point next month, there might finally be a rematch.


A first-round showdown between the Penguins and league-best Capitals is looking less likely, but a five-game winning streak heading into Sunday's visit from Washington has Pittsburgh looking like a team that could do some postseason damage - provided it gets there.


The Capitals (51-14-5) are a few points from wrapping up home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference and not long after that should nail down the second Presidents' Trophy in franchise history.


They'd only outscored opponents 40-39 in non-shootout goals in a monthlong stretch prior to posting a four-goal gap in wins over Carolina on Tuesday and Nashville on Friday, so the best team in hockey insists there's still room for improvement.


'Maybe we got a little complacent for a bit with our point situation,' winger Daniel Winnik said after scoring twice in the 4-1 victory over the Predators. "But we know leading down this final 12 games that it's going to be playoff hockey, and we've got to get ourselves prepared for what's going to happen at the end of the regular season.'


The Capitals found themselves out of the playoffs after seven games when they collected 121 points while winning their other Presidents' Trophy in 2010, and they're currently on pace for 125 - which would be the most in the league in 20 years.


Drawing a Pittsburgh team that has the East's best goal differential at plus-23 over the past two months might not sound too appealing, particularly considering Crosby leads the league in goals (22, one more than Ovechkin) and points (47) in 2016.


The Penguins' prospects of playing in a 10th consecutive postseason look considerably better after Saturday. Pittsburgh began the day as the East's wild-card leader, ahead of Detroit and four points better than the ninth-place Flyers, and it opened up a six-point cushion on Philadelphia with a 4-1 victory.


The Penguins (39-24-8) are now firmly in the mix for one of the Metropolitan's Division final two automatic playoff berths along with the New York Rangers and Islanders.


'I thought it was the most complete game that we've played to this point at both ends of the rink,' coach Mike Sullivan said. 'When it came time to play defense, we defended hard. Our attention to detail was really good and everyone trusted each other out there. When we play that way, we're very hard to play against.'


The Capitals have had the better of the Penguins since Barry Trotz took over, winning five of seven meetings while outscoring Pittsburgh 21-11. That includes two wins in three meetings this season despite not getting a point from Ovechkin.


Crosby has an 11-game point streak but hasn't had a lot of luck against Washington lately, scoring once with an assist in his last seven games.


Braden Holtby should be in net for the Capitals as he has for each meeting against Pittsburgh the last two seasons. It won't be easy to improve on his .954 save percentage and 1.44 goals-against average.


The Penguins' goaltending situation isn't quite as clear. Marc-Andre Fleury started Saturday, meaning another Sunday would be just the eighth time in four seasons he's played both ends of a back-to-back. An .891 save percentage in those situations offers some reasonable insight as to why he's been limited.


Backup Matt Murray, who stopped 34 shots in a 3-2 loss to Washington on March 1, hasn't allowed more than two goals in his six other NHL starts.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Flames (30-35) at Canadiens (33-33)


Date: March 20, 2016 7:00 PM EDT


The Montreal Canadiens' most recent win against the Calgary Flames came during a much better time for the storied franchise.


The Canadiens are currently limping down the stretch but will try to earn another victory over the Flames, who will give goaltender Niklas Backstrom his first NHL start in 14 months Sunday night.


Montreal blew out Calgary 6-2 on Oct. 30 as part of its 19-4-3 start. The Canadiens haven't been the same since early December, going 14-29-3 not long after losing star goaltender Carey Price, and a 5-0 defeat in Ottawa on Saturday was their seventh in 10 games.


They gave up three short-handed goals to the Senators in their worst loss since being routed 6-1 by Colorado on Nov. 14.


"It was a tough night," Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty said. "It's the NHL. You've got to show up and play hard and it didn't happen. We just gave them three goals."


Montreal (33-33-6) has also dropped back-to-back home games by an 8-2 margin after going 7-0-1 in its previous eight. The Flames (30-35-6) are heading into the Bell Centre after going 2-0-1 to finish a six-game homestand.


Calgary will begin a three-game trip and a stretch of seven of eight on the road with a new goaltender. Backstrom was acquired Feb. 29 from Minnesota, where he was stuck behind Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper on the depth chart.


Backstrom hasn't played for any other team but the Wild since entering the league in 2006-07, registering a franchise-record 194 wins and 28 shutouts in 409 appearances. He played his most recent NHL game Jan. 13, 2015.


"He came in with a great attitude, lots of energy, lots of work on the ice, in the gym," coach Bob Hartley told the team's official website. "He works relentlessly so we felt that we needed to be honest with him also and that's why he's going to get the start in Montreal."


Backstrom has made all three of his starts against the Canadiens in Montreal, going 1-1-0 with a 2.45 goals-against average. He also appeared in the 2009 All-Star Game there, his only appearance in that showcase.


"You want to go out there and compete against other teams, but compete against yourself too to see where you are. For sure it's fun to have a date now," Backstrom said.


With Ben Scrivens starting Saturday's loss, Montreal is expected to send out Mike Condon for this game. The rookie defeated Calgary in October.


The Canadiens, however, won't have the player who recorded a hat trick against the Flames in that game since Dale Weise was traded to Chicago on Feb. 26.


Calgary, meanwhile, has a red-hot Mark Giordano, who has scored a goal in three straight games, including a 4-3 shootout defeat to Colorado on Friday. The defenseman also has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last eight contests and six (three goals, three assists) in his past six matchups with Montreal.


Josh Jooris has three goals in his last two games against the Canadiens, but he has just one goal and three assists in his past 27 contests.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Wild (33-28) at Blackhawks (42-24)


Date: March 20, 2016 8:30 PM EDT


The Chicago Blackhawks beat up on a last-place squad with nothing more than pride to play for and snapped out of their slump.


Solving Minnesota has been much more difficult.


The Wild have won all three meetings this season against the club that knocked them out of the playoffs the past three years, and they'll look to improve their chances of returning to the postseason when they visit the United Center on Sunday night.


Chicago (42-24-6) has slipped to third in the Central Division while going 6-8-2 since Feb. 9, a stretch that includes a 3-5-1 mark at home. It dropped four in a row before winning 4-0 at Western Conference-worst Winnipeg on Friday.


NHL points leader Patrick Kane notched his 39th goal and 53rd assist to help the Blackhawks match their goal total from their previous three games.


'Looking at a four-game slide there, maybe it's better it happens now rather than later in the season and playoffs and then you're done,' Kane said. 'We can learn from this. And, you know, if we lose one or two down the road here we can look back on this situation as a team and as a group and realize how we got ourselves out of it.'


Scott Darling made 28 saves in his second straight start in place of Corey Crawford, who didn't make the trip and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury.


"I think (Darling) needed a game like that, and we needed a win like that," coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was great for him. We've had a tough stretch. We have lost a ton of ground, and teams are right around us."


Minnesota (33-28-11) is 13 points back of Chicago, but that disparity hasn't shown through in head-to-head meetings. The Wild have held the Blackhawks to one goal in each of the last two matchups and trounced them 6-1 outdoors in the Stadium Series on Feb. 21.


They've made three consecutive playoff appearances, only to be knocked out by Chicago each time - including last year's second-round sweep. Minnesota has gone 9-6-1 since replacing Mike Yeo with former Blackhawks assistant John Torchetti and trails Colorado by a point for the West's final playoff spot.


It dropped four of its previous five before Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise scored in the shootout for a 3-2 win over Carolina on Saturday. Thomas Vanek, who hasn't scored in his last 10 games, was a healthy scratch for the third time this season.


'Obviously for us, everything is about winning right now,' said Jason Zucker, who scored in the third. 'Making sure we're doing the right things to get these wins and get these points. Obviously it felt good to get that win.'


Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves to bounce back from Thursday's loss to the New Jersey, when he allowed three goals on eight shots and was pulled toward the end of the first period. He has a .935 save percentage while winning each meeting with Chicago this season, and Torchetti could elect to play him on back-to-back days with backup Darcy Kuemper nursing an upper-body injury.


Quenneville hasn't said if Crawford, who has lost both of his starts this season against the Wild, will be ready to go. He allowed 11 goals while losing his last three starts before the injury.


Kane has 10 goals and nine assists while recording at least a point in 12 of his last 13 against Minnesota, including the playoffs.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Avalanche (37-31) at Oilers (29-38)


Date: March 20, 2016 9:30 PM EDT


As they try to overcome the loss of several players and hold on to a postseason spot, the Colorado Avalanche are feeling fortunate that they picked up Mikkel Boedker last month.


Captain Gabriel Landeskog is set to return, but Boedker will try to continue his strong play as Colorado chases its fifth win in six games Sunday night against the improving Edmonton Oilers.


Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said his team's depth would be tested on this four-game trip with Landeskog suspended, and leading scorer Matt Duchene and Chris Bigras out with injuries. That was even before Nathan MacKinnon and Eric Gelinas went down in Friday's 4-3 win at Calgary.


After a slow start since coming over from Arizona at the trade deadline, Boedker has come alive just at the right time. The veteran left wing had two goals in Wednesday's 3-1 victory at Vancouver before finishing with an assist and the lone shootout goal against the Flames.


Boedker has three goals and six points in his eight games with the Avs (37-31-4). He'll try to add to those numbers in Edmonton, where he's totaled four goals and three assists in his last six.


"We knew he was going to help our team speed. We were a fast team as it was, but he's really fit in well," defenseman Erik Johnson told the team's official website. "We all really like him, and it's good to see how he's fit in. He's played really, really well for us, so it's been a great addition."


Landeskog will be back after serving a three-game suspension for a high cross-check to Anaheim's Simon Despres on March 9. Bigras returned from a head injury Friday, though Duchene remains day to day and MacKinnon and Gelinas could be out for a while.


Since back-to-back wins followed a 3-2 loss at Winnipeg in the opener of the trip, Colorado remains in a tight race with Minnesota for the Western Conference's final wild-card spot. The club is hoping to cap the road swing with its longest winning streak since a four-game run in January.


The Avs pulled out a 5-1 home win over the Oilers on Dec. 19 before a 3-2 road victory Feb. 20. Defenseman Tyson Barrie has played well, totaling three goals and two assists in the series.


Edmonton (29-38-7), however, has won seven of its last 11 games heading into this matchup. Jordan Eberle and Matt Hendricks each scored in Friday's 2-0 home win over Vancouver.


Cam Talbot, who finished with 40 saves, has a 1.66 goals-against average in winning seven of his last nine starts. He's given up a total of six goals while splitting his two meetings with the Avs.


"You look at the best teams in the league and they all have that goaltending," Eberle told the team's official website. "Maybe some nights your team is a little off and you have that goalie there to backstop you and give you a win."


Colorado's Calvin Pickard, who has a .930 save percentage in his last six games, will give top goalie Semyon Varlamov the night off. He stopped 25 of 27 shots in last month's victory at Edmonton.


The Avs will certainly have to keep an eye on Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall. McDavid has four assists in his last three games, while Hall has eight goals in his past nine versus Colorado.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Preview: Coyotes (31-33) at Sharks (40-25)


Date: March 20, 2016 10:00 PM EDT


The San Jose Sharks are finally bringing some of the play that has resulted in the Western Conference's best road record to their home ice.


They'll try to post a season-high fourth straight home win Sunday night when they meet an Arizona Coyotes team they lost to three days ago.


San Jose (40-25-6) began a six-game homestand with Saturday's 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers. The Sharks snapped a tie with three third-period goals in a game they dominated with their highest shot total - a 52-26 advantage.


'We definitely stuck with it,' said Joe Pavelski, who had a goal and an assist. 'It's a game where you look up at the end of two periods and we got (37) shots or whatever it's at, tied game. Sometimes those games can go the other way if you get a hot goalie. It's great to see guys come out and establish that body position.'


Pavelski took his season total to 68 points - one behind teammate Joe Thornton, who has five in a four-game run and 18 in his last 14 games. Tomas Hertl had three assists to give him six points in a four-game run.


The Sharks won twice over Arizona (31-33-7) this season before losing 3-1 on Thursday. They also lost Marc-Edouard Vlasic to an injury that night after the defenseman fought the Coyotes' Max Domi early in the second period. Vlasic sat out Saturday but could return for another shot at Domi.


With Vlasic out, Dylan DeMelo was recalled from the minors Saturday and saw his first action since Feb. 22.


"The guys that stepped in were ready to play," Pavelski said. "They filled in nicely. Mels (DeMelo) has done a great job all year so to see him go back in. It's good to see him play well."


Winger Tommy Wingels returned Saturday from a 14-game absence due to a sprained left shoulder, committing penalties in each of the first two periods.


"You do so much and you try and emulate what a game is like but you really can't," Wingels said. "But until you put yourself in those game-like situations, you don't know. But I felt good."


The Coyotes have played the last five games without top defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has an upper-body injury. Ekman-Larsson, who leads the club with 49 points, will travel to San Jose and could return.


Arizona scored a power-play goal in its first four games without him before that unit was 0 for 6 in Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Tampa Bay.


'The execution could always be a little better,' coach Dave Tippett said. 'No. 23 (Ekman-Larsson) would help that.'


Ekman-Larsson leads all NHL defensemen with 27 points on the power play, with San Jose's Brent Burns second with 25.


San Jose will start either Martin Jones, who made 25 saves Saturday, or backup James Reimer. Arizona started Louis Domingue on Saturday and could turn back to Mike Smith, who had 27 saves beating the Sharks on Thursday.


A regulation victory by the Sharks would virtually clinch a playoff spot since it would give them a 19-point edge on the fourth-place Coyotes with 10 games left for both.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Grand Salami - March


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
3/1 8 48.5 49 OVER
3/2 3 16.5 17 OVER
3/3 12 65.5 69 OVER
3/4 3 15.5 20 OVER
3/5 11 58 62 OVER
3/6 6 30.5 34 OVER
3/7 7 36 38 OVER
3/8 8 44.5 41 UNDER
3/9 6 32.5 32 UNDER
3/10 6 32.5 29 UNDER
3/11 5 26.5 28 OVER
3/12 12 63.5 66 OVER
3/13 3 16 13 UNDER
3/14 6 30 41 OVER
3/15 8 43.5 40 UNDER
3/16 6 32.5 32 UNDER
3/17 8 43.5 51 OVER
3/18 6 32 26 UNDER
3/19 11 56.5 53 UNDER
3/20 7 - - -
3/21 4 - - -
3/22 10 - - -
3/23 2 - - -
3/24 11 - - -
3/25 3 - - -
3/26 14 - - -
3/27 3 - - -
3/28 8 - - -
3/29 9 - - -
3/30 3 - - -
3/31 10 - - -

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

Game of the Day: Capitals at Penguins


Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins (-120, 5.5)


Less than two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins were staring at the likelihood of facing the NHL-best Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. One five-game winning streak later and the surging Penguins have aspirations of a top-three seed in the Metropolitan Division as they prepare to host the Capitals on Sunday.


Pittsburgh continues to bolster its playoff positioning at the expense of its division rivals, improving to 13-3-1 in its last 17 versus Metropolitan foes with a 4-1 victory at Philadelphia on Saturday. The Penguins overtook the New York Islanders for third place in the division and are two points behind the second-place New York Rangers. Washington is on cruise control for the Presidents' Trophy and has won two in a row, including a 4-1 triumph over Nashville on Friday that represented its largest margin of victory since Jan. 19. The Capitals have won two of the three meetings this season, including a 4-1 victory at Pittsburgh on Dec. 14.


TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA


LINE HISTORY: The Penguins opened as slight -120 favorites, while the total opened at 5.5 goals.


INJURY REPORT:


Capitals - C M. Latta (Out Sunday, illness), D J. Carson (Out Sunday, lower body).


Penguins - LW S. Wilson (Out Sunday, upper body), C E. Malkin (Out Sunday, upper body), RW B. Bennett (Out Sunday, upper body).


GOALIE REPORT:


Captials - B. Holtby (43-8-4, 2.20 GAA, 0.923 save percentage).


Penguins - M. Fleury (31-16-6, 2.30 GAA, 0.922 save percentage).


WHAT SHARPS SAY:"Don’t look now but the Pens are playing solid hockey with three straight wins and four in their last five. Sidney Crosby has a 11-game point streak on the go, totaling 14 points in that stretch." - Will Rogers.


ABOUT THE CAPITALS (51-14-5): Coach Barry Trotz admitted there's no need to "reinvent the wheel" for his team, but he shuffled his lines last week and watched the second and third units each come up with a big game. “We’re very interchangeable parts here and our depth is one of our best attributes, and it’s going to carry us a long way in the playoffs,” forward Justin Williams said. “These are good barometer games for us, just to see where we are and ramp our game up for the fun times.” Evgeny Kuznetsov collected three assists Friday to extend his point streak to five games.


ABOUT THE PENGUINS (39-24-8): A slow start to the season is a distant memory for captain Sidney Crosby, who set up a pair of goals Saturday to give him six tallies and 12 assists during his 11-game point streak. Nick Bonino, who inherited the unenviable task of stepping in for the injured Evgeni Malkin, collected a pair of assists against the Flyers after scoring a goal in the previous game versus Carolina. Phil Kessel, who is one assist shy of 300 for his career, has recorded a goal and an assist in three meetings versus Washington this season.


TRENDS:


* Under is 3-0-1 in the last four meetings in Pittsburgh.
* Penguins are 5-0 in their last five games overall.
* Under is 15-5-2 in the last 22 meetings.
* Capitals are 5-2 in the last seven meetings.

[TheGame]

Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/20

NHL


Hot teams
-- Devils won three of their last five games.
-- Penguins won six of their last seven games. Washington won four of its last six games.
-- Colorado won four of its last five games. Oilers won last two games, 2-0/6-4.
-- Arizona won three of its last four games. Sharks won four of their last six.


Cold teams
-- Anaheim lost four of its last six games. Jets lost five of their last seven.
-- Columbus lost four of its last six games.
-- Calgary lost three of its last four road games. Montreal lost three of last four overall.
-- Chicago lost four of its last five games. Minnesota lost four of its last six games.


Series records
-- Ducks won their last nine games with Winnipeg.
-- Devils lost their last six games with Columbus.
-- Washington won five of its last seven games with Pittsburgh.
-- Canadiens won three of last four games with Calgary.
-- Blackhawks lost their last three games with Minnesota.
-- Colorado won five of its last seven games with Edmonton.
-- Coyotes won three of last four games with San Jose.


Totals
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Anaheim-Winnipeg games.
-- Six of last eight New Jersey games went over.
-- Under is 6-1-2 in last nine Washington-Pittsburgh games.
-- Four of last six Calgary games stayed under the total.
-- Three of last four Minnesota-Chicago games stayed under.
-- Four of last five Colorado games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Arizona-San Jose games stayed under.


Back-to-backs
-- Devils are 4-6 if they played night before. Columbus is 5-8 on road if it played night before.
-- Pittsburgh is 5-8 if it played night before, but won last three.
-- Montreal is 3-8 in last 11 games if it played night before.
-- Minnesota is 4-9 this season if it played the night before.
-- Arizona is 2-6 in last eight games if it played the night before.