Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Jan. 12
Tampa Bay at Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. EST). Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft, returns to Tampa Bay’s lineup to face Kings rookie star Drew Doughty, the defenseman drafted second last June. Stamkos was scratched Friday night in Anaheim, the first game he has missed this season.
STARS
Sunday
— Chris Kunitz, Ducks, scored twice in the third period in Anaheim’s 4-3 home victory over New Jersey.
— Sam Gagner, Oilers, scored the winning goal and also had an assist to help Edmonton beat visiting St. Louis 2-1.
— Nikolai Khabibulin, Blackhawks, made 26 saves in Chicago’s 3-1 home victory over Nashville.
SCOUTING
John Tavares had two goals and an assist in his London debut, leading the Knights to a 7-3 victory over Mississauga St. Michael’s on Sunday in the Ontario Hockey League. Expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, Tavares joined the Knights on Thursday in a trade with Oshawa. A crowd of 9,070 attended the game at the John Labatt Centre.
STATUS
Calgary assigned Swedish prospect Mikael Backlund to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets on Sunday. The 19-year-old Backlund, selected 24th overall in 2007, made his NHL debut Thursday night against the New York Islanders. … Toronto recalled rookie left wing Nikolai Kulemin from the AHL’s Marlies. The 22-year-old Russian has seven goals and seven assists in 40 games for the Maple Leafs.
SIDELINED
Phoenix defenseman Kurt Sauer was expected to be sidelined at least four weeks because of a lower-body injury. Sauer was hurt Saturday night in Phoenix’s victory over Dallas. The Coyotes recalled left wing Daniel Winnik from San Antonio of the AHL.
SPEAKING
“I don’t think it was a pretty game, but we accomplished what we needed to. We’re not going to score four, five goals in every one. We have to know how to win when we score two.”—Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin after making 26 saves in the Blackhawks’ 3-1 home victory over Nashville on Sunday night.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars
The Red Wings edged the Sabres with two third-period goals, winning 3-1 at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night.
Detroit won as a -265 home favorite while the final score played under the 5.5-goal total.
The Stars were held without a goal, losing 1-0 to the Coyotes in a shootout at Jobing.com Arena Saturday.
Phoenix won as a -118 home favorite while the final score played under the 5.5-goal total.
Current streak:
Detroit has won 6 straight games.
Dallas has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Detroit: 29-7-5
Dallas: 17-17-6
Detroit most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Edmonton are 6-4
After playing Buffalo are 7-7-1
After a win are 7-3
Dallas most recently:
When playing on Monday are 5-5
Before playing Los Angeles are 3-7
After playing Phoenix are 5-5
After a loss are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Detroit is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing Dallas
Detroit is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games on the road
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Dallas's last 18 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
Next up:
Detroit at Anaheim, Wednesday, January 14
Dallas home to Buffalo, Thursday, January 15
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Malone scored the game-winning goal for his second of the night, as the Lightning defeated the Ducks 4-3 on Friday. The Lightning won that game as +160 underdogs, while the seven goals made it OVER the posted over/under (5.5).
Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal added the other goals.
The Kings were punished by the Devils, losing 5-1 at STAPLES Center Saturday night.
New Jersey won as a -115 road favorite while the final score played over the 5-goal total.
Team records:
Tampa Bay: 12-19-10
Los Angeles: 17-18-6
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing St. Louis are 3-7
After playing Anaheim are 2-2-3
After a win are 4-6
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Dallas are 6-4
After playing New Jersey are 3-3-2
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
Tampa Bay is 6-1-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Los Angeles
Tampa Bay is 7-1-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Los Angeles's last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 8 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Next up:
Tampa Bay at San Jose, Tuesday, January 13
Los Angeles home to Detroit, Thursday, January 15
DETROIT (29-7-0-5, 63 pts.) at DALLAS (17-17-0-6, 40 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 73-70 ATS (-38.5 Units) in January games since 1996.
DALLAS is 37-25 ATS (+5.7 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 139-83 ATS (+36.9 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
DALLAS is 11-6 ATS (+4.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
DALLAS is 11-6 ATS (+18.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season this season.
DETROIT is 10-1 ATS (+8.7 Units) in road games after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 11-5 (+2.8 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 11-5-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.1 Units)
TAMPA BAY (12-19-0-10, 34 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (17-18-0-6, 40 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 12-29 ATS (+47.4 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 55-114 ATS (+204.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 22-46 ATS (-31.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 15-32 ATS (-20.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 19-14 ATS (+39.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 13-7 ATS (+22.9 Units) in road games in January games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 86-129 ATS (+227.5 Units) after a non-conference game since 1996.
LOS ANGELES is 15-30 ATS (+47.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 1-0-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
DETROIT vs. DALLAS
Detroit is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
TAMPA BAY vs. LOS ANGELES
Tampa Bay is 7-1-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Los Angeles's last 13 games
Hot teams
-- Detroit won its last six games, allowing eight goals.
-- Kings are 4-0 in game following their last four losses. Lightning is 5-3 in its last eight games, following a 2-16 skid.
Cold teams
-- Stars lost three of last four games, but are 5-1 in last six at home.
Totals
-- Three of last four Dallas games stayed under the total.
-- Six of Kings' last eight games stayed under the total.
Back-to-Back
-- Tampa Bay is 3-3 when it played the night before.
Series Records
-- Red Wings are 11-5 in last sixteen games against Dallas.
Monday's best NHL bets
Covers.com
Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars (170, 5.5)
The Detroit Red Wings' offensive philosophy is simple: Shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot some more.
They peppered Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller with 48 shots for a 3-1 win Saturday and have totaled 240 shot during their six-game winning streak.
"We were hoping to wear (Miller) down. We thought if we stayed at their net, we'd get our opportunities," coach Mike Babcock told reporters after Saturday's win. "He made some great saves early, but we stayed patient and were able to get the win."
Detroit put 33 shots on goal the last time it faced Dallas, winning 6-1 at Joe Louis Arena January 8. Fifteen of those shots came in the third period and overwhelmed Stars goalie Marty Turco. He's coming off 28 shots in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday.
Turco is winless in 10 starts in Detroit and has a bleak 3-11-5 career record against the Red Wings.
Pick: Detroit -180
Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings (-137, 5.5)
The Bolts west coast trip continues after picking up their second win of the swing against Anaheim Friday night. Tampa Bay scored four goals on just 19 shots, taking advantage of a poor outing from Ducks backup goaltender Jonas Hiller.
The Lightning can exploit another stumbling reserve goalie when they take on Jonathan Quick and the Kings. Although showing promise in his first month in the pros, Quick has gotten sloppy in the past two games and has allowed eight goals including five to New Jersey Saturday.
Head coach Rick Tocchet took a shot at his team earlier in the trip and it appeared to spark them Friday night. Winger Martin St. Louis is leading the offense by example. He scored a goal and picked up two assists against Anaheim, giving him 23 points in his past 18 games.
Pick: Tampa Bay +127