Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Nov. 10
Tampa Bay at Washington (7 p.m. EST). The Lightning make the fourth stop of a five-game road trip in Washington, where the host Capitals are 11-0-1 dating to last season.
STARS
Saturday
— Roberto Luongo, Canucks, made 29 saves for his third straight shutout in Vancouver’s 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild. He has gone 201 minutes, 8 seconds without allowing a goal.
— Tyler Kennedy, Penguins, scored twice in regulation for Pittsburgh, which rallied in the third period and beat the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout.
— Marian Hossa, Red Wings, had two goals to lift Detroit (9-2-2) to a 3-1 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils.
— Peter Budaj, Avalanche, made 26 saves and posted his first shutout since March 6, 2007, in Colorado’s 2-0 victory against the visiting Boston Bruins.
— Mikkel Boedker, Coyotes, scored a pair of goals for the first multigoal game of the rookie’s early NHL career. Phoenix beat Florida 4-1.
WELCOME BACK
Danny Briere made a quick return to the Philadelphia Flyers lineup Saturday night after recent abdominal surgery and scored to give his club a 1-0 lead in the first period. It wasn’t enough as the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied for a 2-1 win.
Briere came back only two weeks after surgery. He was originally expected to miss three to four weeks, but he returned early and centered the Flyers’ first line with Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne.
MARTY’S MISHAP
Dallas goalie Marty Turco misplayed the puck in front of his net, and San Jose’s Patrick Marleau scored with 28.3 seconds to play Saturday night as the Sharks beat the Stars in stunning fashion 2-1.
Turco easily stopped defenseman Brad Lukowich’s long dump-in shot for his 31st save, but the goalie then inexplicably attempted to backhand the puck up the middle of the ice. He hit Marleau on the skate, and the San Jose captain swatted it past the diving goalie for his seventh goal. That kept the Sharks unbeaten in its nine home games this season (9-0).
GROWING LEAF
Mikhail Grabovski’s surge kept going Saturday night when he posted a goal and an assist in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-3 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Grabovski has six goals and two assists in the last four games. While playing for Montreal, Grabovski had three goals in 27 games over the last two seasons. He has seven in 15 game with Toronto.
HEY, I KNOW YOU
In his first game against the Florida Panthers since an offseason trade, Olli Jokinen had a goal and an assist against his former teammates in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 4-1 win at home on Saturday night. Jokinen was traded from Florida to Phoenix for defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.
WHO IS THE KID?
Rookie goalie Steve Mason has given the Columbus Blue Jackets an unexpected lift.
Mason made 22 saves to remain unbeaten in three career starts and the surging Blue Jackets beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Saturday night. The Blue Jackets have won their last three games—beating Canadian franchises Edmonton, Montreal and Calgary since Wednesday with Mason in goal—and have collected points in their last six. Mason was recalled from the AHL on Nov. 4 after playing only three professional games in the minors.
SPEAKING
“I went in and called them every name under the sun. I challenged their manhood. And if I have to do that after every first period, I will. When we play hard, we’re an excellent team.” Tampa Bay Lightning coach Barry Melrose, who ripped his team after it fell behind Philadelphia after the first period. The Lightning responded for a 2-1 road win over the Flyers on Saturday night.
Edmonton Oilers vs. New York Rangers
The Oilers defeated New Jersey 2-1 as a -110 favorite on Sunday. The three goal scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (5.5).
Ales Hemsky scored the game-winning goal and added an assist for Edmonton, while Sheldon Souray also scored in the win.
The Rangers lost their third game in four outings with a 3-1 loss to the Capitals at the Verizon Center Saturday night.
Washington won as a -123 home favorite while the final score played under the 5.5-goal total set by oddsmakers.
Team records:
Edmonton: 7-6-1
New York: 11-5-1
Edmonton most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Detroit are 8-2
After playing New Jersey are 3-3-1
After a win are 5-5
New York most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Florida are 6-4
After playing Washington are 8-2
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 6 games when playing NY Rangers
Edmonton is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Edmonton is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of the NY Rangers last 8 games at home
NY Rangers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games when playing at home against Edmonton
NY Rangers are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games at home
Next up:
Edmonton home to Toronto, Thursday, November 13
NY Rangers at New Jersey, Wednesday, November 12
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals
The Lightning relied on a two-goal second period to escape the City of Brotherly Love with a 2-1 victory over the Flyers at the Wachovia Center Saturday night.
Tampa Bay stole the win as a +135 road underdog while the final score remained under the 5.5-goal total set by sportsbooks.
The Capitals handled business at home with a 3-1 win over the Rangers at Verizon Center Saturday night.
Washington won as a -123 home favorite while the final score played under the 5.5-goal total set by oddsmakers.
Current streak:
Washington has won 2 straight games.
Team records:
Tampa Bay: 5-4-4
Washington: 7-4-2
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing St. Louis are 3-7
After playing Philadelphia are 4-6
After a win are 4-6
Washington most recently:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Calgary are 4-6
After playing NY Rangers are 2-8
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Tampa Bay's last 16 games when playing Washington
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Next up:
Tampa Bay at Florida, Wednesday, November 12
Washington at Carolina, Wednesday, November 12
EDMONTON (6-6-0-1, 13 pts.) at NY RANGERS (11-6-0-1, 23 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 28-9 ATS (+16.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 47-48 ATS (+104.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 46-38 ATS (+89.9 Units) in road games in November games since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 3-11 ATS (-11.8 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
EDMONTON is 1-0 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 1-0-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
0 of 0 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)
TAMPA BAY (5-4-0-4, 14 pts.) at WASHINGTON (7-4-0-2, 16 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 36-59 ATS (-25.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 20-54 ATS (+85.6 Units) in road games in November games since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 20-32 ATS (-14.8 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 12-4 ATS (+7.8 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 6-17 ATS (-11.3 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
WASHINGTON is 8-8 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 8-8-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
11 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.5 Units)
EDMONTON vs. NY RANGERS
Edmonton is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
Edmonton is 3-6-4 SU in their last 13 games when playing NY Rangers
NY Rangers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games when playing at home against Edmonton
TAMPA BAY vs. WASHINGTON
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 5-12 SU in its last 17 games
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Hot teams
-- Lightning is 4-3 in last seven starts after an 0-5 start. Washington won its last three home games, allowing six goals.
Cold teams
-- Oilers lost seven of their last ten games. Rangers lost three of last four.
Totals
-- Under is 9-4 in Rangers' last thirteen games.
-- Last four Washington games stayed under the total.
Series Records
-- Home side won last two Edmonton-Ranger games.
-- Washington won four of last five games against the Lightning.
NHL FORECAST FOR MONDAY NOV 10TH
by Ron Raymond
Edmonton vs. NY Rangers
The Oilers seem to play good hockey when it's a clean game, but as soon as the brouhaha starts, they seem to get off track, as was the example last Wednesday vs. Columbus. The Oilers have won 60% of their games on the road in back to back situations and they are coming off a win. In fact, the OVER is 8-2-0 in this role the last 2 years. The Rangers have only won 1 game in their last 4 and some of their goal scorers are not showing up on the game sheet. Chris Drury needs to pick up his game if the Rangers want to compete for the playoffs and he's been invisible the last few weeks.
Prediction: Edmonton 4 NY Rangers 2
Edmonton vs. New Jersey
Just wait until Ovechkin starts rolling, and then the Capitals will be like the team they were in the second half of last season. Johnson seems to be the goalie of the hour and the Caps have won 4 of their last 5 home games vs. the Lightning. Here's a 90% winning angle on the Capitals. When Washington played as a Home - Vs Eastern conference opponent - After a non division game - Coming off vs. Atlantic division opponent and coming off a 2 goal win; they are 9-1-2 SU since '97.
Prediction: Washington 4 Tampa Bay 2
Long Weekes Ahead
By Judd Hall
Can you remember the last starting goaltender for the New Jersey Devils before Martin Brodeur? If you said Chris Terreri, you’d get a firm handshake from me…maybe even a box of Oreos.
Terreri manned the goal for New Jersey back in 1993 before the future Hall of Famer took over full time. That’s 13 seasons of domination from Brodeur. More impressive than his time at one location is the fact that he’s played in 86.3% of the games for the Devils in that time. In fact, the most games he missed during that stretch was 37 and that was because of the platoon situation between Brodeur and Terreri for the 93-94 season.
Given that information, you can understand why New Jersey General Manger Lou Lamoriello never bothered to pick up a quality backup goaltender for so long. That changed last season when the Devils brought in veteran netminder Kevin Weekes to ride the pine as Lamoriello knew that age could catch up to his No. 1 backstop.
Sure enough, Brodeur went down on Nov. 1 versus the Thrashers with a detached tendon in his left elbow. The time frame for recover is three to four months, easily the longest of his career. But it also makes Lamoriello look even smarter in signing Weekes last year.
The only problem now is to get the backup goalie to win. Weekes himself has looked decent in his first three starts for New Jersey with a 2.65 goals against average and saving 91 percent of the shots fired his way. Yet the offense hasn’t helped out enough as he’s posted a 1-2 mark so far.
Even though Weekes’ start hasn’t gone as hoped, he has 42 games to improve those numbers…that is if Brodeur is out of the lineup for a full four months. And 20 of those matches will take place at the Prudential Center, where the Devils own a .622 win percentage since the doors first opened in October 2007.
Where bettors should focus is on New Jersey when it goes out of town. Weekes has a lifetime record of 49-89-16 with a 2.98 GAA when playing on the road, meaning we have a target to fade.
One such spot will be on Nov. 14 when the Devils head to Washington. The Capitals will have all of their top scoring threats (Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Mike Green and Michael Nylander) in hand for the meeting. And the Caps also have a hot goalie in Brent Johnson, who has won his last two starts by stuffing 95 percent of the shots fired his way. Kevin Weekes has never won in the nation’s capital, going 0-10-0 with a bloated 3.80 GAA.
New Jersey takes a five-game road trip at the end of this month that provides another two spots to focus on. The Panthers welcome Weekes back to where he cut his teeth in the NHL. But he wasn’t that good in South Florida as evidenced by his 3-8-2 mark with a GAA of 2.69. Then the Toronto, Ontario native will backstop against the Canadiens on Dec. 6. It’s bad enough that the Habs will be able to skate circles around New Jersey, but he is just 1-3-0 for his career. You might want to take the ‘under’ in this spot as well since the Devils’ new starter has a small 1.49 GAA versus this “Original Six” franchise.
When the calendar hits Dec. 17, you’ll get a shot to back Buffalo against the Devs. The Sabres have a North-South style of offense that can play havoc with a defensive minded squad already. Then you throw in the fact that Weekes is 1-8-1 and gives up just over four goals per game he’s played in Western New York.
Things won’t get much easier in the New Year when the Devils will be on the road for six straight contests. The only match of notice in that group is a Jan. 13 date with the Canucks. Vancouver finds itself in a dogfight for the Northwest Division full of questions. Yet they’ll be the answer when New Jersey comes to General Motors Place where Weekes has a career record of 2-9-1 with a 3.34 GAA.
Weekes won’t be out of the water at the end of January either as he’ll be in goal against the Senators on the 27th. Ottawa’s top line will have a good chance of getting to the Devils’ backstop as his GAA is a pudgy 5.78.
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