Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, Nov. 19
Vancouver at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. EST). The Canucks will play their second on a four-game road trip when they visit the Atlantic Division-leading Rangers.
STARS
Tuesday
— Tomas Vokoun, Panthers, made 49 saves through overtime and was perfect in the shootout as Florida beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3.
— Shawn Horcoff, Oilers, had a goal and two assists to lead seven multiple-point scorers in Edmonton’s 7-2 win at Columbus.
— Bryan McCabe, Panthers, scored twice to lift Florida to a 4-3 shootout victory against slumping Tampa Bay.
— Peter Budaj, Avalanche, stopped 47 shots in Colorado’s 4-1 road loss to the Calgary Flames.
LATE PUSH
Sergei Samsonov and Ray Whitney scored 3 1/2 minutes apart in the third period to help the Carolina Hurricanes rally past the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Tuesday night. Whitney followed Samsonov’s first goal of the season with the go-ahead score with 13:27 remaining to jump-start a Carolina offense that averaged fewer than two goals in its previous six games.
SCORING SPURT
Shawn Horcoff had a goal and two assists, Sheldon Souray, Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert and Lubomir Visnovsky each had a goal and an assist, Ales Hemsky had three assists, and Sam Gagner added two for the Edmonton Oilers, who beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2 despite being outshot 39-19 Tuesday night. The Oilers went nearly 20 minutes without a shot, but snapped a three-game losing streak with the help of a three-goal spurt within 3:03 late in the third period.
SNAPPED
NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin’s 13-game point streak ended for Pittsburgh in the Penguins’ 2-1 shootout loss at home to the Minnesota Wild. He had scored at least one goal in each of his previous three games, but was credited with only one shot despite several good scoring chances. Malkin had six goals and 21 assists during the streak. He left briefly in the second period after being struck in the mouth by a ricocheting puck.
STATS
Shane Doan played in his 900th NHL career game Tuesday night, all with the Phoenix-Winnipeg franchise. … Rookie C Derick Brassard, who leads the Columbus Blue Jackets with 19 points, had two assists Tuesday night in Columbus’ 7-2 loss to Edmonton to extend his point streak to five games. He has been held off the score sheet only three times in 18 games.
SPEAKING
“That’s a game right there that we’re going to build on. Just shows how we can play when we play with passion.” Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith, who stopped 33 shots, in the Lightning’s 4-3 shootout loss to Florida on Tuesday night. The Lightning rallied to get to overtime, but dropped their fifth straight— including two in shootouts.
On the Ice -- Wednesday
By Judd Hall
It’s a light night in the NHL this Wednesday with just three games on the ledger. But there is some juice in the matches we have on tap: One is a divisional battle, another showcases two of the league’s best netminders and the final tilt of the night is a clash of contrasting play styles.
Let’s break down the action.
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins – 7:05 p.m. EST
It’s been pretty ugly for the Sabres as of late with a 1-3-1 record. While many would like to believe that this is all Ryan Miller and Patrick Lalime’s fault by not stopping every shot fired their way, it’s not necessarily true. Buffalo’s total team defense has been atrocious this season overall by scoring .82 goals to every one score by opponents when at full strength. At least Miller has done well over Boston, going 12-4-4 with a 2.49 goals against average for his career.
Things are demonstrably better on the other side for Boston as it has gone 6-0-1 in November. Even more impressive is that the Bruins are doing their dirty work without success on special teams, scoring just six power play goals this month. The B’s lead the league in full strength scoring, lighting the lamp 1.68 times to every goal allowed when playing five-on-five hockey. Another plus for Boston right now is how well Tim Thomas is playing in goal with a 4-0-1 mark, 1.55 GAA and a league best 94.4 save percentage.
The home team has proven the smart play in this Northeast Division battle, going 3-1 in the last four contests. The ‘under’ is 8-1 in the past nine meetings of the Sabres and Bruins. However, the B’s have watched the ‘over’ collect a 5-1 mark this year at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers – 7:35 p.m. EST
The Canucks were lucky to get a night off after losing to the Islanders, 2-1, in a shootout on Nov. 18. That’s because they spent the day before travelling across the country to play on Long Island last Monday. Despite that setback, Vancouver has posted a respectable 4-0-2 record in its past six fixtures. Part of the Canucks’ success is due to a penalty kill unit that has given up just three goals in their last 30 opportunities. Roberto Luongo is a monster in goal, but hasn’t looked that way against the Blueshirts with a 6-10-2 record and GAA of 2.65.
New York bounced back nicely after a 1-3-1 start to the month by reeling off three straight victories. While the Rangers are winning again, they still are without pivot Scott Gomez. The top-line assist man has missed the last three games with a badly bruised ankle. Reports out of New York say that he’s going to be out for a few more games as well.
Vancouver was one of the biggest ‘over’ plays in hockey at the start of the season, seeing high scores in its first eight games. But Luongo has hunkered down and helped the ‘under’ go 8-2 in the Canucks’ last 10 tilts.
The Rangers have seen the ‘under’ go on a 6-3 run in their past nine games. And they’ve seen it go 9-2-1 at Madison Square Garden for the year.
Home teams have won six of the last 10 games between these clubs. The ‘under’ is 6-2 in the last eight head-to-head matchups.
Washington Capitals at Anaheim Ducks – 10:05 p.m. EST
The Capitals are starting to show why they could be playing some hockey in June with what their doing now with a 5-1-2 record in November. The funny thing is that they’ve been doing all of this winning with Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin, but Nicklas Backstrom has been a ghost. The second-year forward has scored just two goals this season, which is a little disappointing. Yet Backstrom makes up for it by helping other light the lamp, registering 14 assists in 2008-2009, 10 of which has come in Washington’s last four contests.
Anaheim won its last game on Nov. 16 against the Kings, 2-0. Yet the Ducks are still hard pressed to figure out how they want to adapt after losing rear guard Francois Beauchemin with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. It appears that Bret Hedican and Steve Montador will be called upon to fill the void.
Good luck gaining an edge where the venue is concerned as Washington is 3-3-2 on the road this season, while the Ducks are 5-5-2 at the Honda Center.
The Caps have seen the ‘over’ go 5-4 away from the Verizon Center. Anaheim has watched the ‘over’ post a mark of 6-5-1at home this season.
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Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
The Sabres took a 2-1 lead into the third period but ended up losing 5-2 to the Penguins at Mellon Arena Saturday night.
Pittsburgh won as a -157 home favorite while the final score played over the 5.5-goal total set by sportsbooks.
Michael Ryder's goal stood up as the winner, as the Bruins edged the Maple Leafs 3-2 on Monday night.
Boston won as -130 road favorites as the teams played under the 5.5-goal total posted by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Buffalo has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Buffalo: 9-5-3
Boston: 11-3-4
Buffalo most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Colorado are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After a loss are 6-4
Boston most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 8-2
Before playing Ottawa are 5-5
After playing Toronto are 9-1
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Buffalo
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games at home
Next up:
Buffalo home to Philadelphia, Friday, November 21
Boston home to Florida, Friday, November 21
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Rangers
Pavol Demitra scored for the Canucks in their 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders on Monday night.
The Islanders cashed as +125 home underdogs as the teams played under the 5-goal total listed by oddsmakers.
Nikolai Zherdev scored the only goal in the shootout to lift the Rangers past the Senators 2-1 on Monday night.
New York won as -160 home favorites as the teams played under the 5-goal total listed by oddsmakers.
Current streak:
New York has won 3 straight games.
Team records:
Vancouver: 10-6-2
New York: 14-5-2
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 3-7
Before playing San Jose are 5-5
After playing NY Islanders are 6-6-1
After a loss are 6-4
New York most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Florida are 6-4
After playing Ottawa are 5-5
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Vancouver is 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Vancouver's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the NY Rangers last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games when playing Vancouver
NY Rangers are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home
Next up:
Vancouver at Minnesota, Thursday, November 20
NY Rangers at Ottawa, Saturday, November 22
Washington Capitals vs. Anaheim Ducks
Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals and picked up an assist in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Devils at The Prudential Center Saturday night.
New Jersey won as a -105 home favorite while the final score played over the total of 5.5 goals.
The Ducks defeated Los Angeles 2-0 as a -210 favorite on Sunday. The two runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (5).
Jonas Hiller made 29 saves to record the shutout, while Corey Perry and Bret Hedican scored for Anaheim in the win.
Team records:
Washington: 10-4-3
Anaheim: 10-7-2
Washington most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-4-1
Before playing Calgary are 4-6
After playing New Jersey are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5
Anaheim most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing St. Louis are 6-4
After playing Los Angeles are 5-5
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Washington is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Washington
Anaheim is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Washington
Anaheim is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
Next up:
Washington at Los Angeles, Thursday, November 20
Anaheim at St. Louis, Friday, November 21
BUFFALO (9-5-0-3, 21 pts.) at BOSTON (11-2-0-5, 27 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
BUFFALO is 13-21 ATS (-18.5 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 55-52 ATS (-10.3 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 22-12 ATS (+8.1 Units) in November games over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 41-35 ATS (+88.1 Units) after a division game over the last 3 seasons.
BUFFALO is 182-124 ATS (+37.2 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
BUFFALO is 141-98 ATS (+26.3 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
BUFFALO is 11-7-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
11 of 18 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.6 Units)
VANCOUVER (10-6-0-2, 22 pts.) at NY RANGERS (14-6-0-2, 30 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
VANCOUVER is 27-14 ATS (+10.7 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 109-117 ATS (+261.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 15-7 ATS (+23.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 59-70 ATS (-21.3 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less since 1996.
NY RANGERS are 3-12 ATS (-13.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 19-29 ATS (-23.2 Units) in home games after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 1-0-0 straight up against NY RANGERS 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)
WASHINGTON (10-4-0-3, 23 pts.) at ANAHEIM (10-7-0-2, 22 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 1-0-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)
BUFFALO vs. BOSTON
Buffalo is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing Boston
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games
VANCOUVER vs. NY RANGERS
Vancouver is 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
NY Rangers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games
WASHINGTON vs. ANAHEIM
Washington is 2-6-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Anaheim is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
Anaheim is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Washington
Hot teams
-- Bruins won nine of last eleven games.
-- Rangers won last three games, allowing five goals; three of their last four games went to a shootout. Vancouver is 6-3 in its last nine games- their last two losses were both in shootouts.
-- Washington won its last five games, allowing seven goals.
Cold teams
-- Sabres lost four of their last five games.
-- Ducks lost three of their last four games.
Totals
-- Four of last five Boston games stayed under the total, but four of last five Buffalo games went over. Last five series games stayed under.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in Rangers' last five games, 8-2 in Canucks' last ten.
-- Five of last seven Washington games stayed under the total.
Series Records
-- Sabres won three of last four games against Boston.
-- Vancouver won last two games against the Rangers, 3-2/3-0