Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, April 8
Buffalo at Toronto (7:30 p.m. EDT). The Sabres hope to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they visit their north-of-the-border neighbors, who have already been knocked out of the postseason chase in the Eastern Conference.
STARS
Tuesday
— Jeff Carter, Flyers, moved ahead of New Jersey’s Zach Parise for second place in the NHL scoring race with his 45th goal, lifting Philadelphia to a 2-1 win over Florida.
— Eric Staal, Hurricanes, had three goals and an assist, and finished with a club-record fourth hat trick of the season, in Carolina’s 9-0 romp past the New York Islanders.
— Cam Ward, Hurricanes, set the team’s single-season mark with victory No. 39, and he matched another club mark with his sixth shutout while helping extend Carolina’s franchise-record home winning streak to 12 in the 9-0 win.
— Martin Gerber, Maple Leafs, made 47 saves in Toronto’s 4-1 victory at New Jersey after allowing 12 goals in his previous two games.
— Chris Drury, Rangers, scored a pair of goals and New York moved into sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with a 3-1 victory over Montreal.
— B.J. Crombeen and Chris Mason, Blues. Crombeen scored twice and Mason made 28 saves to help St. Louis inch closer to the playoffs with a 5-1 win at Phoenix.
— Roberto Luongo, Canucks, had 46 saves, making several highlight-reel stops, none bigger than on Jarome Iginla’s hard shot from the slot as Vancouver killed off a 66-second 5-on-3 Calgary advantage in a 4-1 win.
— Evgeni Nabokov, Sharks, made 20 saves in his seventh shutout and then stopped all three Colorado attempts in the shootout of San Jose’s 1-0 win.
SCORING
Sidney Crosby (101) joined teammate Evgeni Malkin (NHL-leading 110) in reaching the 100-point mark this season. It is the first time two Pittsburgh players have reached 100 points during the same season since Mario Lemieux (161) and Jaromir Jagr (149) in 1995-96 … Eric Staal had three goals and an assist, Erik Cole assisted on all three of Staal’s goals and finished with four assists, while Tuomo Ruutu had two goals, Anton Babchuk had four assists and Dennis Seidenberg added three in Carolina’s 9-0 rout of the Islanders … Toronto’s Jason Blake picked up his 400th career assist on Christian Hanson’s goal at New Jersey … Mattias Ohlund scored twice in Vancouver’s 4-1 win over Calgary, his first goals in 26 games.
STATS
St. Louis completed its first-ever season sweep against the Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise, going 4-0 and winning 5-1 in Phoenix on Tuesday … Vancouver is tied atop the Northwest Division with Calgary, a team the Canucks trailed by 13 points on Jan. 31 … The Flames fell to 2-10-2 in the second half of back-to-back games with the 4-1 loss at Vancouver.
SLAP SHOT
A Hanson Son (or Nephew) was a hero for Toronto. Christian Hanson, the son of one of the notorious Hanson brothers (Dave) from the movie “Slap Shot,” got his first NHL goal against his favorite player, Martin Brodeur, and the Maple Leafs won 4-1 at New Jersey.
STREAKS
The Lightning have lost seven in a row and 10 of 11 following their 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh … The Hurricanes matched a club mark with their ninth straight victory by giving the New York Islanders the worst beating in franchise history, 9-0. They’ve also won a franchise-best 12 straight at home … The Senators set a franchise record with their ninth straight home win, 3-2 over the Bruins, who had their six-game winning streak end.
POWERLESS
The Thrashers were 0-for-6 on the power play in a 4-2 loss to Washington … Edmonton was eliminated from playoff contention in a 2-1 home loss to Los Angeles while St. Louis was winning 5-1 at Phoenix. The Oilers have lost seven of their last nine games.
DEFENSELESS
The Islanders fell 9-0 at Carolina, the worst loss in franchise history. Never before had they lost by more than eight goals—and they hadn’t done that since losing 8-0 at St. Louis in 1988.
SIDELINED
Tampa Bay left wing Ryan Malone broke his right hand and will miss the final two games of the season. Malone finished the season with 26 goals and 45 points … Flyers left winger Riley Cote will be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right ring finger. Cote injured the finger in a fight during a game with the Islanders on March 28 … Flyers D Ryan Parent sustained a lower body injury in the second period of a 2-1 win over Florida and did not return … Carolina D Joe Corvo was scratched with the flu before a 9-0 win over the Islanders.
SPEAKING
“To be honest, I would have taken it any way it would have gone in. Off my head, off my butt, off my skate, and luckily it went off my stick.”—Rookie Christian Hanson on his first NHL goal in Toronto’s 4-1 win over New Jersey.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Paul Gaustad scored the lone marker for Buffalo in its 4-1 loss to Detroit on Monday night.
Detroit won as -110 road favorites as the teams played under the 6-goal total posted by sportsbooks.
Christian Hanson scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday night as the Maple Leafs rolled to a 4-1 upset win over the Devils.
The Leafs grabbed the victory as +200 road underdogs in that contest, while the combined score fell UNDER the night's posted total (5.5).
Current streak:
Buffalo has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Buffalo: 38-32-9
Toronto: 33-34-13
Buffalo most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Colorado are 7-3
After playing Detroit are 6-4
After a loss are 4-6
Toronto most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 4-6
Before playing San Jose are 3-3-2
After playing New Jersey are 7-3
After a win are 4-6
A few trends to consider:
Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Buffalo's last 7 games on the road
Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 11 games at home
Toronto is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Toronto is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Buffalo
Next up:
Buffalo at Carolina, Thursday, April 9
Toronto home to Ottawa, Saturday, April 11
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Chicago Blackhawks
The Blue Jackets lost to Chicago 1-0 in overtime as a -120 favorite on Sunday. The one goal scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (5.5).
Steve Mason made 24 saves for Columbus in the loss.
Dustin Byfuglien scored the eventual winner in the second period, as the Blackhawks downed the Predators 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Chicago won as a -110 road pick 'em, as the teams played over the 5.5-goal total listed by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Columbus has lost 2 straight games.
Chicago has won 4 straight games.
Team records:
Columbus: 40-29-10
Chicago: 44-24-11
Columbus most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing St. Louis are 3-7
After playing Chicago are 4-6
After a loss are 7-3
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 3-7
Before playing Edmonton are 7-3
After playing Nashville are 7-3
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Columbus's last 24 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Columbus is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games at home
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Chicago's last 24 games when playing Columbus
Next up:
Columbus at St. Louis, Friday, April 10
Chicago at Detroit, Saturday, April 11
BUFFALO vs. TORONTO
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Buffalo's last 15 games
Buffalo is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto's last 11 games at home
Toronto is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
COLUMBUS vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Columbus is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Hot teams
-- Blackhawks won last four games, outscoring opponents 11-4.
Cold teams
-- Sabres lost three of their last four games. Toronto is 2-6 in game after its last eight wins.
-- Blue Jackets lost four of their last five games.
Totals
-- Three of last four Buffalo games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven Chicago games stayed under the total.
Back-to-Back
-- Sabres are 4-7 if they play again the next night.
-- Chicago lost four of last six if they played the night before.
Series Records
-- Sabres won seven of last nine games against Toronto.
-- Chicago won six of last nine games against Columbus.
BUFFALO (38-32-0-9, 85 pts.) at TORONTO (33-34-0-13, 79 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
BUFFALO is 38-41 ATS (-12.7 Units) in all games this season.
BUFFALO is 4-13 ATS (-10.0 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
BUFFALO is 23-31 ATS (-21.1 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 17-21 ATS (-16.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
TORONTO is 62-44 ATS (-6.4 Units) in April games since 1996.
BUFFALO is 192-132 ATS (+37.4 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
BUFFALO is 153-106 ATS (+29.3 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
TORONTO is 14-26 ATS (-13.5 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-19 ATS (-11.8 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 78-92 ATS (-73.3 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
TORONTO is 15-24 ATS (-12.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 53-57 ATS (-58.3 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
BUFFALO is 14-7 (+1.4 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
BUFFALO is 14-7-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
11 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.0 Units)
COLUMBUS (40-29-0-10, 90 pts.) at CHICAGO (44-25-0-10, 98 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLUMBUS is 5-21 ATS (+40.0 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 9-3 ATS (+5.2 Units) in April games over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 34-19 ATS (+53.8 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 22-9 ATS (+9.7 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
COLUMBUS is 40-39 ATS (+83.2 Units) in all games this season.
COLUMBUS is 93-93 ATS (+210.1 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 22-17 ATS (+45.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
COLUMBUS is 20-17 ATS (+47.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 8-13 ATS (-11.1 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 11-10-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
14 of 21 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.8 Units)