Sunday 1-14-18 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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Red Wings vs. Blackhawks Preview and Predictions

By Gracenote for Scores and Stats
by Gracenote on 01/13/2018

New faces are making an impact for the Chicago Blackhawks as they try to go into a six-day break with points in seven of their last nine games when they host the Original Six-rival Detroit Red Wings on Sunday afternoon. The Blackhawks, who are 5-2-1 in their last eight contests, received the first NHL goal from David Kampf along with an assist from the newly acquired Anthony Duclair while 32-year-old first-year goaltender Jeff Glass made 31 saves in Friday's 2-1 win over Winnipeg.

"I'm just trying to prove myself every single day," Glass, who has gone 3-1-1 since Corey Crawford went down with an upper-body injury, told reporters. "(But) it's really not about me anymore. It's about the team and getting points. ... I'm trying to help this team win as much as I can." Chicago split the first two contests of its six-game homestand and has won six of its last eight at United Center as it welcomes Detroit, which returned from a six-day break to drop a 4-1 decision at Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Red Wings also lost forwards Justin Abdelkader, who scored the lone goal, and Darren Helm to lower-body injuries during the setback and both will miss Sunday's contest, according to coach Jeff Blashill. Detroit went 1-for-7 on the power play against Pittsburgh and has converted just two of its 27 opportunities over the last eight games.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, TVA

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (17-18-7): The good news out of Saturday's loss was the return of Jimmy Howard, who made 32 saves after missing just one game due to a lower-body injury thanks to the break. Dylan Larkin was kept off the scoresheet in his last two games but leads the team with 34 points while captain Henrik Zetterberg is second with 30 after notching an assist against the Penguins. Detroit recalled center Dominic Turgeon after Saturday's game, and he could make his NHL debut after registering 23 points in 40 contests with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (22-16-6): Kampf, a free agent from the Czech Republic who has recorded five points in nine games since being recalled from Rockford of the AHL, scored his first goal on his 23rd birthday. "We wanted a guy in the middle," coach Joel Quenneville told reporters. "It has been an important spot for us. We think he can add speed. There's an upside with him offensively." All-Star Patrick Kane was shut down in his last two games but leads the team with 45 points while Nick Schmaltz has collected 12 of his 32 over the last nine contests.

OVERTIME

1. Detroit D Mike Green, who was named the team's representative for the All-Star Game, has registered seven points in 11 career contests against Chicago.

2. Duclair, who was acquired from Arizona during the week, recorded one shot and a plus-2 rating in 11 minutes, 57 seconds of ice time while playing on a line with Kampf and RW Alex DeBrincat in his debut for the Blackhawks.

3. The Red Wings earned at least one point in both meetings with Chicago last season, including a 4-2 triumph on March 10.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 5, Red Wings 3

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Flames vs. Hurricanes Preview and Predictions

By Gracenote for Scores and Stats
by Gracenote on 01/13/2018

The red-hot Calgary Flames, fueled by a six-game winning streak, are shooting up the Pacific Division standings and will try to complete a four-game road trip with a victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. Calgary finished off an impressive back-to-back sweep through the state of Florida with a 4-2 victory over the Panthers on Friday, prompting captain Mark Giordano to tell reporters: "You want to ride these as long as you can."

"I think at the beginning of the year we were finding ways to lose and now we're grinding out wins, so it's definitely an added bonus when you don't play your best game and you still get the win," Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk told reporters after recording two points Friday, giving him a goal in each of the last two games. The Flames sit third in the Pacific while Carolina is tied for sixth in the Metropolitan, only one point behind the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes missed an opportunity to sweep a home-and-home, back-to-back series with first-place Washington by allowing two goals in the final 3:08 - including the loser with 1.3 seconds left - in Friday's 4-3 setback to Washington. "They all feel similar to me," Carolina coach Bill Peters told reporters after the Hurricanes lost for the third time in four games and fell to 2-4-1 in their last seven contests. "It's a loss, no points."

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), FS Carolinas

ABOUT THE FLAMES (24-16-4): Johnny Gaudreau increased his team-leading point total to 52 by scoring in each of the last two games and has two goals and nine assists during a six-game point streak. Sean Monahan (team-high 21 goals) has also registered at least point in the last six contests with four goals and six assists during that span. Mike Smith (19-13-3, 2.50 goals-against average, .922 save percentage), who is 4-0-0, 1.98, .938 in four January starts, is expected back in goal despite a 3-10-4, 2.73, .918 ledger versus Carolina after backup David Rittich made 41 saves Friday.

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (20-16-8): Sebastian Aho (club highs of 16 goals and 37 points) has scored in three straight games and boasts nine goals in his last 10 contests. Lee Stempniak made his season debut Friday after missing the first 43 games because of upper-body injuries and recorded an assist. Elias Lindholm (12 goals, 25 points) and Joakim Nordstrom missed Friday's game because of illness, while Derek Ryan (nine goals, 23 points) sat out with an upper-body injury.

OVERTIME

1. Calgary's 17-game stretch of allowing three or fewer goals is the longest such streak in the NHL this season.

2. Carolina C Jordan Staal (13 goals, 28 points this season) recorded his 200th career tally Friday to give him goals in consecutive games and three in his last four contests.

3. Carolina won the first of two meetings this season 2-1 on Oct. 19 with LW Jeff Skinner recording a goal and an assist, giving the road team three straight victories in a series that has been split for the last three campaigns.

PREDICTION: Flames 3, Hurricanes 2

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Rangers vs. Penguins Preview and Predictions

By Gracenote for Scores and Stats
by Gracenote on 01/13/2018

The Pittsburgh Penguins have looked like a different team since the calendar turned to 2018 and hope to continue their strong play when they host the scuffling New York Rangers for a key Metropolitan Division battle on Sunday. The Penguins are 4-1-0 in January, recording a total of 19 goals in the victories after rolling past Detroit 4-1 on Saturday.

"It's always fun when you win and you have more confidence," Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin told reporters after registering two goals and two assists on Saturday. "Your game is better. The mood is better. Now, we're feeling so much better. ... Now, just stay the same and stay on the same level." New York is tied with the Penguins at 49 points with two games in hand after dropping three of its last four, including Saturday's embarrassing 7-2 setback against the cross-town Islanders. The Rangers have managed just 16 goals over their last nine contests (3-4-2), with several players going through scoring droughts, and allowed 14 tallies in their last three losses. "We need everybody buying in," New York captain Ryan McDonagh told reporters. "Right now, we don't want it. Fortunately, we get an opportunity (Sunday). If we do the same thing, it's going to be the same result."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

ABOUT THE RANGERS (22-16-5): New York has not received much help from its power play, which has gone 3-for-30 over the last 10 games despite converting one of its three opportunities on Saturday. Leading scorer Mats Zuccarello (32 points) recorded his 200th career assist against the Islanders but owns a minus-9 rating over his last eight games, while J.T. Miller has been kept off the scoresheet in four straight contests. Henrik Lundqvist's off-day was interrupted as he came on after starter Ondrej Pavelec was pulled and turned aside 16-of-18 shots.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (23-19-3): Phil Kessel pulled within one point of 700 for his career (team-leading 50 this season) with a goal and two assists on Saturday while Malkin has netted five tallies and set up three others over his last three contests. Captain Sidney Crosby remained red-hot Saturday with two points, giving him nine in his last three games and 398 career goals. Matt Murray is away from the team for personal reasons, but backup Tristan Jarry continued to shine, making 29 saves against the Red Wings to earn the team a point for the 10th time in 13 decisions (8-3-2).

OVERTIME

1. New York C Mika Zibanejad registered his third goal in four games Saturday and has 14 overall, placing him second on the team behind RW Michael Grabner (18).

2. The Penguins are 7-for-15 on the power play and 17-for-18 (after going 6-for-6 over the final three games of December) on the penalty kill this month.

3. The Rangers posted a 4-3 victory on their last trip to Pittsburgh on Dec. 5 as Zuccarello notched two points and are 2-0-2 in the last four meetings.

PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Penguins 3