Thursday 3-15-18 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Philadelphia Flyers Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Columbus Blue Jackets can pull into a tie in points for third place in the Metropolitan Division on Thursday should they extend their winning streak to a season high-tying six games with a regulation victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blue Jackets have outscored the opposition 21-11 during their win streak, although offense has been in short supply as the teams have played to three 2-1 decisions, with the Flyers winning two of them.

"We get on a little bit of a run here, now it puts us in the picture to compete for the playoffs," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "That's all it's done. We're not in, but it gives you a chance." Sergei Bobrovsky posted his eighth win in 12 decisions after turning aside 38 shots in Monday's 5-2 triumph over Montreal, and the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has dominated his former team to the tune of posting a 9-3-1 career mark with two shutouts. The Flyers defeated Bobrovsky in a pair of meetings in February, but have slumped to a 1-5-1 mark in March. Petr Mrazek made 19 saves to highlight his Philadelphia debut in a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Feb. 22, but has yielded 22 goals for an .878 save percentage in his last six outings.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (37-28-5): Seth Jones became just the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record the game-winning goal in three consecutive team games when he tallied against the Canadiens. The 23-year-old pushed his point total to 12 (seven goals, five assists) in the past nine games and to 48 overall, three shy of tying James Wisniewski (2013-14) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. Jones exited with an upper-body injury versus Montreal and missed Wednesday's practice with a maintenance day, but Tortorella expects him in the lineup against Philadelphia.

ABOUT THE FLYERS (35-24-11): Captain Claude Giroux, who scored and set up a goal in Monday's 3-2 setback to Vegas, has three goals and five assists during his seven-game point streak while former Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek has two of each during his four-game stretch. While those two have been consistent, others have been mired in pronounced goal droughts - most notably Sean Couturier (team-leading 29 goals), who has failed to score in a 12-game stretch since tallying 1:52 into overtime against Columbus on Feb. 16. The 25-year-old Couturier is not alone as Valtteri Filppula is mired in a 24-game goal drought, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has failed to score in his last 19 and Michael Raffl hasn't scored in his last 15.

OVERTIME

1. Columbus LW Artemi Panarin has scored six goals and set up nine others over his last 12 games to bolster his team lead in goals (21), assists (40) and points (61).

2. Giroux has scored a goal and set up two others versus the Blue Jackets this season to extend his point total to 21 (seven goals, 14 assists) in 24 career encounters.

3. Columbus' 24th-ranked penalty kill has thwarted 30 of its last 34 short-handed situations over the last 14 contests.

PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 3, Flyers 2

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Buffalo Sabres Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

While All-Star center Auston Matthews (shoulder) could return to the lineup soon, another injury concern popped up Wednesday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs were edging Dallas 6-5 in a shootout. The Maple Leafs will be without No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen because of an upper-body injury when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Matthews (28, points, 50 points, 53 games) is practicing, but still considered day-to-day, after missing his seventh game and Andersen left Wednesday's contest in the second period before Toronto won its franchise-record 11th straight home game. The Maple Leafs have lost four straight on the road (0-2-2) as they prepare to play their second game in 19 days against the Sabres, who have not played since Saturday when they lost to Vegas 2-1 in a shootout to start a six-game homestand. Buffalo has fallen to the bottom of the league with 56 points despite a 5-3-1 record over the last nine contests, and held a 1-0 lead on Vegas until the final five minutes. "I think we played well against one of the better teams," Sabres goalie Robin Lehner told reporters. ". ... It's a 1-1 game, we lost in a shootout. That's the unfortunate part, but there was a lot of good things (against Vegas)."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN 4 (Toronto), MSG Buffalo

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (41-22-7): James van Riemsdyk snapped a four-game point drought Wednesday with a hat trick to tie Matthews for first on the team with 28 goals while Nazem Kadri recorded his 27th and has four in his past four contests. Mitch Marner continue his scoring surge with two assists against Dallas and owns five of his team-leading 58 points in the last three games. Coach Mike Babcock told reporters after the game of Andersen's injury, "it sure didn't seem like much" as Curtis McElhinney (8-4-1) will get the start Thursday after stopping 13-of-15 shots Wednesday.

ABOUT THE SABRES (22-35-12): Leading scorer Jack Eichel (53 points), out since Feb. 10 with an ankle injury, is not expected to play Thursday but has been practicing and may be back soon. Center Ryan O'Reilly is the top active scorer (50 points) after registering a goal and five assists in the last seven contests while forward Sam Reinhart is next with five of his 38 points in a five-game span. Forward Justin Bailey made his first appearance with the Sabres since October on Saturday, after ankle and thumb injuries along with a stint in the minors, and scored against Vegas.

OVERTIME

1. Toronto F William Nylander was held to one shot Wednesday and has gone 12 games without a goal, with five assists in that span.

2. Buffalo recalled G Linus Ullmark from Rochester of the AHL and is expected to get some playing time down the stretch.

3. The Sabres have won three of the last five meetings, including a 5-3 victory on March 5.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 1

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Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
Coming off one of the most stunning comeback victories in recent memory, the Boston Bruins resume their chase of Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay when they visit the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. It is the third stop on a four-game road trip for Boston, which trails the Lightning by four points with two games in hand.

The Bruins won for the seventh time in eight games by scoring five unanswered goals in a 6-4 win at Carolina on Tuesday, marking the first time since April 1995 they overcame a third-period deficit of three goals to win in regulation. "Everything clicked for us," said forward David Pastrnak, who ignited the comeback. "I guess we all wish we knew how to turn this click. But I think a big part of it is just that we have a good team with a lot of very good players." The Panthers have been among the league's hottest teams but had their eight-game home winning streak snapped in Monday's 5-3 loss to Ottawa. It was the first regulation loss in 10 games (8-1-1) for Florida, which is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and hasn't lost two in a row at home since the first week of December.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TVAS, NESN (Boston), FS Florida

ABOUT THE BRUINS (44-16-8): Pastrnak registered his first career hat trick in style, scoring all three goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period against Carolina to give him 13 points in seven games in March. The victory came at a cost, however, as defenseman Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug exited the game with injuries, as did forward Jake DeBrusk. "Hopefully everybody is all right. I don't have any updates ... but we hope it's nothing serious," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "But I guess we'll see."

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (34-26-7): Center Vincent Trocheck, who collected a pair of assists to run his point streak to four games, did not practice Wednesday but coach Bob Boughner expects him back in the lineup against Boston. The outlook is not as clear for defenseman Alexander Petrovic, who also did not practice Wednesday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Boughner had Maxim Mamin on the fourth line in place of Micheal Haley at practice and said the Russian rookie is "more likely" to play Thursday.

OVERTIME

1. Boston has won five straight overall against the Panthers and its last five visits to Florida.

2. Panthers F Jonathan Huberdeau has scored in three straight games and five of the last eight.

3. Bruins F Brad Marchand has six goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak.

PREDICTION: Bruins 4, Panthers 3

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Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

15th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Pittsburgh Penguins missed a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division last time out and gives it another shot Thursday when they visit the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins coughed up a two-goal lead in the third period and fell 4-3 in overtime against the New York Rangers on Wednesday to settle into a tie for first in the division with Washington at 85 points.

Pittsburgh did not get a point from its top three scorers Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and captain Sidney Crosby on Wednesday and is likely to have Tristan Jarry back in net against the Canadiens after sitting out the last two games. It will be the first of three matchups in 17 days as Montreal visits the Penguins on March 21 and 31 after Pittsburgh won two of three last season. The Canadiens took Eastern Conference-best Tampa Bay to the shootout before losing Saturday and knocked off Dallas, which is in playoff position in the West, 4-2 on Tuesday with three-power-play goals. "We came out in the beginning of the game in the way we wanted, and we came out hard and put the forecheck on them," Montreal forward Artturi Lehkonen told reporters Tuesday. ". ... It was a really good game for us."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, RDS (Montreal)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (40-26-5): Malkin's six-game point streak came to an end Wednesday, but the big Russian has still accumulated 11 of his team-leading 87 points over the last seven games. Kessel owns 12 of his 78 points in the past 10 contests while Crosby (76 points) boasts a goal and five assists in the last four games for a Pittsburgh offense that is fifth in the league (3.24). Forward Bryan Rust returned Wednesday after missing two games with a concussion and scored his 11th goal of the season while posting five shots on net.

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (26-32-12): Goalie Antti Niemi, who allowed seven goals in his last four outings, could get the start against the team he started the season and struggled mightily with (0-3-0, .797 save percentage). Brendan Gallagher scored one of three power plays for Montreal on Tuesday and leads the team with 26 tallies - five in the last seven games - and 43 points while Alex Galchenyuk is one point behind. Center Andrew Shaw suffered a head injury in a collision with Dallas' Greg Pateryn and is out indefinitely.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist needs two points to reach 400 in his career and Crosby is two shy of 700 assists.

2. Montreal recalled F Michael McCarron from Laval of the AHL on Wednesday.

3. The Penguins lead the league in power-play percentage (25.6), but are 3-for-25 over the last eight games.

PREDICTION: Penguins 5, Canadiens 3

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Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Colorado Avalanche strengthened their playoff positioning by continuing their domination of one Central Division rival and will hope to keep the momentum going against a major nemesis. Riding an eight-game point streak (5-0-3), Colorado wraps up a two-game road trip with a visit to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

The Avalanche beat up on the Minnesota Wild for the third straight time on Tuesday but they have lost all three meetings this season against St. Louis and have one win over the Blues in the last 10 meetings. "St. Louis is another building that hasn't been great to us, it's been tough to win in and we got to find a way to do it," Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie said. "So, we will be just as excited and ready to go for that one." The Blues nearly torpedoed their postseason hopes by dropping nine of 10 (1-7-2) but they rebounded with a pair of impressive wins to wrap up a four-game road trip and pull within three points of the Avalanche. "We could have ... buried ourselves almost to the point of not really having a chance," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said. "We still have got a lot of work to do, we're still on the outside looking in, but we're a little bit closer."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude2 (Colorado), FS Midwest (St. Louis)

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (37-24-8): Colorado has scored a total of five goals in three meetings versus the Blues in 2017-18 and has produced more than two goals once in the last 10 matchups against them. Nathan MacKinnon ran his point streak to nine games, scoring eight times in that span, with his 33rd goal against Minnesota, but he has been held off the scoresheet and is a minus-4 in two games against St. Louis this season. Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who has appeared in 14 straight games, is 9-9-2 with a 2.37 goals-against average versus St. Louis and will be in net again as Jonathan Bernier continues to deal with a neck injury.

ABOUT THE BLUES (37-27-5): Jake Allen has been in net for the past three games and will start again Thursday after Carter Hutton was unable to practice Wednesday when his neck issue flared up. "We were expecting that Carter was gonna be able to practice today," Yeo said. "(He) woke up this morning and was starting to have some troubles again. So he'll have an appointment ... and we'll see what we find from that." Defenseman Joel Edmundson could be back in the lineup since fracturing his forearm against Colorado on Feb. 8. Rookie forward J.T. Compher ended a 14-game point drought by scoring twice Tuesday night, his first goals in the last 17 games.

OVERTIME

1. The Blues are 1-for-25 on the power play over the past eight games.

2. MacKinnon has amassed 17 points during his nine game streak.

3. Blues F Ivan Barbashev has goals in three of the last four games and is coming off back-to-back two-point contests.

PREDICTION: Blues 3, Avalanche 2

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Chicago Blackhawks vs. Winnipeg Jets Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Winnipeg Jets host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday following a six-game road trip where their chances for a Central Division title were weakened thanks in part to a rash of injuries. Tuesday's 3-1 loss at division leading Nashville, which puts the Jets eight points out with 12 games remaining, featured center Paul Stastny getting hurt in warmups and goaltender Michael Hutchinson being injured in the first period.

Nonetheless, the Jets battled hard after giving up three goals in nine minutes to open the game, as head coach Paul Maurice told reporters afterward, "In a tough situation, I really liked the way we stayed with it. There wasn't anything easy there for us tonight." The Blackhawks almost certainly are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons, going 6-13-1 in their past 20 games to drop to the bottom of the Central standings. Chicago responded from Saturday's 7-4 defeat at Boston to beat the Bruins at home Sunday 3-1, getting a goal and an assist from Patrick Kane. "We had really good jump in practice," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told the media Wednesday. "We did some good things in the majority of the back-to-back against Boston."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, TSN3 (Winnipeg)

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (30-32-8): Goaltender Anton Forsberg, who made 31 saves in Sunday's victory, is expected to start Thursday. Center Jonathan Toews recorded three assists Sunday, and has nine points (three goals) in seven games this month after recording eight in each of the season's first five months. Chicago has struggled on the power play, ranking 28th in the league at 15.9 percent, but broke a 2-for-22 drought by going 2-for-5 with the man advantage Sunday.

ABOUT THE JETS (41-19-10): Winnipeg has lost three in a row (0-2-1) but maintains a seven-point lead on Minnesota for second place in the Central. Center Mark Scheifele, who the Jets hope is close to returning, has missed the past four games with an upper-body injury, and Winnipeg promoted goaltender Eric Comrie from Manitoba of the AHL on Wednesday. Connor Hellebuyck, third in the NHL with 35 wins, made 30 saves in relief of Hutchinson and will start Thursday.

OVERTIME

1. Chicago F Anthony Duclair (leg) remains sidelined after a collision in Saturday's loss to Boston.

2. Jets F Patrik Laine did not score Tuesday to end his goal-scoring streak at six games, but picked up an assist to extend his point streak to 13 games (16 goals, 23 points).

3. The Blackhawks lead the season series 2-0, outscoring the Jets 7-2 as Kane has one goal and one assist.

PREDICTION: Jets 3, Blackhawks 2

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Detroit Red Wings vs. Los Angeles Kings Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Los Angeles Kings let down their guard in their last game and dropped a decision to an opponent that is languishing in the standings. It's a situation that they hope doesn't repeat itself on Thursday as the Kings host the spiraling Detroit Red Wings, who have lost a season high-tying seven in a row.

Jeff Carter scored two third-period goals in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to Arizona to extend his point total to eight (six goals, two assists) in nine games since missing 55 with an ankle injury. Carter's production aside, Los Angeles has answered winning six of eight by losing three of its last five to cling to third place in the congested Pacific Division. Detroit's second seven-game losing skid of the season has all but doused any faint flicker of a chance for a postseason berth, but coach Jeff Blashill isn't willing to make it easy on the Kings -- or any other club on the team's five-game road trip. "Every team we've played out here and will play out there is obviously fighting for their playoff lives," Blashill said. "I think our biggest challenge is playing our best hockey."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, FS Detroit, Sportsnet360

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (26-32-11): Frans Nielsen plans to return on Thursday from a three-game absence due to a hit to the head from Boston forward David Backes, who subsequently was suspended three contests by the NHL. "Yeah, passed the test," the 33-year-old Dane said. "... You never know how bad it is. It can be small symptoms that can turn into something way worse. I guess I was lucky it wasn't that bad." Nielsen set up defenseman Mike Green for Detroit's lone tally in a 4-1 setback to Los Angeles on Nov. 27.

ABOUT THE KINGS (38-26-6): Captain Anze Kopitar set up Carter's second-period goal on Tuesday to extend his point streak to five games (one goal, six assists). The 30-year-old Slovene resides three assists shy of his career high of 51, established in 2011-12, while his 76 points are five short of his personal best set in 2009-10. Kopitar had two goals and an assist in the first encounter versus Detroit, with Jonathan Quick's 23-save performance improving his mark to 9-13-1 against the Red Wings.

OVERTIME

1. Los Angeles sports a sizzling 20-9-1 mark versus Eastern Conference representatives.

2. Detroit LW Tyler Bertuzzi set up all three goals in Monday's 5-3 setback to San Jose, boosting his assist total to seven in his last seven games.

3. Kings D Drew Doughty has seven points (one goal, six assists) in the past nine games.

PREDICTION: Kings 4, Red Wings 2

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Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes Preview and Predictions 03-15-2018

14th March 2018 by Gracenote
The Nashville Predators are breathing rarefied air as an 11-0-1 stretch has allowed the team to reach triple digits in points in just 69 games, signifying the fastest mark in franchise history. Tied with Tampa Bay in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, the Predators aim to continue their torrid stretch on Thursday as they open a three-game road trip against the Arizona Coyotes.

"As we sit here and push toward it late in the season, we're trying to battle for what we need to do in order to better ourselves for the playoffs, and obviously, the division and the conference," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. Pekka Rinne has played a big role in the Predators' ascent to an eight-point lead over second-place Winnipeg, turning aside 32 shots in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Jets to improve his save percentage to a scintillating .945 in his past nine starts. Although separated from Nashville by a staggering 43 points, Arizona owns an 11-3-2 mark in its last 16 contests to escape the NHL's cellar by moving past Buffalo. "You want to get the fans excited about coming and watching and getting wins on home ice," Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski said of the club's 8-2-1 record in its past 11 games at Gila River Arena.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), FS Arizona-Plus

ABOUT THE PREDATORS (45-14-10): Captain Roman Josi has answered a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury by notching an assist in back-to-back contests, giving him 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) in his last eight outings. The 27-year-old Switzerland native also set up two goals in Nashville's 3-2 shootout win over Arizona on Jan. 18. Austin Watson scored versus the Jets to increase his point total to six (five goals, one assist) in his last nine games.

ABOUT THE COYOTES (23-35-11): Antti Raanta participated in Arizona's optional practice on Wednesday, although assistant coach John MacLean wasn't ready to declare the 28-year-old Finn ready to return from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury. "He felt better but I think you just have to wait on these things and how it responds afterward. We'll just kind of go day by day with all the goalie stuff," MacLean said. As for MacLean, he is expected to return to his traditional role as head coach Rick Tocchet will rejoin the team on Thursday after dealing with a family illness.

OVERTIME

1. Nashville C Craig Smith scored in his team's 3-2 overtime loss to Arizona on Jan. 4 and netted the eventual winner in the shootout between the teams in the next encounter.

2. Coyotes C Derek Stepan has one goal and four assists in his past six games.

3. The Predators are 0-for-12 on the power play in the last four contests and 0-for-5 against Arizona this season.

PREDICTION: Predators 5, Coyotes 2

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Mike Wynn

Free Play: Free Pick Early Kansas -13½ Over Pennsylvania

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Free Selection from Jim Feist

Jim Feist's Comp Pick, Thursday, March 15, 2018



03/15 06:05 PM PT / 9:05 PM ET

NBA (715) DETROIT PISTONS VS (716) DENVER NUGGETS

Take: (716) DENVER NUGGETS

Reason: Your free play for Thursday, March 15, 2018 is in the NBA scheduled contest between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. Your Free play is on the NUGGETS.

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Jeff Allen Sports

Thursday's Free Selection is on the Philadelphia Flyers

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Razor Sharp

YOUR RAZOR SHARP FREE PICK FOR EARLY THURSDAY: Take WRIGHT ST/TENNESSEE OVER the total of 132

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Totals4U

Early Thursday's Free Selection: Montana/Michigan over 135

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John Anthony Sports

Early Thursday's Free Selection: LA Clippers + 11 1/2

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Atlantic Sports

Early Thursday's Free Selection from Atlantic Sports: Kansas - 13 1/2