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ACCESS
PICKS FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 |
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NBA |
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3/22/2018 |
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FOUND
6
GAMES |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-360
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-8 (-110)
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Over 213 (-110)
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+289
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+8 (-110)
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Under 213 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 22, 2018 The triple-doubles are occurring often for rookie Ben Simmons and the ball movement also happens frequently for the Philadelphia 76ers.Simmons attempts to get another triple-double while the 76ers seek their 23rd straight game with at least 20 assists Thursday night when they visit the Orlando Magic.Philadelphia (40-30) is two wins shy of securing its first winning record since going 43-39 in 2004-05. Simmons was a 10-year-old in Australia when the Sixers posted their last winning season and now he is among the reasons for Philadelphia's success.Simmons is averaging 16.2 points, 7.9 assists, and 7.8 rebounds in his first 69 games. The Sixers are 8-3 this month and Simmons' averages are 13.6 points, 10.5 assists, and 8.5 rebounds.Simmons has three triple-doubles in his last five games. He nearly posted his 10th triple-double with 13 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds but rested in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 119-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies when the Sixers handed out 32 assists.He has at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in 13 straight games. This season, Simmons owns 49 games with at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, something only LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have done more often.Simmons is helping the Sixers constantly get at least 20 assists.Their streak is the team's longest since doing it in 24 straight from Nov. 24, 1992-Jan. 13, 1993 according to basketball-reference. When Philadelphia did it in its first season after trading Charles Barkley to Phoenix, it went 9-15 during a 56-loss season but during this streak, the Sixers are 16-6 since starting the streak on Feb. 2 against Miami."Our 30 assists is an example of we share the ball, we get along and there's a competitiveness defensively that they're buying into and beginning to hold each other more accountable," said Philadelphia coach Brett Brown, whose team is averaging 27.6 assists in his last 22 games.A beneficiary of the ball movement is Embiid, who recorded four straight double-doubles before finishing with 14 and seven rebounds Wednesday. Embiid is averaging 22.9 points and 11.5 rebounds in 21 games since Philadelphia began its streak of 20-assist games.At times, Embiid has been held out of at least one game on a back-to-back set but he is expected to play Thursday."When I miss a day or two and I don't really do anything I get out of shape really quick," Embiid said. "So being consistent about playing and not missing two or three days I know my body, I've learned my body for the past three years. I know my body and I feel like that's how it works. I want to keep going. Honestly, I've been feeling good, I haven't been tired, so I just got to keep it going." Orlando (21-50) has clinched a second straight 50-loss season. The Magic reached 50 losses for the fifth time in six years when they scored 10 points in the fourth quarter of a 93-86 home loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.The Magic are 1-7 in their last eight games after getting consecutive home wins over the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies three weeks ago. During the last eight games, the Magic are averaging 93.4 points on 42.1 percent shooting.On Tuesday, the Magic shot 41.1 percent but missed 14 of their first 15 shots in the fourth quarter and 16 of 19 overall in the final 12 minutes."It's about decision-making and execution," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "If you're getting pressured, you've got to move the ball along. If you're getting to the rim and you don't have a clean look, you've got to kick it out. We've just got to make better decisions." Aaron Gordon went 0-for-4 in the final 12 minutes and finished with 16 points in his return from missing five games with a concussion.Shelvin Mack led the Magic with 17 points and was 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter on a night when the Magic were held to fewer than 90 points for the 11th time.Evan Fournier missed his sixth straight game with a sprained knee and is not expected to play Thursday.
 Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 ORLANDO, Fla. Joel Embiid had 17 points and nine rebounds in just 20 minutes and the surging Philadelphia 76ers moved closer to a playoff berth with a 118-98 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.Ersan Ilyasova scored 18 points, leading six Philadelphia players in double figures as the 76ers (41-30) won their fifth straight and clinched their first non-losing season in six years. Robert Covington and Marco Belinelli added 15 points.Rodney Purvis came off the bench to score 19 points for the Magic, who have lost eight of nine. Aaron Gordon, the only Orlando starter to score in double figures, had 10 points and 11 rebounds.Embiid and J. J. Redick combined for 10 points in a 12-0 run that left the 76ers with a 70-47 lead just before halftime.The Magic's last lead was 14-12 after Nikola Vucevic made a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. Belinelli scored on an inbound pass play to tie it, then hit a jump shot to put the 76ers ahead to stay. They led by double figures after the first 15 minutes and by 35 at one point.The 76ers played the fourth quarter without any starters for the second straight night, leaving Ben Simmons with six points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.Simmons has nine triple-doubles. Only one player in NBA history has produced as many as 10 triple-doubles in his rookie season. Oscar Robertson had 26 triple-doubles in his rookie season of 1960-61.TIP-INS76ers: Their 41st win clinched their first .500 or better finish since 2011-12, the last time they were in the playoffs. ... The five-game win streak is all against losing teams. The 76ers' last eight wins have come over losing teams. The 76ers are 18-0 when holding opponents under 100 points.Magic: F Jonathan Isaac, who missed 46 games of his rookie season due to an ankle injury, did not play because of a left foot sprain. ... F Jonathon Simmons was out with a right wrist contusion.UP NEXT76ers: Host Minnesota on Saturday night.Magic: Host Phoenix on Saturday night.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+330
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+7.5 (-115)
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Over 214 (-110)
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-420
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-7.5 (-105)
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Under 214 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 21, 2018 Losing teams enduring the second night of a late-season back-to-back square off Thursday night when the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N. C.The teams got split decisions on the front end of the back-to-back, with the Hornets using a late three-point play by Kemba Walker to rally for a 111-105 win at Brooklyn, while the Grizzlies were thumped 119-105 at Philadelphia.The clubs haven't seen each other since October, when the Hornets won 104-99 in Memphis behind Walker's 27 points.The game was so long ago, star point guard Mike Conley played for the Grizzlies. He has missed the last 58 games with a bone protrusion in his left heel.Memphis finds itself searching positives at a time in which it's lost 21 of its last 22 games.A shot at the first pick in the next draft is one of them. The Grizzlies (19-52) are battling Phoenix (19-53) for the worst record in the league.Also, with Conley out, more focus has gone on the Memphis frontcourt, which lost longtime standout Zach Randolph to free agency last summer. Current starters Jarell Martin and JaMychal Green have shown signs of a bright future in recent weeks.Martin had only eight points and five rebounds in the loss to the 76ers, but he'd been on a nice roll before that. A recent stretch of seven straight games scoring in double figures included his first double-double of the season (19 points, 11 rebounds) at Orlando.He also had a career-best 13 rebounds Saturday against Denver."You look at the way that Jarell has been playing, and he's been consistently doing things that we need him to do to help this ballclub and to help make him a NBA rotational player," Grizzlies interim coach J. B. Bickerstaff noted. "(He's) a guy who can fit in and help a team win when it matters." Green had a season-high-tying 16 rebounds Monday against Brooklyn. He followed that up with 14 points and seven rebounds against the 76ers.He's recorded nine double-doubles in his last 14 games.The Hornets (31-41) have seen similar promise from young big man Willy Hernangomez, who they acquired from the New York Knicks for Johnny O'Bryant at the trade deadline.Hernangomez got 13 or more minutes for the fourth time since the trade when called upon for 14 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's win over the Nets. He used those minutes to contribute five points and seven rebounds to Charlotte's third win in its last 11 games.Hernangomez has averaged a useful 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds when getting 13 or more minutes for his new team.Hornets coach Steve Clifford found himself justifying why Hernangomez hasn't played more with Charlotte (31-41) having fallen out of playoff contention."With younger players, you don't just throw guys in there just to watch them. It's not fair for them, and it's not fair for other guys on the floor," he explained. "The team has to be organized, and we're not as organized with him (because of his newness)." Charlotte's win Wednesday allowed it temporarily to avoid a 42nd loss, which would assure the club's second consecutive losing season.The Hornets are 4-8 on the second night of a back-to-back; the Grizzlies have won only three times on 14 such occasions.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 CHARLOTTE, N. C. Kemba Walker scored 46 points and made 10 3-pointers, and the Charlotte Hornets rolled to the most lopsided victory in franchise history by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 140-79 on Thursday night.Walker had the ninth 40-point game of his career as the Hornets easily overcame the absence of the suspended Dwight Howard. The All-Star guard hit 13 of 18 shots overall, including 10 of 14 on 3-pointers, and was 10 of 10 on free throws in 28 minutes.He scored 17 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second quarter and 11 in the third before he was replaced for the final time with 1:48 left in the period.It came one night after Howard's 32-point, 30-rebound performance that helped Charlotte rally from a 23-point deficit for a 111-105 victory at Brooklyn. But in the process, Howard was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season, meaning he had to serve a one-game suspension on Thursday night.It didn't matter as the Hornets roared ahead 12-2 in the first 4 1/2 minutes, were ahead 37-14 after one quarter, 75-42 at halftime and by a game-high 65 points (137-72) with 1:45 left before taking the 61-point win.Charlotte's largest previous win in franchise history came by 52 points (136-84) at home against Philadelphia on Feb. 27, 1992.It was the third-highest scoring game of Walker's career. The 6-foot-1 point guard had a career-high 52 points against Utah in a 124-119 double-overtime win in January 2016, and had 47 points in a 123-120 loss at Chicago in November 2017.Marvin Williams and Dwayne Bacon added 15 points apiece for Charlotte. Wayne Selden had 18 for Memphis.TIP-INS:Grizzlies: Memphis interim head coach J. B. Bickerstaff was on the Charlotte coaching staff when the city returned to the NBA in 2004 and nicknamed Bobcats. Then a 25-year-old assistant coach to his father Bernie Bickerstaff, J. B. Bickerstaff was the youngest coach in the NBA at that time.Hornets: On Wednesday, Howard became one of only three players in the last 20 years (Andrew Bynum on April 11, 2012, and Kevin Love on Nov. 12, 2010) to get 30 rebounds in a game.UP NEXTGrizzlies: Host Lakers on Saturday night.Hornets: Visit Mavericks on Saturday night.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 8:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+125
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+3 (-115)
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Over 231.5 (-110)
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-145
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-3 (-105)
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Under 231.5 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 21, 2018 NEW ORLEANS -- Two down, one to go.The New Orleans Pelicans are playing valiantly against stiff odds, not the least of which has been a crazy schedule that is forcing them to play three games on consecutive nights.The Pelicans (42-30) showed remarkable grit Wednesday night by hanging on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 96-92 at the Smoothie King Center. They have now won the first two games of the tripleheader and have a third consecutive home game Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (31-39).Anthony Davis led the Pelicans to a regular-season sweep of the Pacers, scoring 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking five shots in 35 minutes. Guard E'Twaun Moore scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and forward Nikola Mirotic, who missed his first seven 3-point attempts against the Pacers, hit from long range on back-to-back possessions in the final four minutes.The Pelicans are 15-5 this season in games decided by five or fewer points.New Orleans committed 12 turnovers and guard Jrue Holiday, battling the flu, needed intravenous fluids at halftime. But Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he's trying to keep his players' minds off the scheduling marathon."We're just not talking about this -- four (games) in five nights or 12 in 14 nights or whatever -- we just got it on the schedule and you've got to play," Gentry said. "You're either going to play and do the very best you can or you make excuses, and we're not going to make excuses. The schedule says we're going to play last night, tonight and tomorrow night, so that's what we'll do, and we'll give them the very best we can and see what happens." Moore said the third consecutive game against the Lakers will be "a mental battle" of mind over matter."We can't think about the tiredness," Moore said. "We just had faith and kept going and kept playing. I knew our guys were a little tired and Jrue was sick, so I needed to step up and make plays." The victory kept the fifth-seeded Pelicans three games up on No. 9 Denver (39-33) in the Western Conference playoff race.While the Pelicans were playing their second of three games on consecutive nights, the Lakers were relaxing with some downtown shopping. Los Angeles has lost three straight, and the Lakers will be without Brandon Ingram, who did not practice Wednesday while resting a sore groin.Ingram, the Lakers' leading scorer (16.2 points per game), has been out since March 3. The Lakers went 4-2 in the first six games without Ingram in the lineup, but they have lost their last three.The Pelicans have won four of the last five against the Lakers, including both games this year. In a Feb. 14 game at the Smoothie King Center, the Pelicans scored a season-high 139 points. Davis scored 31 of his game-high 42 points in the first half.In the two games against New Orleans, the Lakers have been led by Kyle Kuzma, who has averaged 21.5 points on 51.5 percent shooting. Kuzma led the Lakers with 27 points in a 110-100 loss to Indiana on Monday night.Lakers coach Luke Walton has encouraged rookie point guard Lonzo Ball to look more aggressively for his shot, even though he is shooting only 35.7 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from long range."I think I need to be more aggressive," Ball said. "At the same time, we have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball. Someone has to pass, so it's kind of my job to get everybody the ball, but I'd definitely like to score a little bit more." The Lakers recalled forward Thomas Bryant from the G League, and he will be in uniform on Thursday night. Thomas averaged 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in the developmental league.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 NEW ORLEANS Anthony Davis capped a 33-point performance with two clutch free throws and a game-sealing steal in the final seconds, Rajon Rondo had 24 points and 10 assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans erased an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 128-125 on Thursday night.Rondo scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, when the Pelicans could not have been blamed if they had faded, giving they were playing for the fifth time in six nights.Instead, they produced a riveting rally that pulled them into fourth place in the Western Conference with nine games left in the regular season. Rondo's final baskets included a 29-foot 3 to cut Los Angeles' lead to 125-124 with 2:28 left, followed by his driving layup that put New Orleans in front for good with 2:01 to play.New Orleans, which had a game against Indiana rescheduled this week because of a roof leak that postponed a game in February, became the first team since Seattle in 1979 to win three home games on consecutive nights. New Orleans has won four straight since beating Boston on Sunday and 15 of 19 since Feb. 10.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tied a career-high with eight 3s and finished with 28 points, but did not get a shot in the Lakers' final few possessions. Instead, Lonzo Ball missed two 3-point attempts and Julius Randle - who had 23 points and 10 rebounds - missed a driving floater from about 7 feet.The Lakers tried to get Caldwell-Pope a chance at a tying 3 in the final seconds, but two Pelicans defenders quickly converged. Caldwell-Pope tried to pass instead, but Davis intercepted.Jrue Holiday had 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting for New Orleans, which shot 54.7 percent (52 of 95). E'Twaun Moore and Ian Clark each scored 13.Brook Lopez scored 23 points, Kyle Kuzma 22 and Isaiah Thomas 15 for Los Angeles, which dropped its fourth straight.There were 19 lead changes and 15 ties in a high-scoring first half.Caldwell-Pope came out firing from deep early, hitting his first five 3-point shots. That spurred the Lakers to a 44-point first quarter, the most points allowed in any quarter by New Orleans all season. Randle produced one of the more spectacular highlights of the game during the period when he rebounded his own block of Emeka Okafor and beat both Clark and Holiday on an end-to-end dribble for a soaring two-handed dunk.But the Pelicans kept pace, scoring 40 points on 65.4 percent shooting (17 of 26), with 32 of those points coming in the paint.Both offenses slowed in the second quarter, but not by much.New Orleans led 71-69 when Davis converted a lay-up on an alley-oop lob from Moore with 2:26 to go in the period, but the Lakers responded with Lopez's dunk and 7-foot jumper to take a 73-71 lead at halftime.TIP-INSLakers: Tied a season high for points in a first half. ... Shot 17-of-39 from 3-point range, including 7-of-10 in the first quarter. ... Turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 21 Pelicans points. ... F Channing Frye was active for the first time since his appendectomy on Feb. 16, but did not play ... Thomas was assessed a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second quarter.Pelicans: Scored 80 points in the paint after coming in averaging 51.6 points in the paint, which ranked second in the NBA. ... Playing in only his third game this season, Solomon Hill played his most minutes yet with 13 and hit a 3-pointer. ... Shot 6 of 24 from 3-point range.UP NEXT:Lakers: At Memphis on Saturday night.Pelicans: At Houston on Saturday night.---More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 8:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+506
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+10.5 (-110)
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Over 212.5 (-110)
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-700
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-10.5 (-110)
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Under 212.5 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 21, 2018 HOUSTON -- It was the latest in an impressive series of signature performances from Houston Rockets guard James Harden, with his dismantling of the host Trail Blazers on Tuesday and it is emblematic of the unyielding commitment his team is showcasing during the stretch run of the regular season.The Rockets (57-14) extended their latest winning streak to six games with a white-knuckle, 115-111 victory in Portland, building their lead over Golden State to four games in the pursuit of homecourt advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. With 11 games left, the Rockets have all but clinched the top seed and accomplished one of their longstanding goals. All that remains before the playoffs commence is maintaining a strict adherence to quality play."That locker room is the best I've ever seen," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "There's nobody pouting or down (about fluctuations in playing time). We've got a mission, and everybody is on board. Totally." Houston will open a five-game homestand on Thursday at Toyota Center against the Detroit Pistons.Four of the Rockets' opponents on this homestand are out of the postseason picture, with Houston just two wins shy of eclipsing the franchise single-season record for victories set during its first championship season in 1993-94. There is a strong likelihood that the Rockets will hit the 60-win plateau for the first time before they visit the San Antonio Spurs on April 1.Should the Rockets secure the top seed and set a new franchise benchmark for wins by the close of this month, then they might consider resting their regulars in advance of what they hope will be a prolonged postseason run. But until those goals are met, Houston will remain focused on dispatching opponents with Harden, the MVP frontrunner, leading its charge."It's hard. It's pretty tough," said Harden, after scoring a game-high 42 points against the Trail Blazers, of the challenge he presents opposing defenses. "Not just because of me but because of the way our team is stacked up. We have a lot of talent on both ends of the floor." With their playoff hopes essentially extinguished, the Pistons (32-39) are seeking to carry something positive into the offseason. Detroit claimed its second consecutive road win on Tuesday at Phoenix, a modest rebound after a 12-game skid away from Little Caesars Arena.Guard Reggie Jackson returned to action in that 115-88 victory, posting seven points and two assists over 15 minutes following his 37-game injury hiatus. The Pistons were five games over .500 when Jackson suffered a right ankle sprain on Dec. 26, and while his return doesn't solve all their roster issues, the Pistons are somewhat closer to whole with Jackson back in the fold."Regardless of what happens the last 11 games here, if we can get Reggie healthy and keep him healthy, with those three guys that's going to be a formidable group to play against," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said of Jackson, forward Blake Griffin and All-Star center Andre Drummond. "This can be a good team. Nothing that happens in the next 11 games would change my mind. They just need time together and they need health."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 HOUSTON James Harden scored 21 points, including 10 of Houston's 12 points in overtime, to shake off a tough four quarters and lift the Rockets to a 100-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.After going 2 of 16 in regulation, including missing a shot that would have won it, Harden warmed up in overtime. He put Houston up with a basket early in the period before making it 93-90 on a three-point play after a basket by Andre Drummond. He added three free throws with about a minute left before P. J. Tucker's tip-in made it 98-90 with 21 seconds to play.Blake Griffin, who finished with a triple-double, had a 3-pointer after that, but Harden made two more free throws to push the lead to seven. Harden missed both free throws after a 3-pointer by Ish Smith with 4.2 seconds left, but the Rockets held on to extend their winning streak to seven games.It was an ugly game which featured 71 missed 3-pointers combined. Houston was 12 of 51 and Detroit made just 6 of 38.Eric Gordon added 22 points for Houston on a night Chris Paul sat out with a sore left hamstring.Griffin had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Drummond had 17 points and 20 rebounds.The Pistons trailed by nine with about 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation when Griffin made a layup to start an 11-0 run. Reggie Bullock made a 3-pointer and Luke Kennard had four points in that stretch, including two free throws that put Detroit up 88-86 with about 90 seconds remaining.Houston tied the game when Drummond was called for goaltending on a shot by Tucker with 30.5 seconds left.Griffin missed a shot with 9 seconds left and Harden's shot jump shot at the buzzer was off to send the game into overtime.After scoring 42 in Houston's win over Portland on Tuesday, Harden had trouble getting anything going against Detroit. He made 13 of 18 free throws, but was 0 for 8 on 3-pointers.The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with five straight points, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Trevor Ariza, to lead 76-68 with about 10 1/2 minutes left.Detroit got within four points before a 7-2 run by Houston made it 83-74 midway through the quarter. Joe Johnson got things going in that stretch with a 3-pointer and Gordon scored the other four points.Griffin received a flagrant foul early in the third quarter when he tripped Harden as he came down after a 3-point attempt. Harden twisted his left ankle as he landed and crashed to the court. He remained there for a couple of minutes before slowly getting to his feet and remaining in the game.He made two of three free throws as part of an 8-0 run Houston used to start the third quarter and take a 56-50 lead. The Rockets carried a 71-68 lead into the fourth quarter.Detroit led for most of the first half and was up 50-48 at halftime.TIP-INSPistons: Detroit forced 12 turnovers for its 59th straight game with at least 10, which is the longest such active streak in the NBA. ... Smith finished with 18 points. ... Reggie Jackson was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.Rockets: Coach Mike D'Antoni said Paul's injury wasn't serious and that he expects him to return on Saturday. ... Luc Mbah a Moute didn't play after halftime because soreness in his left knee. ... Clint Capela had 14 rebounds.UP NEXTPistons: Host Chicago on Saturday night.Rockets: Host New Orleans on Saturday night.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
|
|
FINAL |
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3/22/2018 8:38 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-350
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-8 (-105)
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Over 198 (-111)
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+281
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+8 (-115)
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Under 198 (-109)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 22, 2018 Losses have been few rare for Utah over the last two months, but any setback over the next three weeks could potentially be devastating as the Jazz try to hold on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference.It is why opening a three-game road trip Thursday by visiting the Dallas Mavericks is so important for Utah.The Jazz (40-31) lost for only the third time in 24 games Tuesday at home against Atlanta. The 99-94 defeat was enough to drop Utah to eighth place in the West standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets.Four games separated fourth-place Oklahoma City with the 10th-place Los Angeles Clippers. The Jazz can't look at every game as a must-win, even it feels that way.Utah feels it must get the trip off on the right foot, especially with games at San Antonio and Golden State looming."Are we going to sit around and cry about losing to the Atlanta Hawks?" Utah center Rudy Gobert said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "Or are we going to move on? We have to stay focused. We have to stay confident and stay hungry. We have to keep trusting each other. But we gotta know right now that we can beat anyone or lose to anyone.'' The defeat to the lottery-bound Hawks provided a valuable lesson for a squad that enjoyed a nine-game winning streak going into the game and an 11-game unbeaten run to start its surge in the West."We found out that we're not invincible," Utah rookie guard Donovan Mitchell said, according to the Tribune. "We can't play well all the time, and we're going to have games like this. But we weren't able to make shots and execute. It was an off night, but we'll get better offensively." The Jazz are 2-0 against Dallas this season and a win Thursday at American Airlines Center would give Utah its first series sweep since 1998-99. Gobert is averaging 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the first two games against the Mavs.The Mavericks (22-49) have lost three straight and are likely without point guard Dennis Smith Jr. The rookie missed Tuesday's 115-105 loss at New Orleans with a sprained ankle suffered Saturday at Brooklyn.After struggling in Friday's overtime loss at Toronto, Smith was producing a solid game against the Nets before going down."It just means I'm becoming an NBA player," Smith said. "They say that the biggest thing for me to learn is the next play, or next game and next shot. That's part of the learning process." Smith was relieved that X-rays were negative. He's confident he'll return to the court before the season is done."I want to finish the year out strong and I can't do that if I'm hurt," Smith said.Dallas went 1-3 on its four-game road trip spread over nine days and two countries."It seemed exceptionally long, but if you're going to set up the schedule for better spacing, this is going to be one of the by-products," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the road trip. "It'll be good to get back. We did some good things on the trip, but it's time to go home."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 DALLAS Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and the Utah Jazz got back on the winning track by beating the Dallas Mavericks 119-112 on Thursday night.Two nights after a loss to Atlanta ended a nine-game winning streak, Utah moved into a tie with Minnesota for seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race. The Jazz have won 22 of their last 25 games.Mitchell is the only NBA rookie averaging 20 points.All five Utah starters scored in double figures.Joe Ingles had 18 points and 10 assists, equaling his career high. Ricky Rubio scored 22 points, Derrick Favors had 19 and Rudy Gobert added 11.J. J. Barea had a season-high 23 points for the Mavericks with 20 in the first half. Harrison Barnes added 21 points and Yogi Ferrell scored 20 in a reserve role.A three-point play by Mitchell gave Utah a 37-34 lead after one quarter. The Jazz then scored the first six points in the second quarter and extended their margin to 52-37.Dallas' first field goal in the second quarter came with 7:15 left on a slam dunk by Dwight Powell. That started the Mavericks' 11-0 run, with the last seven points by Barea, to pull to 52-48.Utah pulled away for a 65-58 halftime lead and extended it to 96-81 after three quarters.TIP-INSJazz: Utah shot 68 percent (15 for 22) from the field in the first quarter. . Ingles had seven assists in the first quarter. His first career double-double had come just 15 days earlier against Indiana.Mavericks: They made 65 percent (13 for 20) of their first-quarter field goal attempts. . Dallas signed former Charlotte Hornet Aaron Harrison to a 10-day contract. He scored six points. . Dirk Nowitzki passed Kevin Garnett for third place in minutes played in NBA history. Nowitzki's 25 minutes increased his career total to 50,437. . Barea was in his 567th game for the Mavericks, breaking a tie with Mark Aguirre for the eighth-most in team history.UP NEXTJazz: Visit San Antonio on Friday.Mavericks: Host Charlotte on Saturday.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+148
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+4 (-115)
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Over 212.5 (-110)
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-170
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-4 (-105)
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Under 212.5 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 21, 2018 SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- They aren't going to the playoffs for the 12th straight season, and the Sacramento Kings figure they won't end their dubious streak until they can protect their home court.With five of their final six home games to be contested over the next 10 days -- including one against the lottery-bound Atlanta Hawks on Thursday at the Golden 1 Center and another against one (Dallas) of three teams in the Western Conference with a worse mark than them -- the Kings will get a chance to see how far they've come.One step would be avoiding the same letdown they showed against the Detroit Pistons on the night they kicked off a six-game homestand Monday."It was a tough game for us," coach Dave Joerger told reporters after Sacramento's 106-90 loss. "It's that type of game we gotta let roll off of us." The Kings (23-49) knew this would be a development year, and they seem pleased with the progress of players such as guards Buddy Hield (in his second year), De'Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic (both rookies). They are likely not as pleased with their inability to have had more consistency on the home court, where their 12-23 mark is better than only Phoenix's 9-27.By the time this homestand is over, Sacramento will have played 12 of 16 contests on the home floor. They are 4-3 in those 12 games, but the loss to Detroit kept the Kings from recording a third straight home win for the first time since November.Bogdanovic did not play against the Pistons because of a hamstring injury, and the team has not updated his availability for Thursday's contest. Bogdanovic hadn't sat out a game since Oct. 21.Forward Vince Carter (24,817 career points), winding down his 20th season, will continue his climb toward Jerry West and 21st on the league's all-time scoring list. He passed Patrick Ewing (24,815) with a seven-point game against Detroit. West has 25,192."I don't care what generation you talk to in this game, they know who these guys are" Carter told the Sacramento Bee. "To say that you passed them in scoring, it doesn't get any better than that." The Hawks (21-50) say they continue to have their eyes squarely on their own win column, even if their fans seem more concerned with the draft lottery.Atlanta's 99-94 win at Utah on Tuesday momentarily halted that momentum. By winning, the Hawks moved into a tie with the Orlando Magic for the worst mark in the Eastern Conference, and, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, set off a torrent of unrest on social media from their fan base."Guess we should our heads down when we win and be happy when we lose stop it," Hawks guard Malcolm Delaney said on Twitter, according to the Journal-Constitution. "We are still enjoying the season and having fun. And trying to win games." Guard Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 41 points against Utah, the first 40-point output by any Atlanta player since Joe Johnson in 2008.Despite the struggles, Atlanta is the among the league's best in forcing turnovers (15.6 per game), and they caused 16 Utah turnovers. The Kings turn over the ball 13.3 times per game.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 23, 2018 SACRAMENTO, Calif. Justin Jackson scored 11 of his season-high 20 points in the third quarter and the Sacramento Kings beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-90 on Thursday night in a game that was delayed due to protesters who were locked arm-in-arm surrounding entrances to Golden1 Center.Jackson shot 7 of 8 and was perfect on four shots beyond the arc to help the Kings split the season series with the Hawks while avenging their worst loss of the season. Atlanta beat Sacramento 126-80 in November.Buddy Hield and Frank Mason scored 16 points apiece, while Kosta Koufos added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings.A massive crowd shut down nearby freeways and gathered in the surrounding streets to protest the police shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was in the backyard of his grandparents' house Sunday night. According to reports, Clark was shot 20 times.Only a few hundred fans made it into the Golden1 Center before police decided to not allow anyone else to enter. Several of those who did get in were allowed to move down into the lower bowl of the arena, leaving the upper deck empty.With so few fans in attendance, the game often had the look and feel of a high school playoff.The Kings led most of the way and pulled away in the second half behind Jackson and Hield, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.Isaiah Taylor scored 18 points, Dewayne Dedmon added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyler Dorsey made three 3s and scored 11 points for Atlanta. The Hawks have lost three straight in Sacramento.Taylor had seven of Atlanta's first 13 points and the Hawks made four 3s to take a 28-25 lead.Sacramento trailed 38-35 midway through the second, then closed the half on a 14-6 run. Six players scored for the Kings during the run that was capped by Bruno Caboclo's first 3-pointer of the season.Jackson went inside and converted a three-point play to start another run for Sacramento at the end of the third. Hield added a 3-pointer and Mason had four points to put the Kings up 80-71.TIP-INSHawks: Atlanta hasn't won back-to-back games since Feb. 4-6. . Dennis Schroder was given the night off by coach Mike Budenholzer. . Kent Bazemore missed his fifth consecutive game with a bruised bone in his right knee.Kings: Zach Randolph (stomach) and Garrett Temple (sprained left ankle) did not play.UP NEXTHawks: At Golden State on Friday.Kings: Host Boston on Sunday.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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NCAAB |
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3/22/2018 |
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FOUND
6
GAMES |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:07 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+104
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+1 (-110)
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Over 145 (-110)
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-124
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-1 (-110)
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Under 145 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 20, 2018 Ninety years and 1,900 miles separate the two superstars of this year's NCAA Tournament.Loyola-Chicago has a 98-year-old nun. Nevada has an 8-year-old superfan.It seems as if Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt has helped deliver two buzzer-beating wins for the Ramblers.And Mariah Musselman, the precocious daughter of the Wolf Pack's exuberant coach, has been Nevada's biggest cheerleader during its run to the Sweet 16.The teams' secret weapons are no longer so secret.Not after Sister Jean, the Ramblers' team chaplain, inspired No. 11-seed Loyola (30-5) to back-to-back nail-biting wins, 64-62 win over No. 6 Miami on Thursday and 63-62 over third-seeded Tennessee on Saturday."I say a prayer, but sometimes there's a little more than talking to God in the prayer," Sister Jean said on "Good Morning America" this week. "We wanna be sure that, when the buzzer goes off, the numbers indicate that we get the big W. I pray for the other team, perhaps not as hard." Mariah exhorted the Wolf Pack to two come-from-behind wins. Nevada (29-7) overcame a 14-point deficit on Friday to beat No. 10 Texas in overtime 87-83. Then on Sunday, Mariah's dad made the necessary adjustment over the last 11-plus minutes and Nevada climbed out of a 22-point hole to beat No. 2-seed Cincinnati 75-73 to set up Thursday's Sweet 16 battle against the Ramblers in Atlanta.What does Mariah's dad have to say about Loyola?"They're a really, really well-coached team that presents a lot of problems. To beat Miami, to beat Tennessee ... this team is really good," Musselman said. "They have a freshman center who was freshman of the year in their conference. They have the player of the year from their conference and they have a bunch of really good shooters." Looking past the two darlings of the tournament are two very different teams hoping to write a storybook ending to a tournament no one could have predicted.To advance to the Elite Eight, Musselman said, will require a team to play its "A game" and nearly "perfect basketball." On display for the Ramblers will be Clayton Custer, the aforementioned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. He averages 13.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, shoots 46 percent from beyond the arc and had the game-winning shot against the Volunteers.Cameron Krutwig, the MVC Freshman of the Year, averages 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. Donte Ingram and Marques Townes each average more than 11 points and shoot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc.The Ramblers have won 12 straight and 19 out of their past 20. They rank third in the nation in field goal percentage (50.6 percent) and 50th in field-goal defense (41.6 percent).But it's defense where the Ramblers rest their laurels. Their opponents in the regular season turn the ball over on nearly 20 percent of possessions and make only 33.2 percent of their 3-point shots."We've got our foot on the pedal," coach Porter Moser told the Chicago Tribune. "We feel like we're chasing. We're going to chase some more. We've got to chase Nevada. We're going to be the underdog in this game, and we're going to chase 'em." Caleb Martin leads the Wolf Pack, which shoots almost 40 percent from long range, at 18.8 points per game. Jordan Caroline averages 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds. Cody Martin, Caleb's twin brother, contributes 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game."Loyola is a great team, but we're ready, we're hungry, we know we can beat them and we'll go in there expecting to beat them," Wolf Pack guard KendallStephens said. "At the same time, they're there for a reason like we are, so we'll approach it in that manner." The South Region is wide open with the top four seeds already planning their summers. Loyola, which won the NCAA title in 1963, approaches Thursday's game full of confidence."In our region, a ton of upsets have happened, and people say, 'Oh, things look easier for you,'" Loyola guard Ben Richardson told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding? Have you seen what happened? You think it's going to be easier after seeing all that?' It's anything goes."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 22, 2018 ATLANTA With Loyola-Chicago clinging to a one-point lead and only 6.3 seconds remaining, Marques Townes sank a 3-pointer from in front of the Ramblers' bench to continue their improbable NCAA Tournament run.Townes scored 18 points, including the key 3-pointer, to lead Loyola to a 69-68 win over Nevada in Thursday night's NCAA South Regional semifinal.''I think Marcus Townes is the best player on the court tonight,'' said Loyola guard Clayton Custer. ''I don't even think it was close, either. I am so happy for him. He is such a good basketball player and such a good person, I am just so happy he dominated the game tonight and he led us.''This is unbelievable. Feels like a dream.'' The win leaves the No. 11th-seeded Ramblers one victory from a Final Four appearance.Not bad for a program that hadn't been in the Sweet 16 in 33 years.Townes charged down the court, pumping his fist, as Nevada called a timeout following the crucial 3-pointer. Caleb Martin answered with a 3 for Nevada, but this time the Wolf Pack couldn't extend their string of second-half comebacks in the tournament.Loyola (31-5) awaits the winner of the Kansas State-Kentucky game in Saturday's regional final.Martin led Nevada (29-8) with 21 points. Twin brother Cody Martin had 16. Jordan Carolina had 19. The Wolf Pack finally faced a deficit too big to overcome.Loyola trailed by 12 points, at 20-8, midway through the first half but stormed back to lead 28-24 at halftime. Loyola closed the half with a 20-4 run as Nevada didn't score in the final 7:55 before the break.After leading a combined 4 minutes, 24 seconds of their first two NCAA Tournament wins, the Wolf Pack didn't trail in the opening 18 minutes of the first half. Even after leading 20-8 and appearing to have established command, Nevada found a way to trail at halftime for the sixth straight game.Following a 4-4 tie, Nevada took the lead with an 8-0 run that included a layup and two free throws by Jordan Caroline.Loyola pushed the ball in the paint on almost every possession. The Ramblers' first 10 points came on layups.Freshman Cameron Krutwig, who at 6-foot-9, 260 pounds stood out as the biggest player for either team, had eight of Loyola's first 19 points but went to the bench with two fouls with 6:26 remaining in the half. He picked up his third foul midway through the second half.Loyola's relentless attack on the basket continued as it stretched its lead, one layup at a time, in the second half.Following a steal by Townes, Ben Richardson's layup gave the Ramblers their first double-digit lead at 36-26 and took their biggest lead at 40-28.Nevada's experience in second-half comebacks paid off. After Loyola's layup by Clayton Custer gave the Ramblers their last 10-point lead at 57-47, the Wolf Pack charged back.Cody Martin's basket started a 12-2 run, and his layup tied the game at 59-all with 4:06 remaining.BIG PICTURELoyola: The Ramblers showed strong poise by sticking with their game plan to attack the basket, even when the Wolf Pack collected five blocks in the first half. Loyola took a 46-34 advantage in points in the paint.Nevada: The Wolf Pack couldn't keep pace with Loyola's inside attack. They made only 8 of 27 3-pointers.FAMOUS FANSFour members of Loyola's famous 1963 NCAA championship team had front-row seats: Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, John Egan and Rich Rochelle. In the final minutes of the game, Harkness could be heard saying, ''We need a stop. We just need a stop.'' Also attending the game was Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Loyola's 98-year-old team chaplain who has become a celebrity during the tournament, who said after the win: ''Here we come next team, whoever you are.'' UP NEXTLoyola: The Ramblers will face the winner of Thursday night's Kansas State-Kentucky regional semifinal in Saturday's regional final.Nevada: Despite losing four seniors, the Wolf Pack again will be a team to watch in the Mountain West. Among the top returning players will be the Martin twins, who are juniors.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org; https://twitter.com/-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:37 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+127
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+2.5 (-113)
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Over 135.5 (-110)
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-146
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-2.5 (-107)
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Under 135.5 (-110)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 8:00 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+196
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+5 (-105)
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Over 148.5 (-110)
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-236
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-5 (-115)
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Under 148.5 (-110)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 9:45 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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|
|
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+219
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+5.5 (-113)
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Over 137 (-111)
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-266
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-5.5 (-107)
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Under 137 (-109)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 20, 2018 ATLANTA -- Kentucky meets Kansas State on Thursday in what has become an historic NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round.For the first time, none of the top four seeds advanced in the South Regional as Virginia, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Arizona lost. Instead, the four teams in Atlanta vying for a spot in the Final Four are No. 5 seed Kentucky vs. No. 9 Kansas State and No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago.After a weekend of bizarre upsets, Kentucky coach John Calipari is having no more of the Cinderella talk."Forget the seeds," Calipari said Monday. "Everybody is 0-0 that's moving forward and it's not about seeding; it's about who is playing the best. We are in a tough region." Kentucky (26-10) reached the Sweet 16 with a 78-73 victory over Davidson and a 95-75 rout of Buffalo, a team that blistered Arizona by 21 points.Kentucky is led in scoring by Kevin Knox at 15.6 points per game. Next comes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 14.4 and coming off a 27-point effort against Buffalo on Saturday. PJ Washington averages 10.6 and Hamidou Diallo checks in at 10.3, which includes 22 points on Saturday.As a team, Kentucky averages 77.3 points while shooting 47.4 percent. But the key is defense as Kentucky ranks No. 3 in the nation is 3-point defense and No. 21 in overall field goal percentage defense.Kansas State is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. Kansas State, the No. 8 seed, defeated Creighton and tournament darling UMBC to advance despite missing its best player to injury."Their perseverance, their courage, and just it's gutsy. I'm so proud of them," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said Sunday. "We just kept saying we weren't scoring, but we kept guarding, we're still winning." Thursday's game will be the first meeting between the schools since Kentucky defeated Kansas State in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament on the way to the championship game.Kansas State (24-11) enters this week with a major question: Will leading scorer Dean Wade be available? He missed the past three games because of a stress fracture in his foot. However, he told reporters Sunday that he was "98 percent and hoping to play against Kentucky." The 6-foot-10 forward was a first team All-Big 12 performer with an average of 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.Next comes junior guard Barry Brown at 16.1 points and sophomore forward Xavier Sneed at 10.7. Sneed had eight points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists in Kansas State's win over UMBC on Sunday night.Kansas State averages 71.6 points per game while shooting 47 percent overall, 34.3 from 3-point range.Kentucky and Kansas State had four common opponents this season -- Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Georgia and Kansas. Kentucky posted a 5-1 record in those games while Kansas State was 2-5.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 23, 2018 ATLANTA Kentucky's latest group of fabulous freshman is all done.Gritty Kansas State made sure of that Thursday night.Demeaned by many pundits as the worst team still alive in the NCAA Tournament, ninth-seeded K-State got 22 points from Xavier Sneed and gave the South Regional one more upset with a 61-58 semifinal victory over Kentucky.Next up in the bracket-busting South: the regional final against No. 11 seed Loyola, which continued its stunning run in the tournament with a 69-68 victory over Nevada.Yep, its 9 vs. 11 in the Elite Eight for the first time in tournament history with a trip to the Final Four on the line.Just the way it should be in a regional that became the first in NCAA history to have the top four seeds knocked out on very first weekend, including No. 1-ranked Virginia.Sneed wasn't around at the end - he was among three Kansas State players who fouled out - but Barry Brown Jr. came through with the shot of the game to seat it for the Big 12 school.Brown darted into the lane with the shot clock running down, seemingly blowing by every Kentucky player to get to the basket, and banked one in with 18 seconds remaining to put K-State up 60-58.Kentucky's Quade Green put up an airball from beyond the arc and Kansas State rebounded, drawing a foul that sent Amaad Wainright to the line for two free throws that could've sealed it. He made only one, giving Kentucky one more chance to force overtime.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got a decent look at the basket, but his shot rimmed out as the horn sounded.Brown wasn't done. In the raucous celebration, he leaped over the press table like Superman and sprinted into the arms of the purple-clad Kansas State fan section.John Calipari was denied a shot at his fifth Final Four in nine seasons as Kentucky's coach. Fears that his young players would ''drink the poison'' - the belief that they had an easy path to San Antonio thanks to all the upsets - turned out to be well founded.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paul%20newberry---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:00 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+384
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+9 (-105)
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Over 146.5 (-110)
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-500
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-9 (-115)
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Under 146.5 (-110)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:06 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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|
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+237
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+6 (-114)
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Over 153.5 (-110)
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-290
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-6 (-106)
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Under 153.5 (-110)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Mar 20, 2018 If Gonzaga is going to make it to a second consecutive Elite Eight, it will need to protect the basketball against its surprise Sweet 16 opponent.The Zags, seeded fourth in the West Region, will take on No. 9 Florida State on Thursday in Los Angeles after the Seminoles shocked No. 1 Xavier on Sunday."I tell you, the reason that we're not moving on was turnovers on our part caused by a tremendous amount of pressure from Florida State," Xavier coach Chris Mack said.Xavier's two best players, seniors Trevon Blueitt and J. P Macura, combined to commit half of the Musketeers' 18 turnovers, and Florida State (22-11) closed the game with an 18-4 run to win 75-70.The Seminoles are big and deep -- 11 different players saw action in the first eight minutes Sunday -- and are tied for 17th in the nation with 5.2 blocks per game. Their two centers, 7-footer Ike Obiagu and 7-4 Christ Koumadje, have combined for 101 blocks."Xavier brought the fight and we did, too," said senior forward Phil Cofer, who leads a balanced offense at 12.9 points per game. "We've been in that position before, been down more actually. That's one of the things with us; we're going to fight until the last minute no matter what." After finishing the ACC regular season 9-9, the Seminoles have seen their share of scraps.Florida State was 3-0 in overtime games against eventual NCAA Tournament teams and rallied to beat Clemson -- still alive in the Midwest Region -- after trailing by 18."We've stayed connected," coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We have a great relationship with our players. We have our ups and downs and everything is not always perfect, but I'm so proud of these guys. They allow us to challenge them and to coach them." Like Gonzaga, the Seminoles are balanced offensively: Nine players average between 6.6 and 12.9 points.The Zags' march to a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance might not have followed script, but they made plays in crunch time.After being off for nine days, Gonzaga (32-4) looked rusty in the first round, needing a clutch 3-pointer from Zach Norvell Jr. to finally put away pesky UNC Greensboro 68-64.The rust seemed to have worn off by Saturday when the Bulldogs raced to a 15-0 lead in their second-round matchup with Ohio State.But unlike a November meeting when Gonzaga rolled to a 27-point win, Ohio State made a second-half charge.The Buckeyes led 67-62 after Keita Bates-Diop's 3-pointer with 6:02 to go.Cue Norvell.The redshirt freshman, known by his teammates as Snacks, hit from deep and grabbed a rebound that led to a three-point play by Killian Tillie as Gonzaga regained the lead for good.A few minutes later, Norvell, who finished with 28 points and made 6 of 11 shots from long range, scored five straight points to put the Zags up 78-69 with 1:52 left."He's just a fiery guy with some swag from Chicago, and we need that," coach Mark Few said. "You add in the fact that he's right there with probably the most clutch players I've coached, going back to Dan Dickau or Adam Morrison. The shot before the 3 (in Gonzaga's late run against Ohio State) missed by 8 feet, and to come back and swish the next one ... that's like me shanking two into the water and then hitting a hole-in-one, which doesn't happen." Norvell also corralled a career-best 12 rebounds."He goes a month sometimes without getting a rebound," Few joked.To counter the Seminoles' imposing front line, the Bulldogs will have to avoid the foul problems that plagued them against Ohio State.Tillie, a 6-10 sophomore, 6-foot-9 senior Johnathan Williams and Norvell each had four fouls. Point guard Josh Perkins fouled out in the closing seconds.But, as they have during a nation-leading 16-game winning streak, the Zags made the plays they had to."We're just getting more and more comfortable when adversity hits," Perkins said. "Especially in March, adversity is going to hit. For us to respond two times in a row, the WCC got us prepared for it."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
Mar 23, 2018 LOS ANGELES Florida State's upset run in the NCAA Tournament has stretched all the way to the brink of the Final Four.Terance Mann scored 18 points and the ninth-seeded Seminoles advanced to the Elite Eight for just the third time in school history with a 75-60 victory over fourth-seeded Gonzaga on Thursday night in the West Region semifinal.C. J. Walker and Braian Angola added nine points for the Seminoles (23-11), who knocked out a third straight higher-seeded opponent in a surprising run out West for a team that went 9-9 in ACC play and lost its conference tournament opener.Coolly maintaining a lead down the stretch at Staples Center, Florida State ended Gonzaga's 16-game winning streak and halted the pursuit of a second straight Final Four berth for last year's tournament finalist.''It's not any time to start celebrating right now,'' Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. ''These guys are working hard. We've worked hard all year. Not very many people think we have a chance to be where we are.'' Hamilton's best postseason run in his 16 years at Florida State is extended to Saturday, when the Seminoles will face third-seeded Michigan for a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio. The Wolverines advanced with a 99-72 rout of Texas A&M.Florida State followed up its stunning comeback against top-seeded Xavier last weekend with a steady, dominant second half against Gonzaga. The Seminoles jumped to a 13-point lead early in the second half and never let their margin dip below four, with Mann providing the biggest buckets along the way.Rui Hachimura scored 16 points and Zach Norvell Jr. added 14 for the Zags (32-5), who hadn't lost since Jan. 18. Already playing without injured forward Killian Tillie, the Zags struggled when forwards Johnathan Williams and Hachimura got into early foul trouble.After a season of running away from West Coast Conference opponents, Gonzaga played from behind for much of the night at Staples Center, even trailing at halftime for only the sixth time all season.The Zags fell behind by 13 early in the second half while the Seminoles defended the perimeter well and moved the ball fluidly. Florida State was even more dominant than usual around the rim, and Mann led a parade of scorers from all spots on the court.BIG PICTUREFlorida State: The Seminoles' 11-man rotation, defensive energy and balanced scoring have all been a nightmare for three straight opponents. On both ends of the court, this is a prime example of a team coming into its best form at the perfect time in March.Gonzaga: Foul trouble, poor outside shooting and sub-par ball movement all doomed the Zags, who didn't rise to the March challenge as impressively as last season's team did. That impressive run would have been hard to top, and they didn't.MISSINGTillie apparently has an injured hip, although the Zags had kept it quiet. The 6-foot-10 French sophomore typically provides interior defense and creates mismatches for Gonzaga while contributing to its balanced offense.UP NEXTFlorida State: The Seminoles will be underdogs for a fourth straight time against Michigan. For the fourth straight time, they won't mind.Gonzaga: Another offseason adding talent to coach Mark Few's West Coast powerhouse.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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MLB |
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3/22/2018 |
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FOUND
12
GAMES |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 1:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-105
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+1.5 (-192)
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Over 9 (-118)
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-115
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-1.5 (+166)
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Under 9 (-102)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 1:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+125
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+1.5 (-160)
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Over 9 (-124)
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-145
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-1.5 (+134)
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Under 9 (+103)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 1:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+226
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+1.5 (+172)
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Over 9 (-128)
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-271
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-1.5 (-207)
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Under 9 (+107)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 1:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-121
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-1.5 (+139)
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Over 10.5 (-121)
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+101
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+1.5 (-159)
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Under 10.5 (+101)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 1:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-136
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-1.5 (+117)
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Over 9.5 (-131)
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+116
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+1.5 (-136)
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Under 9.5 (+109)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 4:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+120
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+1.5 (-152)
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Over 10.5 (-114)
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-140
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-1.5 (+129)
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Under 10.5 (-106)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 4:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+105
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+1.5 (-173)
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Over 11.5 (-121)
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-125
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-1.5 (+149)
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Under 11.5 (+100)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 4:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+170
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+1.5 (-117)
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Over 10.5 (-129)
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-200
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-1.5 (-104)
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Under 10.5 (+107)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 6:10 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+104
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+1.5 (-182)
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Over 8.5 (-118)
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-123
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-1.5 (+157)
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Under 8.5 (-102)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 9:40 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+122
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+1.5 (-146)
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Over 10.5 (+112)
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-141
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-1.5 (+124)
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Under 10.5 (-135)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-159
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-1.5 (-109)
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Over 10.5 (+104)
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+139
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+1.5 (-108)
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Under 10.5 (-127)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:05 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+147
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+1.5 (-142)
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Over 10.5 (-138)
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-172
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-1.5 (+121)
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Under 10.5 (+114)
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NHL |
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3/22/2018 |
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FOUND
10
GAMES |
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+168
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+1.5 (-170)
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Over 5.5 (-111)
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-188
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-1.5 (+150)
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Under 5.5 (-109)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N. C., 27607 / The Carolina Hurricanes haven't been eliminated from playoff contention, but they're trending in that direction without a major turnaround. They'll be facing a team Thursday night that already has met the fate of being elimination from playoff contention. The Arizona Coyotes can put the Hurricanes in a deeper hole if they can pull out a road victory at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N. C." Where we are stinks," said Carolina center Jordan Staal said. "We have to come to work. We can't just not work. ... It's no fun to let each other down like that." The Hurricanes have lost four of their past five games, sinking in the Eastern Conference standings after making it above the playoff line just a few weeks ago. Now, there's little room for missteps if the Hurricanes are going to make the necessary climb." It's disappointing," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "If we're not the hardest-working team, we don't give ourselves a chance." The Hurricanes insist much of this depends on turning in the right focus and effort." Just work ethic, it doesn't matter if we make mistakes," Staal said. "... When it gets loose is when we're not playing our game." The Hurricanes have allowed at least six goals in four of their last seven games. Many of those goals given up have come in rapid sequences." When they score, they usually score their (next one) right away," Hurricanes right winger Sebastian Aho said. Scott Darling was in the net for Tuesday night's 7-3 home loss to Edmonton, with all indications that the Hurricanes will go back to Cam Ward for the Arizona game. Arizona began its six-game road trip by learning that defenseman Jason Demers would miss the last 10 games of the season because of an upper-body injury. The Coyotes, who won 4-1 on Wednesday night at Buffalo, will play six games in nine nights on the road. The Coyotes put Dylan Strome, who racked up 50 points in 47 AHL games, right to work." He got called up to play," Arizona assistant coach John MacLean said of the 21-year-old center. Strome said: "We try to preach the same thing down there as we do up here. Just have fun and go out there and do your thing." For Arizona's Clayton Keller, this will be the first chance to increase a franchise record that he set Wednesday night. His 55 points are a rookie team record. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet returned after missing Monday's game to attend his mother's funeral. The Hurricanes announced Wednesday that defenseman Brett Pesce and forward Victor Rask will miss the remainder of the season because of shoulder injuries. Pesce was on the ice 20 minutes Tuesday night. Already this week, the Hurricanes are without defenseman Noah Hanifin because of a concussion. The Hurricanes recalled defenseman Roland McKeown on emergency from the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers. McKeown, 22, made his NHL debut Nov. 4 at Arizona, marking one of his three NHL games. The Hurricanes are 16-15-6 on home ice with four home games remaining, so they won't be able to win a majority of their home games. In the previous meeting this season, Arizona won at home in a 2-1 shootout Nov. 4.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ RALEIGH, N. C. Cam Ward allowed an early goal when the puck stuck in his skate. With Arizona trying to force overtime, the Carolina goalie used his glove to prevent another one. Jeff Skinner scored his second goal with 1:58 left, and the Hurricanes beat the Coyotes 6-5 on Thursday night despite giving up a weird goal with a puck lodged in Ward's skate.''That first one was probably one of the weirdest goals I've ever seen,'' Skinner said. ''You stick with it, though, and it paid off for us.''Skinner added an assist, and Valentin Zykov scored two goals, the second tying it at 5 with 10:14 remaining. Phil Di Giuseppe had a goal and two assists, and Jaccob Slavin had three assists. Teuvo Teravainen also scored, and Ward made 28 saves for Carolina. The Hurricanes had lost six of eight. Alex Goligoski scored twice, including arguably the most bizarre goal of the season when Ward unknowingly skated across the red line with the puck lodged in his right skate. Rookie Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, Josh Archibald and Nick Cousins also scored and Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots for Arizona. Eliminated from the playoff race last week, the Coyotes won at Buffalo on Wednesday night for their second straight victory.''We scored five goals, 5-4, if we lock it down, we win the game,'' coach Rick Tocchet said. ''We have to learn as a team, when you're a little bit tired, you have to have mental toughness. You can't just say you're tired, and I'm going to make a stupid mistake. You're tired, you can still be focused. ... Good teams know they tired, and they can still stay in their structure, and I felt our guys gave in.''Skinner's winner came when he backhanded his blocked shot past Kuemper after some slick passing from Di Giuseppe and Slavin. Ward preserved the lead with a slick glove save off Oliver Ekman-Larsson's blast with about 40 seconds remaining. Goligoski's second goal came on a power play with 10.3 seconds left in the second period and put the Coyotes up 5-4. His first goal was the one everyone will be talking about . Ward skated behind the net to play the puck midway through the first, and it somehow wedged inside his right skate. The play was not blown dead, so Ward returned to the net and as he dug into his crease, the puck crossed the goal line. After a brief video review, the goal was awarded to Goligoski.''It's bad luck for Ward there, but good for us, obviously,'' Tocchet said. For the Hurricanes, that was a fitting application of Murphy's Law to a once-promising season that has gone awry.''That's a first - got to be a first,'' coach Bill Peters said. ''It was one of those where you're shaking your head, wondering `What else? What's next?'''Since a victory over New Jersey on March 2, Carolina had gone into a tailspin - a slump marked by consecutive third-period collapses - to all but eliminate itself from the playoff chase. The Hurricanes entered nine points behind the Devils for the East's final playoff spot. NOTES: Keller has points in seven straight games and is one goal shy of the team rookie record of 22 set by Peter Mueller in 2007-08. ... Teravainen and C Sebastian Aho also each have points in seven straight. ... Arizona D Niklas Hjalmarsson went down with an apparent leg injury late in the second. ... The Hurricanes have given up at least three goals in six straight games. UP NEXTCoyotes: Continue their six-game road swing at Florida on Saturday night. Hurricanes: At Ottawa on Saturday night.---More hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+189
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+1.5 (-155)
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Over 6 (-105)
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-221
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-1.5 (+135)
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Under 6 (-115)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa., 19148 / The Philadelphia Flyers end the month of March with a critical three-game road trip, but first they will try to pick up two points at the expense of the visiting New York Rangers on Thursday. Philadelphia (37-25-12) finds itself sitting fourth in the Metropolitan Division after playing sub-.500 hockey of late while the Columbus Blue Jackets have reeled off nine straight wins. The Flyers had won two straight before Tuesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Flyers trailed 3-1 entering the third period before scoring twice to force overtime. Still, they left a valuable point behind in allowing Detroit to snap a 10-game losing streak (0-9-1) at their expense." Maybe we thought it was gonna be an easy game and didn't play the right way, didn't play hard," Sean Couturier told the Courier Post. Philadelphia's Matt Read scored his first goal of the season and Shayne Gostisbehere tied it with a power-play goal at 9:40 to help the Flyers salvage a point. Petr Mrazek, playing his first game in Detroit since being traded by the Red Wings to the Flyers on Feb. 19, allowed three goals on 19 shots. He was relieved by Alex Lyon (11 saves) midway through the second period. Lyon allowed the only goal in the shootout." We had to get playing. We had to get going," coach Dave Hakstol told the Courier Post. "We scratched and clawed our way out. That's a huge point that we did scratch and claw for, but it's also an important point we let slide by too easily in the first 40 minutes of the hockey game." The Blue Jackets most recent win came at the expense of the Rangers, 5-3 on Tuesday nightKevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for the Rangers (32-33-8), who are playing out the string. Kreider's goal pulled the Rangers within 4-3 with 1:52 left and New York pulled Lundqvist, but Columbus added an empty-netter. The Rangers had won two in a row before losing their last two, one in overtime." It might not always be evident, but I think we are making strides," Kreider told NHL.com. "We are doing a lot better job of advancing pucks through the neutral zone and making the defense turn, making teams play defense in their own end." Lundqvist's first start since March 10 nearly ended early after he was upended in a collision, but he remained in the game. He is 3-13-2 since Jan. 20 with a no-decision in 19 starts and one win in relief." It hurts a lot," Lundqvist told The Post after Tuesday's loss. "It's tough. The nights where you might not have a good game but still win, you can feel pretty good about helping the team. But this ... not winning ... you just have to battle through it." Lundqvist (back/neck) and defenseman Marc Staal (illness) did not practice Wednesday. Rookie Alexandar Georgiev is expected to start against the Flyers, whom he has never faced. Mrazek is 1-1 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage versus the Rangers. The Rangers won the last meeting 5-1 on Jan. 16. The since-departed Rick Nash scored twice for New York and Lundqvist stopped 25 shots.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ PHILADELPHIA Travis Konecny scored twice, Claude Giroux had three assists and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers 4-3 on Thursday night. Jakub Voracek had a goal and an assist and Oskar Lindblom also scored for the Flyers, who won for just the fourth time in the last 12 games while picking up an important two points in the playoff race with seven games left. Philadelphia began play holding the top wild card in the Eastern Conference and just a point behind Columbus, which hosted Florida on Thursday, for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers were four points in front of New Jersey and five ahead of Florida. The Panthers have three games in hand on the Flyers, while the Devils, who were idle Thursday, have one. Jesper Fast had two goals and an assist and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who are playing out the string after being active sellers at the trading deadline. With the Flyers' top two goalies sidelined by injury, and Petr Mrazek, who Philadelphia acquired to fill in, ineffective of late, coach Dave Hakstol went with little-used rookie Alex Lyon. In his 10th career game, Lyon made 33 saves to improve to 4-2-1. Lindblom scored eight seconds into the third period to give Philadelphia a 4-2 advantage. Nolan Patrick took the initial shot, and the rebound fell in front to the rookie Lindblom, who backhanded in his second goal. Fast scored a similar goal for the Rangers, backhanding a rebound of Rob O'Gara's shot 1:14 later to make it 4-3. It was the second goal of the game for Fast, who extended his point streak to seven games (three goals, six assists). Lyon's best save came with 13 1/2 minutes remaining when he robbed Chris Kreider with a lunging stop with his right shoulder. Rangers rookie Alexandar Georgiev started in goal in place of Henrik Lundqvist (neck/back), who was injured with five minutes left in Monday's 5-3 loss to Columbus. Georgiev made 32 saves. Voraeck muscled through three Rangers to break a 1-all tie 3:46 into the second period, shooting high over Georgiev's glove. Konecny scored his second of the night on a deflection of Radko Gudas' shot from the point with 11:22 left in the second to put the Flyers up 3-1. Fast pulled the Rangers within a goal with 2:57 remaining in the period when he sent the puck toward the net from the corner and it deflected off defenseman Ivan Provorov and past Lyon's left pad. Konecny netted his 21st of the season, a wrist shot from the slot past Georgiev's glove side, to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead 7:56 into the contest. Zibanejad continued his recent hot streak and tied the game at 1 with 6:07 left in the first when he got in alone on Lyon and beat him through the five-hole to extend his point streak to six games (7 goals, 3 assists). NOTES: Injured Flyers goalies Michal Neuvirth (lower body) and Brian Elliott (core muscle surgery) did drills during Thursday's morning skate. Neuvirth is aiming to return during the Flyers' upcoming three-game road trip while Elliott is about two weeks from returning. ... Provorov played in his 157th straight game to start his career, breaking the club record for most consecutive contests by a Flyers newcomer. ... The teams wrap up the season series in the regular-season finale for both on April 7 in Philadelphia. The Flyers lead the series 2-1. UP NEXTRangers: Host Buffalo on Saturday night. Flyers: Start three-game road trip at Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.---More hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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+124
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+1.5 (-235)
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Over 5.5 (-115)
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-144
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-1.5 (+195)
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Under 5.5 (-105)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, 43215 / COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At the start of the NHL season, virtually no one would have circled on the schedule a late March matchup between the Florida Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets as a pivotal game. But Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, two of the league's hottest teams will square off in a matchup that could go a long way toward deciding who's in and who's out of the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The surging Blue Jackets (41-28-5) have won a season-high nine consecutive games, moving one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Panthers (37-27-7) are lurking one point behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild-card spot in the conference after going 11-2-1 in their last 14 games and 18-5-1 since the All-Star break." We've done well the last couple of games on this road trip, but on Thursday we'll have to work for everything we get against Columbus," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "They're playing their best hockey of the season and it's going to be a great contest between two desperate teams." Florida has 11 games remaining, two more than New Jersey, and could jump the Devils in the final 2 1/2 weeks of the regular season. But every point is magnified now, and a win in Columbus would definitely aid the Panthers' cause." Obviously, it is an important game," Boughner said, "but we got 10 more important games coming in." The Panthers' latest road win came Tuesday night in a 7-2 rout of the Ottawa Senators. Forward Nick Bjugstad and six teammates turned in multi-point games, and goaltender James Reimer made 33 saves." If we continue to focus on what we do well and continue to execute, it's going to be a fun run here," Bjugstad said. "So we've got to keep going and move on. ... We've got a big one Thursday." Roberto Luongo, who had 28 saves in the Panthers' 2-0 over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, is expected to be back in goal against the Blue Jackets. Also a possibility to return is Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic, who has missed three of the past four games with a lower-body injury. The Panthers will be trying to beat the Blue Jackets for the first time this season, having lost 7-3 at Florida on Nov. 2 and 3-2 in a shootout on Jan. 7 in Columbus." We've been playing playoff hockey here for the last couple months," Boughner said. "I think we're peaking and playing our best (hockey) of the year at the right time." The same definitely could be said for the Blue Jackets, who flipped a switch in March and found a groove in a run that has propelled them from a bubble team to a solid playoff contender. The Blue Jackets are feeling good about themselves, but coach John Tortorella knows success can be fleeting. He also realizes they'll be facing a team that's desperate and on a serious roll." They're one of the hottest teams for the past couple months here, with their record," Tortorella said of the Panthers. "We got through (Tuesday's) game, found a way to get two points. Now we'll just worry about the next game, nothing else, and go from there." Columbus extended its streak with a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night to complete an impressive back-to-back that started with a 5-4 overtime win in Boston on Monday. Artemi Panarin led the Blue Jackets with the second hat trick of his career, giving him a team-best 25 goals and 68 points this season. The Blue Jackets' nine-game streak ties the second-longest in franchise history." I don't even care about the streak," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "I just want points. ... It's a pretty cool feather in the cap, but right now, all we're about is getting into the playoffs." We want it to continue, don't get me wrong, but our focus now is just getting ready for another big game on Thursday." The Blue Jackets have won their last three games without All-Star defenseman Seth Jones, who is sidelined with an upper-body injury. He is listed as day to day.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ COLUMBUS, Ohio Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 33 shots for his fifth shutout of the season, Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist, and the Columbus Blue Jackets shut out the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Thursday night for their 10th straight win. Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 42-28-5 and joined Philadelphia (1984-86) and Pittsburgh (2010-13) as the only NHL franchises to record 10-game win streaks in consecutive seasons. The shutout was the 24th of Bobrovsky's career and his seventh straight win. Sonny Milano, Seth Jones and Thomas Vanek - into an empty net - also scored for Columbus, which moved into a second-place tie in the Metropolitan Division with idle Pittsburgh, each with 89 points. Florida dropped to 37-28-7. With 10 games left in the season, the Panthers remained a point behind the idle New Jersey Devils for a playoff spot. After a scoreless first, Atkinson got Columbus on the board at 59 seconds of the second period, thanks to Artemi Panarin, who stole the puck just outside the blue line and provided a perfect feed. Atkinson beat Roberto Luongo with a one-timer low on the right side for his 18th goal of the season, while Panarin recorded his team-leading 44th assist. The Blue Jackets made it 2-0 just 2:19 later, when Matt Calvert dug the puck out of the left corner and fed Milano for his 13th goal, a top-shelf sniper shot driving through the left circle. Pierre-Luc Dubois earned his 23rd assist and Calvert his 14th. The Blue Jackets third goal came at 5:42 of the third period, 10 seconds after a center-ice scrum sent Florida's Frank Vatrano off on a double-minor for roughing and interference, and Columbus' Zach Werenski off for slashing. Jones, back after missing three games with an upper-body injury, scored his 15th of the season with a slap shot from just inside the blue line. It was Jones' 50th point and sixth power-play goal of the season for a team-leading 19th point with a man advantage. Dubois recorded his ninth multipoint game. The goal ended Florida's streak of 24 straight penalty kills over 10 games. Vanek's empty-netter at 17:35 of the third, his 21st goal of the season, made it 4-0. NOTES: Columbus' David Savard played in his 400th NHL game. ... Defenseman Alexander Petrovic returned to Florida's lineup after missing three of the last four games with a lower-body injury. ... Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky were both healthy scratches for Columbus. The Blue Jackets have not lost since March 2. UP NEXTPanthers: host the Coyotes on Saturday. Blue Jackets: host the Blues on Saturday.
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
|
|
FINAL |
|
3/22/2018 7:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
-180
|
-1.5 (+160)
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Over 6.5 (-119)
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|
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+160
|
+1.5 (-180)
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Under 6.5 (-101)
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VIEW ALL PICKS |
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, 11217 / NEW YORK -- The Tampa Bay Lightning proved Tuesday night they weren't intimidated by a three-goal deficit. On Thursday night, Tampa Bay will try to overcome an even bigger foe: Mother Nature. With the New York area digging out from another March snowstorm, the Islanders will host the Lightning on Thursday night, when the two Eastern Conference teams face each other for the final time this season. Both teams earned resounding wins Tuesday. The Islanders ended a three-game losing streak by beating the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1. The host Lightning scored four unanswered goals in the final 25 minutes to stun the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. The comeback win by the Lightning (50-19-4) has them four points ahead of the second-place Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division and allowed Tampa Bay to pull within two points of the Nashville Predators in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. If the Lightning are going to keep the pressure on the Bruins and Predators, it will do so on shorter rest than usual. The storm that dropped a foot or more of snow on parts of metropolitan New York forced the postponement of Tampa Bay's flight north Wednesday. Instead, the team is scheduled to travel Thursday morning." It doesn't mean anything, doesn't change anything," Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev said following practice Wednesday. "Even if we travel on game day, we're going to be ready for the game. (They're) going to have time to nap and get ready for the game." The unseasonably snowy weather in the northeast couldn't dampen the mood of the Islanders (31-32-10), who won Tuesday for only the second time in the last 13 games. The 2-9-2 skid has all but ended the playoff hopes for New York, which enters Thursday tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division with the New York Rangers. Still, beating the playoff-bound and two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Penguins served to remind the Islanders it wasn't long ago when they harbored hopes of a deep playoff run. New York opened the season 15-7-2 and still occupied a wild card spot as recently as Feb. 16." It's been frustrating the last 25, 30 games," Islanders center Mathew Barzal told reporters Tuesday night. "A lot of unfortunate things have happened. We took a turn for the worse and it's unfortunate, because we were cruising pretty good there at the start of the year and things were looking good." Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and Islanders rookie netminder Christopher Gibson are likely to start Thursday after earning wins Tuesday. Vasilevskiy recorded 27 saves against the Maple Leafs while Gibson, who made his fifth start in the last eight games as New York enters evaluation mode down the stretch, notched 36 saves against the Penguins. Vasilevskiy is 3-2-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in six career regular-season appearances against the Islanders. Gibson, who recorded his second NHL win Tuesday, has never faced the Lightning.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
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GAME RECAP
/ NEW YORK J. T. Miller scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and the high-scoring Tampa Bay Lightning held off the New York Islanders 7-6 on Thursday night. Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman each added a goal and an assist, Tyler Johnson also scored, and Braydon Coburn and Yanni Gourde each had two assists as the Lightning improved to 12-2-1 in their last 15 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots for his league-leading 42nd win, extending Tampa Bay's franchise record. The Lighting extended their lead atop the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division to six points over idle Boston, which is 2-0 against Tampa Bay this season. Anders Lee, Ryan Pulock and Anthony Beauvillier each scored twice for the Islanders, who lost for the 12th time in 14 games (2-8-4). Jordan Eberle had three assists, and John Tavares and Josh Bailey added two apiece. Christopher Gibson started and gave up six goals on 24 shots before being pulled with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the second period. Jaroslav Halak came on and finished with 11 saves. The Lightning led 3-1 after one period and appeared to take control with four goals on 10 shots in the second to extend their lead to 7-3. However, the Islanders scored three goals in a three-minute span to pull within one 4 1/2 minutes into the third. Lee got his second of the game - and career-high 38th - to pull the Islanders to 7-4 with their third power-play goal 1:35 into the third. It was his seventh goal in six games. Beauvillier pulled New York within two, backhanding the puck through Vasilevskiy's five-hole for his 15th at 3:21. Beauvillier then deflected Johnny Boychuk's slap shot from the right point to pull the Islanders to 7-6 with his 16th at 4:36. Point extended Tampa Bay's lead to 4-1 off a pass from Cirelli on a short-handed 2-on-1 break for his 28th at 2:43 of the second. With the Islanders still on power play, Pulock got them within two just 47 seconds later with his second of the game on a one-timer from above the left circle for his ninth. Lee scored from the left side to pull New York to 4-3 at 5:15 of the middle period.. Miller gave the Lightning a two-goal lead again as he scored from the left side off a pass from Steven Stamkos on a 2-on-1 rush at 8:27. The goal was Tampa Bay's league-leading 263rd of the season, breaking the franchise record set in 2014-15. Sergachev made it 6-3 on the power play for his ninth with 8:38 remaining in the second, ending Gibson's night. Miller got his second of the game as he scored from the left side on the power play to make it a four-goal game with his 20th with 1:40 left in the middle period. The Lightning, who didn't travel to the New York area until earlier in the day because of the snowstorm in the northeast on Wednesday, got on the scoreboard with two quick goals. Cirelli scored on a wraparound off Gibson's stick 2:09 into the first period, and Johnson made it 2-0 just 26 seconds later on a wrister from the right circle for his 21st. The Islanders were on a 4-on-3 power play when Pulock fired a one-timer from the left faceoff dot to make it 2-1 with 9:36 remaining in the opening period. Hedman restored the Lightning's two-goal lead from the left circle for his 14th with 5:43 to go in the first. NOTES: Miller has seven goals and 12 points in 11 games since being acquired from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. ... Gourde now has 58 points, second among rookies - trailing only the Islanders' Mathew Barzal, who leads with 76. ... Point topped the century mark and now has 101 points in his career. ... The teams split their first two meetings, both at Tampa. The Islanders won 5-3 on Nov. 18, and the Lightning were 6-2 winners on Dec. 5. ... Barzal had an assist on Beauvillier's second goal for his 56th assist, breaking a tie with Nicklas Backstrom (2007-08) for the second-most by a rookie since 1995. Penguins star Sidney Crosby tops the list with 63 in 2005-06. ... New York scored on the power play for the fourth straight game and is 9 for 18 in that stretch. UP NEXTLightning: At New Jersey on Saturday night. Islanders: Host Chicago on Saturday night.---Follow Vin Cherwoo at https://twitter.com/VinCherwoo---More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:38 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
-167
|
-1.5 (+170)
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Over 5.5 (-115)
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|
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+147
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+1.5 (-200)
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Under 5.5 (-105)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:30 PM EDT Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI, 48201 / DETROIT -- Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will travel with the team on its three-game road trip, but it is not known whether he will be back in the lineup on the first game of the trip on Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. The teams are scheduled to play at Little Caesars Arena at 7:30 p.m. Kuznetsov missed two games with an upper-body injury after leaving Friday's 6-3 home win over the New York Islanders." We'll see where he is with the trainers," Washington coach Barry Trotz told the Washington Post after Wednesday's optional practice. "No promises. And I really don't know. We'll see where he is tomorrow." Kuznetsov appeared to hurt his left arm on Friday, he was centering the top line with captain Alex Ovechkin and winger Tom Wilson. Without him, center Nicklas Backstrom moved into that spot. Since the start of the calendar year, Kuznetsov has nine goals and 23 assists in 31 games. The Capitals announced that goaltender Braden Holtby wasn't on the ice for practice Wednesday because he was taking a "maintenance day." Holtby played the full game in Tuesday night's 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars, but Dallas forward Remi Elie collided with Holtby halfway through the third period, and Holtby was initially slow to get up. Philipp Grubauer is expected to get the start in goal Thursday." We've got some sickness and a couple guys with maintenance, so that's why we're optional today," Trotz said. Also, in the win over Dallas, Ovechkin scored his league-leading 44th goal of the season and 602nd of his career to surpass Jari Kurri for sole possession of 19th place on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list. Ovechkin scored on a set play off an offensive zone faceoff. After Backstrom got tossed from the dot, T. J. Oshie won the draw straight back to defenseman John Carlson, who fed the puck to a wide-open Ovechkin, in his usual spot in the left circle, who drove in his signature one-timer. Detroit snapped a 10-game losing streak, the team's longest since 1977, in a 5-4 home shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night." Hopefully it takes the monkey off everyone's back and we can just go out there and play the last nine games," said goaltender Jimmy Howard, who made 27 saves. "Compete hard, and have some confidence heading into the offseason." Center Frans Nielsen scored the only goal of the shootout and center Dylan Larkin scored twice for Detroit. Forward Luke Glendening contributed a short-handed goal and rookie forward Evgeny Svechnikov picked up the first goal of his NHL career. Coach Jeff Blashill and teammates raved about Glendening's key block of a shot during a penalty kill in overtime that might have saved a goal." What a block by Glennie (Glendening) there," Howard said. "He's not a guy who gets talked about but he means so much for this team, means so much in this dressing room." Said Blashill: "It's an example of the way our guys have continued to battle. I don't know how his foot will end up but it hurt for sure, he was done for the rest of the game, but it's totally indicative of the compete our team continues to have." Glendening's status for Thursday is unknown.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ DETROIT Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Brett Connolly scored the game's only goal on a third-period breakaway to lift the Washington Capitals to a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. The Capitals have won six of seven and lead Pittsburgh and Columbus by four points atop the Metropolitan Division as the regular season winds down. Washington has turned increasingly to Grubauer of late after Braden Holtby struggled in February and at the beginning of March. Holtby wasn't available Thursday because of an injury coach Barry Trotz described as a tweak. The Capitals took the lead with 13:19 remaining in the game after Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet couldn't control the puck near Washington's blue line. Connolly and teammate Jakub Vrana went the other way on a two-man breakaway, and Connolly beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot to the glove side. It was his 15th goal of the season. The Red Wings had a goal called back for goalie interference in the first period - replays showed Tyler Bertuzzi appearing to make contact with Grubauer in front of the net. Detroit squandered a great opportunity in the second when the Red Wings had a two-man advantage for the full 2:00. Andreas Athanasiou had a breakaway in the third, but couldn't beat Grubauer. Athanasiou had another chance in the final minutes, but his shot deflected wide as Grubauer tried unsuccessfully to grab it with his glove. Detroit has lost 11 of 12. NOTES: The Red Wings announced before the game that D Mike Green will have season-ending surgery on his cervical spine. ... Capitals F Evgeny Kuznetsov missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. UP NEXTCapitals: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Red Wings: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.---Follow Noah Trister at www. Twitter.com/noahtrister---For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 7:38 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
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-135
|
-1.5 (+205)
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Over 6 (+100)
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|
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+115
|
+1.5 (-245)
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Under 6 (-120)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 7:30 PM EDT Venue: Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, ON, Canada, K2V 1AS / OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators will try to pick up the pieces from their most shattering loss of the season when they face the Edmonton Oilers at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night. It will be their second game since it was revealed that captain Erik Karlsson and his wife Melinda lost the son they were expecting in June. In their first attempt, the Senators (26-35-11) looked understandably absent in a 7-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday." Everybody's heartbroken, it's awful," coach Guy Boucher said afterward. "As a group in there, it has been a tough year, but I think this is a real personal, devastating blow." Said defenseman Mark Borowiecki: "I can't even imagine what Erik and Melinda are going through right now. It puts some perspective on life and the way things are going here. It's important for them to take time together to grieve. We've got so much love coming out of this dressing room for them. We truly are a family in here, and it hurts." The Edmonton Oilers felt Karlsson's pain as well." Throughout the hockey community, when something like that happens to anybody in life, you feel for them," center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Everybody on our team was thinking about him and his family." The Senators took their first meeting of the season with the Oilers 6-1 in Edmonton on Oct. 14 that improved them to 3-0-2. Not much has gone well for them since, but the Oilers have also had a disappointing 2017-2018. After losing in the second round of the playoffs last spring, many though the Oilers were ready to take the next step. Instead, they enter Thursday's game with a 32-36-5 record and postseason hopes that have long been lost. Partly to blame for their struggles is a power play that ranks last in the NHL despite the presence of offensive stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and a penalty kill that ranks second-worst. The Oilers, however, have shown improvement of late. In their last 17 games, they have compiled a 9-6-1 record that proves to coach Todd McLellan that they haven't packed it in." The players have shown a real strong work ethic and a willingness to do it right over the past two weeks when it could have been easy to roll over and play dead," said McLellan, whose team is coming off a 7-3 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in which six players had multi-point games. "That's a real good sign four our team and our organization moving forward. Obviously, we've got to get better in a lot of areas, but at least we're giving ourselves a chance to get better." The Senators, who are 15-15-6 on home ice, have also been weak on special teams play with a power play that ranks 26th and penalty killing that's 28th. McDavid is fourth in the NHL in points with 90, including a career-high 34 goals after recording 30 with 70 assists last season.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ OTTAWA, Ontario Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists, his first-ever goals against Ottawa, and the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Senators from playoff contention with a 6-2 win on Thursday night. Drake Caggiula also had two goals for the Oilers, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Rattie adding the others. Cam Talbot stopped 33 shots as Edmonton concluded a four-game trip 3-1-0. Matt Duchene and Filip Chlapik replied for Ottawa, while Craig Anderson made 32 saves. Trailing 2-0 to start the third, the Senators made it a one-goal game on Duchene's power-play tally. But the Oilers responded with a goal eight seconds later by Nugent-Hopkins following a great pass from McDavid. Edmonton then made it 4-1 on yet another stellar play by McDavid, who set up Rattie for his third of the season. Caggiula scored his second of the night at 6:34, also on the power play. Ottawa made it 5-2 as Chlapik scored his first NHL goal, tipping a shot by Marian Gaborik. Bobby Ryan picked up his 500th career point with the second assist. McDavid scored his second of the night and 36th of the season late in the contest as he walked around Mike Hoffman. McDavid gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead five minutes into the second when he took a pass from Nugent-Hopkins in the slot and beat Anderson high. Ottawa's Alex Burrows and Max McCormick each had a good chance, but Talbot was solid. Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the first as Caggiula found a loose puck in the crease and knocked it in for his 11th of the season. NOTES: Ryan Dzingel returned to Senators' lineup following a one-game absence after taking a puck to the back of the head last Saturday. ... D Christian Wolanin made his NHL debut with the Senators. Wolanin signed with Ottawa on Wednesday after three seasons at the University of North Dakota. His father, Craig, played 695 NHL games and won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. ... G Filip Gustavsson, acquired by Ottawa from Pittsburgh in the Derick Brassard trade, arrived Thursday and met with reporters for the first time. The Swedish prospect, who had been playing in his native country, will join the AHL's Belleville Senators on Friday. ''I like playing on the small ice,'' Gustavsson said. ''There's a bit more speed and I'm looking forward to it.'' ... The Senators were without captain Erik Karlsson (personal reasons) and forward Mark Stone (leg). Edmonton forward Mike Cammalleri was a healthy scratch. UP NEXTOilers: Host Los Angeles on Saturday night. Senators: Host Carolina on Saturday night.---More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
|
|
FINAL |
|
3/22/2018 8:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
+135
|
+1.5 (-215)
|
Over 6 (-103)
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|
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-155
|
-1.5 (+185)
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Under 6 (-117)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 8:00 PM EDT Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, 37203 / The NHL holds its annual awards show every summer in Las Vegas. Nashville Predators center Ryan Johansen is making a wager of his own that teammate Pekka Rinne will be hauling in some hardware." In our opinion, he's been the most valuable player for us and definitely will be recognized for sure come award time in Vegas this summer," Johansen said. Rinne, who has emerged as the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, will get a chance to polish his resume Thursday night when Nashville hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 35-year-old Finn stopped 35 shots Monday night in a 4-0 shutout at Buffalo, his career-high eighth of the season. Rinne, who is 40-9-4 with a 2.21 goals-against-average and a career-best .931 save percentage, has won 11 straight starts, dating back to Feb. 19. In his last five games, Rinne has ceded only five goals on 156 shots. The last time he allowed three goals in a game was in a 4-3 overtime win March 4 at Colorado. But the stat that impresses Rinne the most is 40 wins. The victory in Buffalo marked the third time in his career he's reached 40, tying five other netminders in the NHL history book. Only the retired Martin Brodeur has enjoyed more 40-victory seasons." That's a credit to my teammates big-time, and also my coaching staff," Rinne said. "Over the years, they've trusted me and let me play a lot of games. Even when you win a lot of games, you end up losing some, so you need a lot of people pulling for you." The last time Rinne lost was more than a month ago. That was also the last time the Predators (48-14-10) lost in regulation. Since then, they are 14-0-1, winning 10 in a row, falling in a shootout to New Jersey and then ripping off four more victories. That spurt has not only created separation from Winnipeg in the Central Division -- Nashville starts Thursday night with an eight-point lead -- but has allowed it to overtake Tampa Bay for the NHL's best record. The prize at stake there is home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, and anyone who saw the scene last spring in Bridgestone Arena remembers a team feeding off its fans and looking nearly unbeatable. While the Predators push for the league's best record, Toronto (43-23-7) is fighting an uphill battle to overtake Boston for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs missed a chance to gain two points Tuesday night, blowing a 3-0 second-period lead in Tampa Bay and losing 4-3 as they allowed three goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period." They pushed in the third, we didn't respond, didn't handle it," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said to the Toronto Sun. "There are going to be momentum swings in big games all the time. You stay calm and continue to execute." Wasted were James van Riemsdyk's sixth and seventh goals in four games, giving him a team-high 33, and 21 saves in Frederik Andersen's return from an upper-body injury. Andersen (33-19-5, 2.82, .918), who traditionally plays well against Nashville, figures to get the start on Thursday night.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ NASHVILLE, Tenn. Auston Matthews had a goal in his return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for 10 games and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Thursday night. The Predators had been 14-0-1 since their previous regulation loss on Feb. 17. James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner each had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander and Jake Gardiner also scored for Toronto, which has won five of six. Morgan Rielly had three assists for the Maple Leafs, and Tyler Bozak had two. Frederik Andersen stopped 23 shots. Viktor Arvidsson and Scott Hartnell scored for Nashville. Pekka Rinne had 23 saves. Van Riemsdyk scored on a power play 4:03 into the first period off a pass from Marner. Van Riemsdyk tried to pass between his skates, but the puck deflected off defenseman Roman Josi's stick and past Rinne. It was van Riemsdyk's team-leading 11th power-play goal. Arvidsson tied it with a power-play goal 5:42 into the second before Matthews and Nylander scored 1:38 apart late in the period to make it 3-1. Marner's power-play goal at nine seconds of the third made it 4-1. Toronto has scored at least one goal with the man advantage in seven straight games. Gardiner's slap shot from the left side gave Toronto a 5-1 lead at 3:39 of the third. Hartnell scored his 13th of the season at 15:37. NOTES: U. S. Olympic women's hockey gold medalists Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson attended the game. .. Nashville C Kyle Turris played his 600th NHL game. ... Van Riemsdyk has eight goals in his last five games. ... Toronto is 19-8-2 against the Western Conference this season. ... Marner extended his point streak to seven games. UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Host Detroit Saturday. Predators: At Minnesota Saturday.---More hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
|
|
FINAL |
|
3/22/2018 8:38 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
+147
|
+1.5 (-200)
|
Over 6 (+105)
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|
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-167
|
-1.5 (+170)
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Under 6 (-125)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 8:30 PM EDT Venue: United Center, Chicago, Ill., 60612 / CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks will play their first game since being eliminated from playoff contention when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at the United Center. Chicago (30-35-9) has not experienced a regular-season game without any hopes of the playoffs in a decade. Coach Joel Quenneville's team made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, winning three Stanley Cup championships in the process." You're always going to have key injuries, years where things go against you," Quenneville said this week to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We've always been able to overcome them and find ways to rectify some tough situations and get back on track. This year, we've been unable to do it." Now, the Blackhawks will try to finish strong even though their fate is determined. Eight games remain before an early offseason begins -- and, with it, the possibility of significant personnel changes." It (stinks), and it's kind of embarrassing," defenseman Connor Murphy said to the Sun-Times. Vancouver (25-39-9) once was a feisty postseason opponent for Chicago. Those days have passed as the Canucks will miss the postseason for the third year in a row and the fourth time in the past five years. However, the Canucks have enjoyed success against the Blackhawks this season. They have won each of the first two matchups and are looking to sweep the regular-season series. Vancouver will turn to Jacob Markstrom or Anders Nilsson in net. Markstrom has played more frequently, posting an 18-26-6 record with a 2.80 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 54 games. Nilsson is 7-13-3 with a 3.50 GAA and .902 save percentage in 25 games. Chicago will counter with Anton Forsberg or Jean-Francois Berube in net. Forsberg is 9-16-3 with a 3.08 GAA and .905 save percentage in 32 games. Berube is 2-4-1 with a 3.70 GAA and .897 save percentage. Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews and right winger Patrick Kane each will look to continue their recent production. Toews has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his last 10 games, while Kane has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) over the same span. Canucks center Bo Horvat has 19 goals and is looking to secure his second consecutive 20-goal campaign. The fourth-year player has scored nine goals on the power play this season, which is one shy of the team lead. First-year coach Travis Green has watched his team lose seven games in a row. During that stretch, Vancouver has been outscored 23-7. The Canucks have only one victory in their past 11 contests. The Canucks are coming off a 4-1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. Veteran forward Daniel Sedin said the game reinforced the importance for the Canucks to play well from the opening faceoff. It is a lesson that he and his teammates will try to carry into Thursday's game in Chicago." I thought our first wasn't good enough and we played OK for two periods, but even OK against a team like this isn't good enough," Sedin said to the Canucks' official website. "This is a very good team, and we needed to be at our best to be in this."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ CHICAGO Alexander Edler scored twice, Jacob Markstrom made 39 saves and the Vancouver Canucks stopped a seven-game slide by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night. Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist as Vancouver won for the first time since Brock Boeser was sidelined by a back injury, likely ending his impressive rookie season. The Canucks (26-39-9) had scored just eight goals since Boeser got hurt late in regulation of a 4-3 overtime victory against the New York Islanders on March 5. Chicago (30-36-9) closed out a three-game homestand with its fifth consecutive loss. Jean-Francois Berube was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 18 shots, and Anton Forsberg finished with eight saves. The Blackhawks played without captain Jonathan Toews, who is out with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated next week. Toews got hurt during Tuesday night's 5-1 loss to Colorado, which officially eliminated Chicago from playoff contention. Nick Schmaltz and Matthew Highmore scored for Chicago, which has lost seven of eight overall. The Blackhawks have allowed at least five goals in each of their last five games. Schmaltz picked up his 21st of the season when he got a piece of Brent Seabrook's big slap shot from the right circle at 8:02 of the first, tying it at 1. The Canucks took over from there. Sedin made it 2-1 when he jumped on a rebound and knocked it by Berube with 2:18 left in the first. It was Sedin's first goal since Nov. 14 and just his third of the season. Horvat scored on a rush in the second, and Edler chased Berube when he sent a long slap shot under the goaltender's left arm 9:38 into the period. Edler, a 6-foot-3 defenseman, had just three goals this season coming into the game. Brent Sutter added his eighth 3:24 into the third, making it 5-1 Vancouver. The Blackhawks got one back when Highmore scored with 3:33 left, but the Canucks were never seriously threatened. NOTES: Highmore returned to the lineup after he missed the loss to Colorado with an upper-body injury. UP NEXTCanucks: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. Blackhawks: Visit the New York Islanders on Saturday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap---More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
|
|
FINAL |
|
3/22/2018 9:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
SPREAD |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
+100
|
+1.5 (-300)
|
Over 5.5 (+105)
|
|
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-120
|
-1.5 (+240)
|
Under 5.5 (-125)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 9:00 PM EDT Venue: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo., 80204 / No one is surprised the Los Angeles Kings are playing in a game with playoff implications this late in the season. After all, they have won two Stanley Cups in the last six years and have a talented, experienced lineup. What is surprising, especially after last season, is the team they're battling for playoff positioning is the Colorado Avalanche. No one thought after Colorado finished last in the NHL with 48 points in 2016-17 that it would make such a significant turnaround. But the Avalanche have, and with nine games to go they are sitting in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference heading into Thursday's home game against the Kings. Los Angeles (40-27-7) trails Colorado by one point and Anaheim by a point for third place in the Pacific Division after the Ducks' 4-0 victory in Calgary on Wednesday. The Kings are coming off a tough back-to-back Monday and Tuesday in Minnesota and Winnipeg but managed to get three out of a possible four points. They were outplayed by the Jets in a 2-1 loss but got the game to overtime on the play of goaltender Jack Campbell." Jack played fantastic," captain Anze Kopitar told The Los Angeles Times after the loss. "He gave us a chance to win, obviously, more than just a chance to win. I mean, he stood on his head that second period. I'm sure it wasn't easy on him with all the penalty kills that we had and they had us in our zone quite a bit, so he played outstanding." The Kings aren't the only team thankful for strong goaltending. Semyon Varlamov has played in 18 straight games -- 16 starts -- and has stolen points for the resurgent Avalanche. He kept them in the game early against Chicago on Tuesday before his teammates pulled away in a 5-1 victory. That improved Colorado's record to 8-1-3 in the last 12 games and has them in strong position to make the playoffs for the first time in four years." If there's any time to get hot, it's right now," rookie forward Alex Kerfoot, who had two goals in the win, said after Tuesday's game. "The way that our conference is, the way that our division is, every game is huge. We just have to take it like every game we're playing is the biggest game of the year." Colorado (40-25-8) has leaned heavily on its top line of MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. MacKinnon, with 38 goals and 53 assists, is second in the league in scoring despite missing eight games with a shoulder injury. MacKinnon has a 13-game point streak going, including two assists in Tuesday's win that gave him 13 goals and 13 assists during the run. Colorado won despite not having second-line center Carl Soderberg available. He missed the game due to illness. The Avalanche didn't practice Wednesday so there was no update on his availability for Thursday. Los Angeles center Trevor Lewis was out of the lineup Tuesday with what the team classified as an upper-body injury. He was hurt in Monday's win in Minnesota and there was no timeline given for his return." In terms of a timeline, I don't know yet," coach John Stevens told The L. A. Times. "I wouldn't say it's long, long-term."
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ DENVER Anze Kopitar became the first Kings player with a four-goal game since 1993, Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots and Los Angeles picked up another valuable road win by cruising past the Colorado Avalanche 7-1 on Thursday night. Kopitar was so efficient that he picked up his fourth career hat trick with 7:33 remaining in the second period. He added another goal early in the third. This was the first four-goal game by a Kings player since Luc Robitaille accomplished the feat on Nov. 25, 1993, at Quebec. Tobias Rieder had two goals and Jake Muzzin scored his first goal since Feb. 3 for the Kings, who surpassed Anaheim for the third spot in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles improved to 6-0-2 over its last eight road games. Quick allowed an early goal to Mikko Rantanen and was stellar after that in a game that had a playoff feel. Well, at least early, before the Kings reeled off seven unanswered goals. The Kings beat an Avalanche team that's 15-3-1 in its last 19 games on home ice. Colorado remains in a wild-card spot with eight games remaining. Semyon Varlamov showed signs of fatigue in giving up five goals before being replaced by backup Jonathan Bernier in the second period. Varlamov has appeared in 19 straight games (16 starts) with Bernier sidelined by a concussion. Bernier returned Thursday and allowed two goals. It's the third time this season the Avs have allowed seven goals. Trailing 3-1, Nathan MacKinnon clanged one off the crossbar seconds into the second period. Moments later, Rieder found himself on a breakaway and beat Varlamov with a wrist shot. That all but wrapped things up. Kopitar recorded his first hat trick since Feb. 12, 2016, with a backhander in the second period. Some of the fans at the Pepsi Center littered the ice with hats. He wasn't done there, though, scoring his fourth on a breakaway. It was certainly the Kopitar Show in the first period, with the Avalanche struggling to cover him. At 30, the Kings captain is having his best statistical season with 86 points. Colorado took a 1-0 lead 3:33 into the game when Gabriel Landeskog kicked a sliding puck over to Rantanen, who rocketed it into the net. The advantage lasted all of 55 seconds. MacKinnon had an assist to extend his point streak to a career-best 14 games. It was also his 92nd point of the season, the most by an Avalanche player since Joe Sakic had 100 in 2006-07. NOTES: Quick was credited with his fourth assist of the season on Rieder's goal. ... Nate Thompson and Dustin Brown each had two assists. ... Avs F Carl Soderberg missed a second straight game with an illness. ... D Tyson Barrie had his 11-game point streak snapped. ... Rantanen and MacKinnon both have 21 points in March, the most in the NHL. UP NEXTKings: Finish a four-game trip on Saturday in Edmonton. Avalanche: Host Vegas on Saturday.---More hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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FINAL |
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3/22/2018 10:08 PM EST (121 DAYS AGO) |
MONEYLINE |
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+140
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+1.5 (-210)
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Over 6 (-110)
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-160
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-1.5 (+180)
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Under 6 (-110)
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GAME PREVIEW
Time: 10:00 PM EDT Venue: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, CA, 95113 / Coach Peter DeBoer says the San Jose Sharks are not doing anything different during their finest stretch of the season. Opposing defenses may beg to differ. In a matchup of the top two teams in the Pacific Division, the Sharks go for their sixth straight win on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, who may be without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. After extending their streak with Tuesday's 6-2 rout of the New Jersey Devils, second-place San Jose (41-23-9) moved within eight points of Vegas (47-21-5) with nine games remaining. Even fourth-liners Eric Fehr, Barclay Goodrow and Jannik Hansen chipped in with a goal apiece." We're not doing anything differently," DeBoer said. "I think pucks are going in for us. Guys are shooting with a little confidence, but it's not like we've had a magic formula for it." San Jose has scored 27 goals during its run. Nine players have collected at least five points, but captain Joe Pavelski (one goal, five assists) and defenseman Brendon Dillon (two goals, four assists) are the only Sharks to get on the scoresheet in each game." I don't know if we're playing our best hockey," DeBoer said. "We're winning. We're doing a lot of good things. We're finding ways to win games at an important time." But the Golden Knights have beaten the Sharks twice this season, including a 5-3 win on Feb. 8 in San Jose. Vegas is also in search of its third straight win after topping the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1, on Tuesday night. The win came with a price as Fleury (27-11-3, 2.18 goals-against average, four shutouts) left after the first period with an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day. On Wednesday, coach Gerard Gallant didn't tip his hand on Fleury's status, indicating that he could face the Sharks." I'm not getting into specifics about what he's doing, but he's not going to come (to San Jose on Wednesday)" Gallant told the team's official website. "He could join us (Thursday) or in the very near future. He's not coming on our plane (Wednesday). He could be there (Thursday), he could be there the next day. If Fleury cannot play, Malcolm Subban (11-3-1, 2.55 GAA) would get the call. Subban replaced Maxime Lagace and got the decision in the Golden Knights' 5-4 overtime win against the Sharks on Nov. 24. San Jose is expected to go with Martin Jones, who has four wins with 12 goals allowed during the club's streak. Jones (26-18-6, 2.50 GAA, four shutouts) started both matchups with the expansion club, posting an 0-1-0 mark with a 5.29 GAA. The Sharks defense will be tasked with trying to slow down centers Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. Marchessault leads the team with 44 assists and 67 points, while Karlsson needs one goal to be the fourth player with 40 goals this season. Karlsson has three goals and an assist in his last two games." This is going to be like a playoff game. I can't wait," Marchessault told the team's website. "They have a lot at stake and so do we. If we focus on our game and not worry about them, we'll be OK. But I expect a real hard game with both teams ready to go." Vegas will play host to San Jose in the final regular-season meeting between the teams on March 31.
Game
Preview from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
GAME RECAP
/ SAN JOSE, Calif. Logan Couture scored 39 seconds into overtime to send the San Jose Sharks to their season-high sixth straight victory, 2-1 over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Brent Burns also scored and Martin Jones made 24 saves to help the Sharks move within seven points of first-place Vegas with eight games remaining in the regular season. San Jose also opened a four-point lead over third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division with a game in hand as the Sharks close in on home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Tomas Tatar scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights, who were kept in the game by a sterling performance by goalie Malcolm Subban. He stopped 42 shots but it wasn't enough for Vegas to come up with the win. After Jones made a big save early in the overtime, the Sharks came up with the puck in transition and Couture beat Subban with a backhand for his 31st goal of the season. The Golden Knights struck first on a pretty passing play early in the first period that ended when Jonathan Marchessault found Tatar cutting through the slot ahead of Justin Braun. Tatar skated past Jones and backhanded the puck into the open net. Vegas has been dominant when getting off to a lead, posting an NHL-best 31-5-1 record when scoring first heading into this game. But the Sharks dominated the second period, outshooting the Golden Knights 18-4 and getting the equalizer on a blast by Burns from the point after another strong shift by San Jose's fourth line. But Vegas managed to keep it tied despite the lopsided shot totals, killing off a four-minute penalty to Colin Miller and another late power play that started late in the second. That penalty carried over until the third period and the Sharks got 25 seconds of a two-man advantage after Brayden McNabb was called for throwing his stick but still couldn't get anything past Subban. The Golden Knights squandered a power-play chance later in the period when Colin Miller was called for cross checking with the man advantage. That nearly led to a power-play goal for San Jose but Subban appeared to get a piece of a shot from in close to Joe Pavelski to keep the game tied at 1. NOTES: Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury didn't make the trip to San Jose with an undisclosed injury but is expected to join the team for Saturday's game in Colorado. ... Burns became the 15th player to play 500 career games with the Sharks. UP NEXTGolden Knights: Visit Colorado on Saturday. Sharks: Host Calgary on Saturday.---More hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Game
Recap from The Associated
Press (AP).
Copyright
© 2018 The Associated
Press, All Rights Reserved.
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