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Jefferson Sports showing 76% on CFB. If true, that's the best I've seen.

Goodfella underdog GOY

Spanish La Liga TODAY 12:00

Espanyol

v

Eibar

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS4		21/20	12/5	14/5	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT ESPANYOL	RECENT FORM
ADHLAWHLHDAD​ Most recent​	4 - 2 1 - 2	AWHDALHWADHL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Espanyol have scored only one goal in five matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Espanyol’s inability to find the net is costing them dear and they look uneasy favourites to see off Eibar at the Cornella-El Prat. The visitors have had no such problem in front of goal - netting in all their eight outings so far - and could at least match the point they gained at the Bernabeu earlier this month.

RECOMMENDATION: Draw
1

Premier League TODAY 12:30

Bournemouth

v

Tottenham

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS1		16/5	13/5	19/20	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT BOURNEMOUTH	RECENT FORM
HWALHD*HWADHW​ Most recent​	1 - 5 3 - 1	HWAWAWHWADAD​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Tottenham are unbeaten in nine domestic outings this season

EXPERT VERDICT: Bournemouth were taught a couple of harsh lessons by Tottenham last season but can give a better account of themselves here. The Cherries will be on a high after their 6-1 success over Hull and can earn a share of the spoils against a Spurs team suffering with a couple of influential injuries.

RECOMMENDATION: Draw
1


REFEREE: Craig Pawson STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Leicester

v

C Palace

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		21/20	5/2	29/10	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT LEICESTER	RECENT FORM
HD*ALHWHDALHW​ Most recent​	1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 2 3 - 0	AWHWALAWADHL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Palace have scored in three of their four away games

EXPERT VERDICT: Leicester’s title defence has started turbulently with only two wins from their opening eight league games. Claudio Ranieri’s side had a brilliant defensive record last season but they have already conceded 14 goals this term and Crystal Palace will provide a test for the Foxes back line.

RECOMMENDATION: Both teams to score
2


REFEREE: Michael Oliver STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Arsenal

v

Middlesbro

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		1/4	11/2	14	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT ARSENAL	RECENT FORM
AWHWHWAWHWHW​ Most recent​	2 - 0 2 - 0 1 - 1 1 - 1	ADHLALHLADHL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Arsenal have won eight of their last nine home games

EXPERT VERDICT: Middlesbrough have lost one of their four away league games but it gets tougher over the next fortnight with a series of daunting trips beginning at the Emirates. Arsenal thrashed Ludogorets in the Champions League on Wednesday and are unlikely to be drained as they go in search of a fifth straight home win.

RECOMMENDATION: Arsenal to win 2-0
1


REFEREE: Mike Dean STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Swansea

v

Watford

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		11/8	23/10	23/10	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT SWANSEA	RECENT FORM
HDALHLHLHLAL​ Most recent​	1 - 0 1 - 1 1 - 1 0 - 1	HLAWHWALHDAW​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Swansea have failed to score only once this season

EXPERT VERDICT: Swansea have lost six of their eight league games, but they showed signs of life under new manager Bob Bradley in defeat at Arsenal and could have nicked a point. The Swans are worth chancing to gain a first home win of the season against a Watford side who have struggled defensively this season.

RECOMMENDATION: Swansea
2


REFEREE: Paul Tierney STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

West Ham

v

Sunderland

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		4/6	3	19/4	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT WEST HAM	RECENT FORM
HLALHWHLHDAW​ Most recent​	1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 1	HLALAWHLHDAL​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: West Ham are unbeaten in six meetings with Sunderland

EXPERT VERDICT: West Ham battled to an away win at Crystal Palace on Saturday as Slaven Bilic changed his formation to a 3-5-1-1 and that appeared to play to the Hammers’ strengths. Sunderland are without a win this season and David Moyes’s Black Cats could come away empty handed yet again.

RECOMMENDATION: West Ham
2


REFEREE: Robert Madley STADIUM:

Does anyone have info on the Dr B0b best bets this week?

Preview: Rangers (2-2) at Capitals (3-0)

Date: October 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- Even as they were rolling to 120 points and the Presidents' Trophy last season, the Washington Capitals had stretches where they started games slowly, falling behind early before rallying.

This season they're starting strong and finishing strong.

Washington (3-0-1) scored first in each of its four games and has yet to allow a third period goal. The Capitals overcame a sluggish second period and scored twice in the third for a 4-2 win at Florida on Thursday to earn their third straight victory.

"I think in the first we said, "let's do it the right way,'" coach Barry Trotz said. "'Let's get on their defense.' That's the way you have to do it in this league, you have to put some pressure on their back end."

Washington will try to continue its strong play on Saturday, when it hosts a New York Rangers team that started very fast in its last game.

The Rangers scored 69 seconds in and outshot Detroit 33-18, but Jimmy Howard was perfect the rest of the way -- including stopping three breakaways -- as the Red Wings rallied for a 2-1 win on Wednesday night.

New York (2-2) scored 15 goals in its first four games, led by Chris Kreider's three goals and four assists. Mika Zibanejad owns two goals and three assists.

"I like our process. I like the way we're playing," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Wednesday. "We're not giving up much to the opposition and we're definitely generating some Grade A opportunities."

New York's offensive task won't get any easier Saturday night against Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby and a Washington defense that's allowed six goals in four games.

"They're a good team with a lot of skill and it's going to be a good test for us," New York's Jimmy Vesey told Madison Square Garden network. "Their forward group is extremely skilled and Holtby's one of the best goaltenders in the league."

The Rangers have had some success against the Washington goalie. For his career, Holtby is 6-8-1 with a 2.69 goals-against average versus New York.

In 44 games against the Rangers, Alex Ovechkin, who has two goals this season including the go-ahead tally Thursday night, has 27 goals and 15 assists. Justin Williams has 28 points in 35 games against New York and Nicklas Backstrom has 23 assists in 35 games.

Williams picked up his first goal of the season against the Panthers and the first for the Capitals' third line, which also includes newcomers Lars Eller and Zach Stanford.

"We've gotten better marginally every game we've played," Williams said. "We're talking a little bit more, we're supporting a little bit more, we're getting to know each other a little bit more."

Saturday's game marks Washington's fourth in five contests against teams -- including New York -- that notched at least 100 points last season.

"I think we usually, in terms of last year I guess, play better against good teams it seems," Holtby said. "There's a lot of depth in the Eastern Conference this year. There's a lot of good teams."

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 19-9-4, with a 2.65 goals against versus the Capitals, while Rick Nash has 10 goals and 12 assists in 22 games.

Washington was 3-2 against the Rangers last season, including an overtime win.

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1-2) at Chicago Blackhawks (2-3-0)
By Mark Roberts
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm (United Center)
The Line: Chicago Blackhawks / Toronto Maple Leafs --- Over/Under:
TV:

NHL Hockey visits the United Center with the Toronto Maple Leafs visiting the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to get in the win column when they visit the Windy City for an NHL hockey tilt on Saturday. The Maple Leafs squandered a third period lead in Thursday’s 3-2 road defeat at the Minnesota Wild. Eric Staal lit the lamp twice which included the winner with eight minutes remaining in regulation and Zac Dalpe sored his first of the season to make a winner of Devan Dubnyk who recorded 31 saves. The Maple Leafs received yet another goal from rookie Auston Matthews (5th) and Roman Polak also scored but Jhonas Enroth let the lead slip away in his first start for Toronto and finished with 24 stops in absorbing the loss.

It’s far too early tell what the NHL hockey season will be like for the Chicago Blackhawks but it wasn’t good Friday with the Hawks dropping a 3-2 decision at the Columbus Blue Jackets. The CBJ received goals from William Karlsson, Zach Werenski and Nick Foligno with Sergei Bobrovski playing his strongest game of the season with 32 stopsin helping Columbus to their first victory of the season that upped their record to 1-2-0. Chicago never got their offense going 2-3-0 with Richard Panik and Tyler Motte finding the back of the net while Corey Crawford absorbed the loss with 25 stops not being enough.

The over is 3-0-2 in Maple Leafs last 5 in the third game of a 3-in-4 days situation and the over is 4-0 in Maple Leafs last 4 overall while the over is 3-0-1 in Maple Leafs last 4 road games. The over is 4-0-1 in Blackhawks last 5 vs. Atlantic and the over is 5-1-3 in Blackhawks last 9 Saturday games while the over is 5-1-6 in Blackhawks last 12 home games. The Maple Leafs are 0-6 in the last 6 meetings in Chicago and the home team is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings while the Maple Leafs are 2-11 in the last 13 meetings.

The series has heavily favored the Blackhawks but I think the trends are shaky to begin the year…

Preview: San Jose Sharks (3-2-0) at Detroit Red Wings (2-2-0)
By Mark Roberts
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm (Joe Louis Arena)
The Line: Detroit Red Wings / San Jose Sharks --- Over/Under:
TV:

The San Jose Sharks look for a win in NHL Hockey action at the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL hockey can be as thrilling or disappointing as any sport and for the San Jose Sharks it was the latter as they saw a 2-0 third lead at the Pittsburgh Penguins vanish in a little over seven minutes in a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat. In a 7:15 stretch, the Pens received goals off the sticks of Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Scott Wilson while Marc-Andre Fleury went from loser to winner with a 32 stop performance. The Sharks seemed poised for the win with Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scoring before goalie Martin Jones was rocked for all three tallies to absorb the loss with 17 stops..

The home ice isn’t always a huge factor in NHL hockey but it probably didn’t hurt the Detroit Red Wings in their 5-3 victory versus the visiting Nashville Predators on Friday night. The Red Wings are hot right now with three consecutive victories behind a balanced attack that featured goals from Drew Miller, Gustav Nyqvist, Justin Abdelkader, Darren and Helm and Tomas Tater which was more then enough support for Petr Mrazek who made 30 saves for the win. The Predator offense came off the sticks of Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher and PK Subban but Pekka Rinne’s 38 stops couldn’t keep the team from losing three in a row.

The under is 6-1-1 in Sharks last 8 vs. Eastern Conference and the under is 5-1 in Sharks last 6 overall while the Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 Saturday games. The under is 2-0-3 in Red Wings last 5 home games and the Red Wings are 1-10 in their last 11 games playing on 0 days rest while the Red Wings are 1-6 in their last 7 overall. The Sharks are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Detroit and the road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings while the under is 6-1-4 in the last 11 meetings.

San Jose has fared well in this match up and the under has been a strong wagers but let’s see goalies with Detroit playing well…

Preview: Wild (3-1) at Devils (1-2)

Date: October 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The New Jersey Devils were the NHL's worst offensive team in 2015-16, finishing dead-last in goal-scoring. To address this, general manager Ray Shero acquired left winger Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers and signed depth forwards known for having an offensive knack.

Through four games in 2016-17, the Devils are again at the bottom of the league in goals with six in four games and just three goals at 5-on-5. New Jersey failed to score an even-strength goal over its past 175 minutes and 34 seconds, and that lack of even-strength offense proved detrimental in their 2-1 road loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

With the Minnesota Wild visiting Prudential Center, Devils coach John Hynes is going back to the drawing board with his line combinations after a 1-2-1 start.

"Unfortunately for us, we've just had inconsistencies throughout the lineup," Hynes said to the Bergen Record. "(Against Boston), we couldn't find a line combination that got anything done 5-on-5. Is that ideal? No. We would like to have line combinations and have things going but we've got to get better performances from guys on our team, more consistent performances.

"We just have to be better. Even in games, there are pockets where it's real good and times when we're not doing things. Until we get better performances, you're going to keep making decisions, whether that's line combinations or guys in the lineup, guys out of the lineup. Right now it's not good enough to be consistent."

Center Sergey Kalinin, who has yet to play a game this season because of an illness, is expected to be activated Saturday. But it will likely take more than the return of a 25-year-old depth forward that had seven goals last season to thwart the Wild.

New coach Bruce Boudreau has Minnesota off to a 3-1-0 start and new center Eric Staal has been a big part of it. He owns three goals in four games, including two in the Wild's 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

"He wasn't happy with his game last game, and real good players, they bounce back because they've got a lot of pride," Boudreau said of Staal to the StarTribune. "I thought he was really good. He had the puck a lot, his legs were moving, so when that happens, good things happen."

Staal had a disastrous 2015-16 season that ended with 39 points in 83 games (he got an extra game because of a trade to the New York Rangers from the Carolina Hurricanes), which was his worst total since his rookie season in 2003-04. He signed a three-year deal with the Wild, and his three goals match what he had in 20 regular-season games with the Rangers.

"I mean, yeah, it feels good to contribute," Staal said to the StarTribune. "Anytime you come to a new team, you want to be a contributing player right away. I never felt like I forgot how to play. I knew I could play and I've been in this league a long time. But I needed to come here and be ready in training camp, and be fit and hungry.

"I've done that, and now it's about continuing to build. It's only been four games. I got a long way to go but it's been a good start for me and hopefully this team keeps picking up wins, because that's what it's all about."

Left winger Erik Haula and defenseman Jared Spurgeon were injured Thursday and did not practice Friday, which leaves their status for Saturday unclear. Boudreau could choose to dress seven defensemen if Haula doesn't play, but that may not be decided until Saturday morning.

Preview: Lightning (3-1) at Senators (3-1)

Date: October 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

OTTAWA -- -- Guy Boucher claims it's just another game.

But when Ottawa hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre, it will mark the first chance for the Senators coach to strike back against the team that fired him on March 24, 2013.

Tampa was 13-17-1 when GM Steve Yzerman replaced Boucher with Jon Cooper. In two plus-seasons behind the Lightning bench, Boucher had a 97-78-20 record.

"I'm very calm and almost cold about it ... I don't know how to explain it," Boucher said about facing the Lightning. "It's been too long. I guess if it was last year or a few months ago, and it was all the people I had worked with and all the players I had, then I guess there would be emotion there. We're talking almost four years and so much has changed."

Only defenseman Victor Hedman and center Steven Stamkos are still with the Lightning team that Boucher coached.

"None of these guys are my guys except for those two," said Boucher.

The Senators are off to a 3-1-0 start under Boucher, winning all three games they've played in Ottawa including their last one, a 7-4 decision over the Arizona Coyotes.

The Lighting are also 3-1-0 and are venturing on the road for the first time. Their four game homestand concluded with a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Tampa Bay rallied from behind to win each of its first three games.

"You can't keep testing fate," Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times. "Because eventually you're not going to be able to come back."

Craig Anderson will start in goal for the Senators. Despite his 3-0 record, Anderson says he's been no better than average and his .887 save percentage supports that claim.

His biggest issue has been rebound control.

"It's a work in progress," Anderson said. "Right now, it's just tracking the puck, following the puck off my body. I've showed it in spurts. Where I could do it, and there's been other times where it's just been a grenade in there and everything turns into chaos.

"If I could kind of calm things down back there for us we would be better off and I think you'd see less scoring chances."

Former Senators goalie Ben Bishop is expected to start between the pipes for Tampa Bay. Against his old team, Bishop has a 9-0-3 record, with a .933 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average.

The stop in Ottawa will mark the first of a six-game, 11 day road trip for the Lightning. Outside of the Sunshine State, the team will try to find the consistency it has lacked thus far.

"We haven't seen our best side yet," defenseman Anton Stralman told the Times.

Added Stamkos: "Sometimes you get on the road, guys get together and you don't try to impress your fans, you just go out and play your game. We're looking forward to our first road trip against some divisional opponents. We should have no problem getting up for those games."

Preview and Prediction: Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0) at Dallas Stars (2-1-1)
By Randy Chambers
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm (American Airlines Center)
The Line: Dallas Stars / Columbus Blue Jackets --- Over/Under:
TV: FSOH, FSSW

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars square off Saturday night in a NHL matchup at the American Airlines Center.

The Columbus Blue Jackets look for back-to-back wins to get back to a .500 record after beating the Chicago Blackhawks Friday night. The Blue Jackets are averaging 2.5 goals per game and are scoring on 40 percent of their power play opportunities. Zach Werenski leads Columbus with two goals, Nick Foligno has three assists and Brandon Saad has 12 shots on goal. Defensively, the Columbus Blue Jackets are allowing 4.5 goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed nine goals on 107 shots faced and has allowed three or more goals in five of his last eight games. The Columbus Blue Jackets have won their last three road games.

The Dallas Stars look for a nice home victory after a solid 2-1-1 start to the season. The Stars are averaging 3.5 goals per game and are scoring on 21.4 percent of their power play opportunities. Tyler Seguin leads Dallas with two goals, Devin Shore has three assists and Adam Cracknell has 11 shots on goal. Defensively, the Dallas Stars are allowing 3.3 goals per game and are killing 76.5 percent of their opponents power plays. Kari Lehtonen has given up six goals on 80 shots faced and Antti Niemi has allowed seven goals on 55 shots. The Dallas Stars have won 13 straight regular season games when allowing three or less goals. Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky and Jiri Hudler are questionable.

The Blue Jackets are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. Western Conference and 3-7 in their last 10 road games. The Stars are 1-4 in their last 5 home games and 4-1 in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Dallas and 5-2 in the last 7 meetings overall.

The Stars are getting good play on the offensive end and are catching the Blue Jackets on the end of a tough back-to-back against two playoff teams. You have to give the Dallas Stars a huge advantage here, which is why I'm backing the home team to win this game.

RANDY'S PICK
Dallas Stars

Preview: Hurricanes (1-1) at Flyers (1-2)

Date: October 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA -- After a season-opening 1-1-1 road trip and Thursday night's 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, the Philadelphia Flyers will try again for their first win on home ice Saturday night when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who are coming off their first win of the season.

The Flyers (1-2-1) will be without veteran right winger Dale Weise, who on Friday was suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Anaheim defenseman Korbinianb Holzer. Weise is a repeat offender, having been suspended three games to start the 2013-14 season with the Vancouver Canucks after another check to the head.

With Weise out of the lineup, look for Flyers rookie Roman Lyubimov to return to the lineup.

The Flyers already have seen three players suspended for 12 games this season. Defenseman Radko Gudas has two games remaining on his six-game suspension, while center Brayden Schenn returned Thursday night from his three-game suspension that carried over from an illegal hit in last year's first-round playoff loss to the Washington Capitals.

The Flyers received goals from Wayne Simmonds (his third of the season) and Matt Read (his fourth), but went 0-for-7 win the power play in their 3-2 loss to the Ducks, generating just five shots on the man-advantage.

Read has been a pleasant surprise for the Flyers after netting just 11 goals in 79 games last season.

"I was a perimeter player," Read told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's easy to be a perimeter player if your making plays and stuff like that, but to score goals, you've got to get in those tough areas and have tenacity around the net and battle for those loose pucks."

The Hurricanes (1-1-2) finally put together their best game of the season with a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. They grabbed a 3-0 lead and never looked back, getting power-play goals from Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner and a standout performance between the pipes from Eddie Lack.

The Swedish goaltender made 24 saves on Thursday night for his fifth win in seven career starts against the Flames.

"In the beginning of my career (with Vancouver) we played good team games and it was the same today," he said.

"It's just circumstantial."

Carolina coach Bill Peters was pleased with how his team played overall Thursday, and he hopes to jump out to an early lead Saturday.

"More poise and confidence in each other, in the system," Peters told the News & Observer. "I'd love to have a three-goal lead every night. We'll get better playing with the lead. We'll get better managing situations as we go and we'll learn as we go."

The Hurricanes were outstanding on the penalty kill against the Flames, shutting them down on six opportunities.

Lack served notice that he could give No. 1 goalie Cam Ward some competition this season, limiting Calgary's potent offense to two goals.

The Hurricanes wrap up a six-game road trip to start the season on Saturday and Detroit on Tuesday.

Preview: Avalanche (3-1) at Panthers (2-1)

Date: October 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

SUNRISE, Fla. -- In the past two games, the Florida Panthers have been beaten, in essence, on third-period goals by two superstars -- Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Those are two of the top five players in the NHL, according to a recent list posted on an NHL website.

Perhaps fortunately for the Panthers, the Colorado Avalanche -- their next opponent on Saturday night at the BB&T Center -- do not have any players of that caliber. The closest the Avs have are forwards Nathan McKinnon and Matt Duchene, who are top-50 guys.

The Panthers (2-1-1), the defending Atlantic Division champs, are off to a decent start. After winning their first two games, the Panthers were 5.5 seconds away from going 3-0-0 before a Stamkos goal forced overtime and an eventual Florida shootout loss.

Then on Thursday against the Capitals, the Panthers had battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the score 2-2. And that's when Ovechkin's deflection created the 90th game-winning goal of his career.

Colorado (3-1-0) is off to an even better start than Florida, including an impressive 4-0 win at the Lightning on Thursday.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov, who joins McKinnon, Duchene and forward Gabriel Landeskog as Colorado's four representatives on the NHL top-100 list, seems to already be in peak form.

"When we need a save, Varly is there," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Thursday

When the Panthers need a save, they turn to goalie Roberto Luongo, who made the espn.com list along with young defenseman Aaron Ekblad, center Aleksander Barkov and injured winger Jonathan Huberdeau. Defenseman Keith Yandle could also merit attention on any such list.

The Panthers are a curious blend between old and young.

In Thursday night's loss to the Capitals, Florida's two goal-scorers were 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr and a man half his age, rookie defenseman Michael Matheson, 22. It was career goal No. 2 for Matheson while Jagr has 750, which ranks third in NHL history behind record-holder Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.

Jagr is one of the keys to the Florida power play, which got off to a slow start this season -- 0-for-10 -- before finally converting on Thursday. Jagr said Panthers coach Gerard Gallant made adjustments.

"We put two defensemen on our (power play) unit," Jagr said. "They are a little more comfortable on the blue line, and we moved the puck pretty well."

The Panthers also made a roster move on Friday in anticipation of the Avalanche game, recalling forward Kyle Rau, 23, from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League.

Rau isn't big -- just 5-8 and 178 pounds -- but the Panthers like the Minnesota native's quickness and his feisty attitude. He was their third-round pick in 2011, and they are hoping he can now provide a spark.

It isn't as if the Panthers are playing poorly, though. They badly outplayed the Capitals for a long stretch on Thursday -- the last 10 minutes of the first period and the entire 20 minutes of the second all went to the Panthers, who piled up shot totals and scored two unanswered goals during that span.

For the game, Florida had more shot attempts 57-45 and also won the face-offs battle with Washington, 31-24.

But the Panthers have to do what all teams must do -- rely on a short memory, shaking off a loss and getting ready for the next challenge, which, in this case, is the red-hot Avalanche.

Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1-1) at Nashville Predators (1-2-0)
By Mark Roberts
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm (Bridgestone Arena)
The Line: Nashville Predators / Pittsburgh Penguins --- Over/Under:
TV:

The NHL visits Bridgestone arena for a hockey tilt between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking for another NHL hockey win when they visit the Nashville Predators. The Penguins come off a 3-2 victory against visiting San Jose with all three goals coming in the final period to erase a 2-0 deficit. The Sharks took a 2-0 lead on goals from Patrick Marleau and Tomas Hertl but Martin Jones struggled in the nets in the third and finished with 17 stops. The Pens rally saw Scott Wilson, Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin light the lamp while Marc-Andre Fleury suddenly became airtight in making 32 saves to pick up an impromptu victory for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Nashville Predators need to get their NHL hockey season on track and everything begins with a win. The Predators have dropped three in a row following a 5-3 defeat at Detroit on Friday night. The Red Wings featured five different players scoring with Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tater, Drew Miller, Gustav Nyqvist and Darren Helm finding the back of the net to make a winner of Petr Mrazek recorded 30 saves to pick up the victory. The Predators didn’t have the offensive firepower to match scores with PK Subban, Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro tallying for Nashville but Pekka Rinne saw a lot of rubber and his 38 stops were not enough

The Penguins are 8-0 in their last 8 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation and the over is 9-1-2 in Penguins last 12 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 days situation while the under is 6-1 in Penguins last 7 overall. The Predators are 0-4 in their last 4 Saturday games and the over is 6-0-1 in Predators last 7 vs. Metropolitan while going over is 4-0-1 in Predators last 5 vs. Eastern Conference. The Penguins are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Nashville and the Penguins are 7-1 in the last 8 meetings while the under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

The Penguins and the under have done against Nashville and will get a good look with the Preds play lately…

Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1-1) at Nashville Predators (1-2-0)
By Mark Roberts
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm (Bridgestone Arena)
The Line: Nashville Predators / Pittsburgh Penguins --- Over/Under:
TV:

The NHL visits Bridgestone arena for a hockey tilt between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking for another NHL hockey win when they visit the Nashville Predators. The Penguins come off a 3-2 victory against visiting San Jose with all three goals coming in the final period to erase a 2-0 deficit. The Sharks took a 2-0 lead on goals from Patrick Marleau and Tomas Hertl but Martin Jones struggled in the nets in the third and finished with 17 stops. The Pens rally saw Scott Wilson, Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin light the lamp while Marc-Andre Fleury suddenly became airtight in making 32 saves to pick up an impromptu victory for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Nashville Predators need to get their NHL hockey season on track and everything begins with a win. The Predators have dropped three in a row following a 5-3 defeat at Detroit on Friday night. The Red Wings featured five different players scoring with Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tater, Drew Miller, Gustav Nyqvist and Darren Helm finding the back of the net to make a winner of Petr Mrazek recorded 30 saves to pick up the victory. The Predators didn’t have the offensive firepower to match scores with PK Subban, Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro tallying for Nashville but Pekka Rinne saw a lot of rubber and his 38 stops were not enough

The Penguins are 8-0 in their last 8 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation and the over is 9-1-2 in Penguins last 12 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 days situation while the under is 6-1 in Penguins last 7 overall. The Predators are 0-4 in their last 4 Saturday games and the over is 6-0-1 in Predators last 7 vs. Metropolitan while going over is 4-0-1 in Predators last 5 vs. Eastern Conference. The Penguins are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Nashville and the Penguins are 7-1 in the last 8 meetings while the under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

The Penguins and the under have done against Nashville and will get a good look with the Preds play lately…

Preview: San Jose Sharks (3-2-0) at Detroit Red Wings (2-2-0)
By Mark Roberts
Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm (Joe Louis Arena)
The Line: Detroit Red Wings / San Jose Sharks --- Over/Under:
TV:

The San Jose Sharks look for a win in NHL Hockey action at the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL hockey can be as thrilling or disappointing as any sport and for the San Jose Sharks it was the latter as they saw a 2-0 third lead at the Pittsburgh Penguins vanish in a little over seven minutes in a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat. In a 7:15 stretch, the Pens received goals off the sticks of Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Scott Wilson while Marc-Andre Fleury went from loser to winner with a 32 stop performance. The Sharks seemed poised for the win with Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scoring before goalie Martin Jones was rocked for all three tallies to absorb the loss with 17 stops..

The home ice isn’t always a huge factor in NHL hockey but it probably didn’t hurt the Detroit Red Wings in their 5-3 victory versus the visiting Nashville Predators on Friday night. The Red Wings are hot right now with three consecutive victories behind a balanced attack that featured goals from Drew Miller, Gustav Nyqvist, Justin Abdelkader, Darren and Helm and Tomas Tater which was more then enough support for Petr Mrazek who made 30 saves for the win. The Predator offense came off the sticks of Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher and PK Subban but Pekka Rinne’s 38 stops couldn’t keep the team from losing three in a row.

The under is 6-1-1 in Sharks last 8 vs. Eastern Conference and the under is 5-1 in Sharks last 6 overall while the Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 Saturday games. The under is 2-0-3 in Red Wings last 5 home games and the Red Wings are 1-10 in their last 11 games playing on 0 days rest while the Red Wings are 1-6 in their last 7 overall. The Sharks are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Detroit and the road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings while the under is 6-1-4 in the last 11 meetings.

San Jose has fared well in this match up and the under has been a strong wagers but let’s see goalies with Detroit playing well…

Grand Salami - October

The Grand Salami in pro hockey is decided by adding up all the goals scored in every game scheduled for that particular day. You can wager on 'over' or 'under' the Grand Salami total. The total is set by adding up all listed 'over/under' odds for each game on that particular day.

Note: The Grand Salami will have no action if any game is suspended or cancelled before the regulation time of three twenty minute periods. Also, regardless of the number of goals scored during the shoot out portion of the overtime, the final scored recorded for the game will give the winning team on more goal than its opponent based on the score at the end of regulation time.

*The majority of sportsbooks do not put out a total on the Grand Salami when there is only one game on the card. For tracking purposes, we will continue to show the 'over/under' for goals and combined goals scored on days with just one game.

NHL GRAND SALAMI
Date No. of Games Total Goals Combined Goals Scored Result
10/12 4 21.5 30 OVER
10/13 9 48.5 60 OVER
10/14 3 16 19 OVER
10/15 13 69 76 OVER
10/16 3 16 20 OVER
10/17 4 22 29 OVER
10/18 12 67.5 71 OVER
10/19 2 11.5 12 OVER
10/20 11 60.5 55 UNDER
10/21 3 16.5 18 OVER
10/22 12 - - -
10/23 4 - - -
10/24 2 - - -
10/25 11 - - -
10/26 4 - - -
10/27 9 - - -
10/28 6 - - -
10/29 10 - - -
10/30 8 - - -
10/31 No games scheduled - - -

Preview: Blues (3-1) at Flames (1-3)

Date: October 22, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

CALGARY, Alberta -- Somewhere out there in hockey coach exile, Bob Hartley is quite possibly giggling to himself.

Fired after last season because management no longer could motivate the Calgary Flames, Hartley now watches from a safe distance as his old team stumbles out of the gate to start the 2016-17 season.

It's been left to new head coach Glen Gulutzan to find a way to light a fire under a team that is off to a 1-3-1 start and in danger of heading into a brutal stretch in their schedule already in a hole.

The Flames host the tough St. Louis Blues on Saturday night before they head out to play the Chicago Blackhawks and Blues again next week. Eleven of their next 12 games are against teams that made the playoffs last spring.

Calgary is coming off a 4-2 home-ice loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, which left Gulutzan standing in the same spot Hartley found himself after frustrating losses last season, being grilled during his post-game session in the media lounge.

It was clear that Gulutzan would have spent Friday's off day trying to figure out how to fix his lame power play, which was 0-for-6 and pedestrian.

"I don't think we're shooting the puck and winning battles enough," he said. "You can't shoot the puck if you don't win battles."

Gulutzan was then asked if frustration had already set in his dressing room.

"Just parts of our game are frustrating right now. What's frustrating me is the specialty teams. It was 3-2 until the last five-on-three. The Hurricanes were one-for-six on the power play and we were zero-for-six. That's the difference for me."

The Flames stumbled out of the gate under Hartley in October of 2015 and never recovered. They were 3-8-1 after the first month. After Thursday's loss, a similar start appears quite possible.

What's going on?

"We're trying to make plays that aren't there and we've got to just make those simple plays," said Flames center Sean Monahan, who signed a six-year, $40 million contract in August. "It almost feels like we're not on the same page. It's not working well right now and we've got to figure it out."

Flames general manager Brad Treliving went out and got two veteran goaltenders to try and solve a problem at that position, but through five games nothing has changed.

New No. 1 Brian Elliott is 0-3 and gave up three goals on his first 13 shots on Thursday. He was acquired from the Blues at the draft for a second round pick and conditional third round choice.

Gulutzan will have to decide whether to go with Elliott against his former team Saturday or switch to Chad Johnson, a free agent signing from Buffalo and a winner against those Sabres in his only start of the season on Tuesday.

"(Brian's) a pro. He will find whatever rhythm he needs. I don't know if he is lacking confidence or anything. I think the focal point is getting some run support for our goalie."

The Blues arrive in Calgary with a 3-1-1 record. They got off to a perfect start but lost in overtime in Vancouver on Tuesday and fell 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers in the Alberta capital on Thursday.

Preview: Canucks (4-0) at Kings (1-3)

Date: October 22, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES -- Unlike the Los Angeles Kings, the Vancouver Canucks are off to a solid start.

A club that many hockey experts picked to be at the bottom of the barrel in the NHL, the Canucks are the only unbeaten team heading into Saturday night's clash at Staples Center with the Kings.

"Expectations are whatever they are. You have to play the games," said Jannik Hansen, who scored his 100th NHL goal in a 2-1 decision over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. "Every player in this league is so good. If you put your best game forward, you have a pretty good chance of winning.

"Where we are going to get into trouble is if we start slacking a little bit, not playing to our system, not doing the right execution. Then we are going to have a hard time if we are going to rely on individual performances. This team isn't deep enough for that."

Vancouver is embarking on its first road trip of the season. After successful outings at home against Calgary, Carolina, St. Louis and Buffalo, the Canucks open a two-game swing in L.A. followed by a back-to-back game at Anaheim on Sunday.

"We have a tough road trip. We are playing two good teams and it's never easy going down to California," said Vancouver center Brandon Sutter, nephew of Kings head coach Darryl Sutter. Brandon Sutter leads the Canucks with four points (one goal, three assists), with two of those against the Sabres.

"It will be a good test for us. We've played some good teams so far."

Hansen said, "I'd love to keep playing at home. It seems to be working for us right now. It's a very tough road trip. I know it's only two games, but it's back-to-back in California. Two teams that haven't got off to the best start. I know they are going to be hungry."

The Kings (1-3-0), last in the Pacific Division, dropped their opening three games before posting a 4-3 overtime victory in a chippy and controversial finish Thursday at Dallas against the Stars. Alec Martinez delivered the winning goal at 1:20 of the extra period that had the Stars screaming for interference on goalie Kari Lehtonen.

"It was a terrible call at the end of the game," said Dallas coach Lindy Ruff, according to the Dallas Morning News. Ruff challenged the goal to no avail.

The win provided a significant boost to the Kings, who started the season reeling from the loss of standout goalie Jonathan Quick in their opener at San Jose with a groin injury that is expected to sideline him for three months.

Los Angeles has been outscored 15-9 in four games.

Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson, both of whom have a team-high four points, each scored a goal against the Stars. Pearson has provided a sudden burst on a line with Carter after sitting out the initial two games of the season because of a suspension.

"I like the speed of our team, quite honest," Darryl Sutter said, according to LAKingsInsider.com. "Other than parts of one period this year, it's given us a chance to win every game."