Cnotes 2019-2020 NHL Picks/News/Trends/Best Bets - Thru The Stanley Cup !

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday?s 6-pack

Interesting college football spreads this weekend:

? Oregon State @ UCLA (-5.5)

? Iowa @ Michigan (-3.5)

? Northwestern @ Nebraska (-3.5)

? Air Force (-3) @ Navy

? TCU @ Iowa State (-3.5)

? Auburn (-3) @ Florida

Quote of the Day
?Falling down is part of life; getting back up is living.?
Anonymous

Wednesday?s quiz
Who won/lost the last time the World Series was a sweep?

Tuesday?s quiz
Sam Darnold played his college football at USC.

Monday?s quiz
Clint Hurdle managed the Colorado Rockies in their one World Series appearance.

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Wednesday?s Den: NFL stats after four weeks??

13) Best red zone offenses:
Seattle 6.25 ppp, Cowboys 6.08, Ravens 6.07

Worst red zone offenses:
Dolphins 2.67, Bengals 3.00, Raiders 3.62

12) Best offenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Ravens 3.76 ppp, Chiefs 3.19, Chargers 2.88

Worst offenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Jets 0.37, Dolphins 0.52, Bucs 0.88

11) Best red zone defenses:
Patriots 2.50, 49ers 2.88, Steelers 3.57, Chiefs 3.76

Worst red zone defenses:
Browns 6.60, Dolphins 6.16, Colts 5.67, Saints 5.57

10) Best defenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
49ers 0.38, Patriots 0.39, Bills 0.77, Bears 0.84

Worst defenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Dolphins 3.05, Cardinals 3.03, Chiefs 2.67, Falcons 2.56

9) QB?s with most passing yards:
Mahomes KC 1,510, Ryan Atl 1,325, Goff LAR/Rivers LAC 1,254

8) QB?s with most touchdown passes:
10? Brissett-Jackson-Mahomes
9? Prescott-Stafford-Wentz-Winston
8? Ryan-Wilson

7) RB?s with most rushing yards:
McCaffrey 411, Cook 410, Fournette 404, Chubb 398

6) Players with most receiving yards:
KAllen 452, Kupp 388, Godwin 386, Adams 378

6) Teams that scored the most points:
135? Chiefs/Ravens
123? Buccaneers
122? Patriots
117? Rams

5) Offenses with most plays of 20+ yards:
Chiefs 27, Chargers/Ravens 23, Lions 22, Falcons 21

4) Offenses that have gained most yards/game:
Ravens 482.5, Chiefs 474.8, Cowboys 425.2, 49ers 421.0

3) Defenses that allowed fewest yards/game:
Patriots 243.0, Bills 280.8, 49ers 283.3, Panthers 287.5

2) Best net punting average:
Redskins 48.5, Giants 46.8, Cardinals/Saints/Eagles 44.8.

1) Best turnover ratios:
+6? Bears/Patriots
+5? Titans
+4? Packers/Jets/Steelers

Worst turnover ratios:
-7? Dolphins
-5? Falcons/Giants/Broncos/Bengals
-3? Panthers/Rams/Redskins

 

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SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:05 PM Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
8:05 PM Washington Capitals St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
10:05 PM Vancouver Canucks Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
10:35 PM San Jose Sharks Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 3, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:05 PM Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
7:05 PM Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
7:05 PM Montreal Canadiens Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
7:05 PM Winnipeg Jets New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
8:05 PM Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
8:35 PM Boston Bruins Dallas Stars American Airlines Center
9:05 PM Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center
10:05 PM Arizona Coyotes Anaheim Ducks Honda Center

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 4, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
2:05 PM Chicago Blackhawks Philadelphia Flyers O2 Arena
7:05 PM Toronto Maple Leafs Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
7:05 PM Washington Capitals New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
7:05 PM Winnipeg Jets New Jersey Devils Prudential Center
10:35 PM Vegas Golden Knights San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY OCTOBER 5, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:05 PM Carolina Hurricanes Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
7:05 PM Columbus Blue Jackets Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
7:05 PM Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
7:05 PM New York Rangers Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
7:05 PM New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres KeyBank Center
7:05 PM Tampa Bay Lightning Florida Panthers BB&T Center
8:05 PM Dallas Stars St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
8:05 PM Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
9:05 PM Boston Bruins Arizona Coyotes Gila River Arena
9:05 PM Minnesota Wild Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center
10:05 PM Los Angeles Kings Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
10:05 PM San Jose Sharks Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
10:05 PM Vancouver Canucks Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 6, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:05 PM Tampa Bay Lightning Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
7:05 PM Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Little Caesars Arena
7:05 PM Winnipeg Jets New York Islanders Barclays Center

 

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Sharks F Kane suspended for 3 games
October 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has been suspended for the first three games of the season for abuse of an official.

The punishment handed out Tuesday comes after a run-in Kane had with Vegas' Deryk Engelland in a preseason game on Sunday.

Kane responded with a slash after being cross-checked by Engelland. His stick also made contact with linesman Kiel Murchison. Murchison later grabbed Kane's jersey to split the two players up and the two fell to the ice. Kane then appeared to shove the linesman as he got up. Kane was given a game misconduct for the play.

The Sharks open the season Wednesday night in Vegas and then host the Golden Knights on Friday night. Kane will also miss a game in Nashville on Oct. 8.

Kane will forfeit more than $112,000 based on his annual salary because of the suspension.

 

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Wild defenseman Pateryn out 6 weeks
October 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn has undergone surgery on his midsection and will be out about six more weeks.

The Wild said Tuesday the procedure for a bilateral core muscle repair went as planned in Philadelphia. Pateryn missed most of training camp because of the injury.

The seven-year veteran was starting his second season with the Wild. He had one goal and six assists with a minus-11 rating in 80 games last season.

The injury to Pateryn paved the way for rookie Carson Soucy to make the roster, with Brad Hunt and Nick Seeler the other options for the third blue line pair behind Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin.

The Wild open the season Thursday at Nashville.

 

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Culture is key in developing for Devils
October 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

Whether it involves New Jersey rookie center Jack Hughes or any other prospect, Devils general manager Ray Shero says the most important aspects of a prospect's development must be in place before first stepping into the locker room.

Simply put, the key is culture, and how it rubs off on an impressionable 18-year-old.

''If you have a bad group of guys, if you're not in a good environment in terms of work ethic, you're like, `OK, that's how it's done here, great. I'm not going to work, I'm going to stay out `til 4 o'clock,''' Shero told The Associated Press.

''If there's accountability, and that's really a big thing in terms with anything whether it's business, sports, whatever ... when you walk into that it's `Oh, that's how it's done,''' he added. ''There's learning curves for everything on and off the ice. I think the better you support those guys as young kids and teenagers, the better off they're going to be.''

The start of the NHL season this week places the focus on a new crop of youngsters set to make their debuts.

In New Jersey, all eyes are on Hughes, the under-sized, play-making center who became the eighth American-born player selected with the top pick in June. He joins a team that features two other No. 1 draft picks in Taylor Hall, who was selected first by Edmonton in the 2010 draft, and Nico Hischier, selected No. 1 by the Devils in 2017.

Nothing Hughes has done thus far should give Shero pause as the Devils prepare to open their season hosting Winnipeg on Friday.

The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Hughes displayed how much of a competitor he is in expressing how unhappy he was losing in his first NHL competitive setting - a 6-4 loss to Buffalo in in the Sabres prospects tournament last month.

''We kind of got lucky to put four on the board, and only gave up six. Disappointing game,'' Hughes said.

The youngster responded once the preseason began by scoring twice, including the decisive goal, on a give-and-go with Nikita Gusev in a 4-3 overtime win in his preseason debut against Boston.

Devils defenseman P.K. Subban was so impressed, he referred to Hughes' performance as ''nasty.''

And the player who spent the past two years setting USA Hockey's National Development Program's scoring record followed up by scoring a breakaway goal 34 seconds into a 4-2 win over the Rangers a few days later. Hughes finished the preseason with three goals and an assist in four games.

Coming from a hockey family in which his brother Quinn is a defenseman in Vancouver and father Jim a former coach, Jack Hughes understands he has not accomplished anything just yet. And he got a taste of what playing in the NHL would be like representing the United States at the world hockey championships in May.

''I went into this summer knowing I needed a lot of work to be done. I kind of figured it out that it wasn't the USHL,'' he said. ''It was kind of wakeup call to work on my game and get a lot better.''

The Devils are encouraging Hughes' development by assigning him a locker next to Hall.

Hall sees his role as being someone Hughes can use as a sounding board

''He's taking in a lot of information every day, so helping him with that. It's more leading by example,'' Hall said. ''I think it's up to us as players as coaches as management to shelter him as much as possible to make sure all his energy is going toward hockey.''

Like any youngster, Hughes is bound to make mistakes. One issue that stood out in Buffalo was the number of times he coughed up the puck.

Former NHLer turned broadcaster Ed Olczyk isn't concerned, believing Hughes will learn to adapt.

''He's going to try things that he won't in 50 games game from now or 100 games from now. You've going to have to take the good with the bad and vice versa,'' he said.

Devils assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald said Hughes' turnovers are no different than what he saw during his time in Pittsburgh with then-youngsters Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

''I just think you allow the player to be who they are, and that's what he is,'' Fitzgerald said. ''Jack's a magician with the puck.''

Here's a list of other youngster to keep an eye on this season:

D CALE MAKAR, COLORADO

After helping UMass make its first Frozen Four appearance in April, college hockey's Hobey Baker Award-winner made the jump to the NHL by joining Colorado in the midst of its first-round playoff series with Calgary. He became the first defenseman to score a playoff goal in his NHL debut and finished with a goal and five assists in 10 games.

D QUINN HUGHES, VANCOUVER

A play-making defenseman, Hughes spent two years at Michigan before closing last season with three assists in five games with the Canucks.

RW KAAPO KAKKO, NEW YORK RANGERS

Selected second overall behind Jack Hughes, the 6-foot-2, 194-pound forward led Finland with six goals in 10 games at the world championships. His 22 goals in the Finnish Elite League last season were the most by a draft-eligible player.

LW ALEXANDRE TEXIER, COLUMBUS

The 20-year-old is being counted upon to be part of the Blue Jackets' young core to step up following the offseason free-agency departures of Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene. Texier had two goals and an assist in eight playoff games with Columbus last spring.

D ERIK BRANNSTROM, OTTAWA

Acquired in a trade that sent Mark Stone to Vegas in February, Brannstrom is expected to get plenty of playing time on a young Senators team.

F VICTOR OLOFSSON, BUFFALO

Nicknamed Victor ''Goal-ofsson'' for his deft shooting ability, he had two goals and two assists in six games with the Sabres last year, and had a team-leading 30 goals in 65 games with AHL Rochester. A seventh-round pick, the 24-year-old rookie was a late-bloomer after playing five seasons in his native Sweden.

 

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Stone ready to lead in first full season
October 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) The first time Mark Stone ever skated onto the ice for an NHL game, he was 19 years old and his Ottawa Senators were facing the New York Rangers in the playoffs.

Erik Karlsson was his teammate then and he remembers it well. ''I've been with Stoney since he played his first game,'' said Karlsson, now a San Jose Sharks defenseman. ''I've seen him kind of evolve into the guy he is today. He's taken the right steps from day one. He was very fortunate to be around some of the guys in Ottawa that were still there.''

Today, Stone is 27 and one of the best forwards in the league, and Karlsson said things have come full circle for his friend in Las Vegas, where Stone has emerged as a mentor and leader for the Golden Knights.

Stone's arrival in Vegas in February via trade after six-plus years in Ottawa solidified the third-year franchise as a contender as the big-bodied defensive forward makes things happen in both zones.

Though they now play for heated rivals who will open the season facing each other Wednesday, Karlsson said he is happy for his friend, whom he believes is in a good place with Vegas, where many young players can benefit from his leadership on and off the ice.

''He's a fantastic man and a good hockey player, I think we all know that,'' said Karlsson, who reunited with Stone in Ottawa this summer for several offseason workouts. ''He has the right values and he knows what needs to be done to be the best that you can be.

''I think that he's always realized what his attributes are on the ice and he's used that as an example over the course of the years and I think he's learned his own way of leading and I think he does that by example. As of lately, I think that he's evolved in helping others reach their potential. He's taken the long hard road and he's turned himself into the player that he is today by the dedication and the love of the game that he has, and I know he's gonna be great for the guys here.''

Stone's talent is no secret.

He positions himself on offense to make things happen, whether for himself or his teammates. His sturdy 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame allows him to hold the puck a second or two longer in the offensive zone and tends to draw an added defender. The tactic generally leaves one of his linemates open, allowing him to find someone in the crease.

''The minute you think he's gonna pass it, he shoots; he's not afraid to do both,'' Golden Knights center Paul Stastny said.

On defense, Stone has a knack for disrupting opposing forwards by pickpocketing pucks, intercepting passes, or singlehandedly shutting down another team's offensive attack before it even starts.

''He's able to clean up other people's mistakes and turn them into quick offense,'' wing Reilly Smith said. ''He's a mainstay in this league, he's one of the best players, so we're happy to have him for sure.''

Where he's been just as valuable has been in blending perfectly into a system that has relied on locker-room chemistry. Now the Golden Knights benefit from having him for an entire season, being the type of mentor he once relied on in Ottawa.

''You add Mark in for the whole year this year and he's such a presence for our group,'' defenseman Nate Schmidt said. ''He makes a lot of guys better around him.''

Stone said he has no problem taking on a leadership role with a team that became his number one choice when he knew things would no longer work in Ottawa.

''I heard awesome things about the organization, the ownership, the management, the coaches and, ultimately, the players in this room and it hasn't disappointed,'' said Stone, who had 11 points in 18 regular-season games and 12 points in seven playoff games for Vegas last season. ''This is a group of guys that I love to come to the rink with and work with every day and going and competing with every day.''