NHL Playoffs

The top two seeds in the Western Conference are in action late on Thursday as one looks to finish off their series while the other aims to take a stranglehold on their cross-state rival. We will look at both of them in this piece, suggesting plays on both games.

Chicago (+175) @ Vancouver (-210); Total set at 5.5

After laying an egg in Game 4, the Canucks are hoping to be sharp once again back at home and put their hated enemy Chicago Blackhawks out of the playoffs and on to the golf course. The whole Vancouver Canucks team played pitifully, including Roberto Luongo who ended up getting pulled.

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RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD believes the battle for places in the 888.com Premier League Darts play-offs next month is between five players, as he prepares to face World Champion Adrian Lewis in Sheffield on Thursday.

The Dutchman is locked in a battle to claim a spot in the top four of the league table, with only five games remaining before those players qualify to compete at the Wembley Arena on May 19 for the £125,000 title.

While league leader Phil Taylor needs just one win to mathematically secure his play-off place, just three points separate Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, van Barneveld and Lewis behind him in the league table.

And van Barneveld, who has lost to top-quality displays by Taylor and Whitlock in the past fortnight, is anticipating another titanic struggle when he plays Lewis at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena on Thursday.

“It’s a really exciting Premier League and I think there are five players playing for four places now,” said van Barneveld, ruling out the changes of James Wade, Terry Jenkins and Mark Webster.

“You can play very well and hit big averages but still lose, as I showed last week against Simon when he averaged nearly 108 to my 104.

“I’d rather have a 97 average and win, but doubles are the key to winning matches. I’m still impr

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MLB Picks: Texas Rangers @ New York Yankees Weekend Series

Free MLB Picks sets up the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers opening a three-game series on Friday at Yankee Stadium.

This series pits two American League division leaders against each other, and in the Rangers, features one of the best teams so far this MLB season.

It’s also the first time the teams have met since last season’s ALCS, which the Rangers won in six games. Including that playoff series, Texas is 7-3 SU in the past 10 head-to-head meetings.
New York (6-4 SU) is tied with the Baltimore Orioles atop the AL East, and is 4-2 SU at home this season. Tex

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Busy Friday of baseball betting action and the Oddsbay handicapping team has four plays locked and loaded.  Make Oddsbay your home for the best baseball free picks available online!

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (HERNANDEZ) AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES (KARSTENS)–APRIL 22, 2011  4:05 PM PACIFIC

Pittsburgh is doing better than they did last season but are still under .500.  They’ve actually performed better on the road where they’re 7-6 than at PNC Park where they’ve lost 5 of 6 games.  The Nationals are right at .500 but they’ve been getting surprisingly good pitching throughout the staff–they currently have the #10 team ERA in the Majors (3.53).  Livan Hernande

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So it begs the question, who will break out for Dallas in Game 3 Thursday night at the Rose Garden? Jason Terry? Shawn Marion? Nowitzki said the Mavs have been trying to spread it around all season.

“We’ve been doing that second scorer by committee. Marion had a great finish to the season, Jet (Terry) has been there all season long and Peja was a great addition at the trade deadline because he’s still a great knockdown shooter,” Nowitzki said.

But even collectively, visiting the Rose Garden could pose a challenge for the Mavs. They split the regular season series against the Blazers, with each team winning on their home court twice.

Portland is 30-11 this season at the Rose Garden, winning 10 of their last 11.

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