Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Buffalo, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PREDICTION: Lightning 4, Sabres 2

Oddsmakers currently have the BUFFALO listed as 140-moneyline favorites versus the TAMPA BAY, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning are just one point apart in the NHL standings, out of the playoff picture but headed in different directions as they try to stay in the wild-card hunt in the second half of the season.

The Lightning (19-19-4) have lost four straight and allowed 22 goals in those games — they allowed six or more goals just once in their first 38 games, but now have done it three times in the last four — while the Sabres (16-15-9) are 3-0-1 in their last four.

“We want to be a relentless, aggressive, fast, hard team to play against, that keeps coming at you for 60 minutes,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday. “That’s when we’re at our best. We’re getting there.”

The Lightning are at the other extreme, struggling defensively in front of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who started 10 straight games since Ben Bishop was sidelined. Tampa Bay went 4-1-1 in the first six, but has lost the last four, and Bishop is expected to return either Thursday or Friday against the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets.

“This is the most difficult stretch we’ve had since we’ve been here. It’s not a lot of fun,” Lightning associate coach Rick Bowness said Wednesday. “There’s only one way out of it. You’ve got to work your way out of it.”

The Lightning will try to do that in a difficult stretch — after Columbus on Friday, they play six straight on the road, including games against three teams atop divisions in the Western Conference in Chicago, San Jose and Anaheim. Having a break over the last three days gave Tampa Bay a rest it has sorely needed.

“I just think that a couple of days off has given the guys some fresh legs,” Bowness said. “Tired bodies are a little more rested.”

One advantage the Lightning can hope to make the most of is their power play, which is the second-best in the NHL, converting on 23.5 percent of their chances. That will go up against a weak spot for Buffalo, which ranks last in the league in penalty kill, allowing goals on 26 percent of opposing power plays.

The Lightning’s struggles on defense may need to be addressed before the trade deadline — in reaching the Eastern finals last year, they ranked fifth in the NHL with 2.41 goals allowed per game; this year, they’ve dropped to 25th, allowing 2.98, despite largely the same lineup in goal and on the blue line.

Buffalo is scoring more, with three players tied for the team lead at 27 points in right wing Kyle Okposo (team-best 12 goals), defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (team-best 24 assists) and 21-year-old center Sam Reinhart, who has nine goals. The Sabres will be without goalie Robin Lehner, who is ill and didn’t make the trip, so it’s likely Anders Nilsson in net against Tampa Bay.

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Buffalo Sabres vs. Carolina Hurricanes
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina

TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-B (Buffalo), FSN Carolina
PREDICTION: Hurricanes 3 Sabres 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Hurricanes listed as 150-moneyline favorites versus the Sabres, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres will meet three times in less than a month starting Saturday night at PNC Arena, with each team coming off different outcomes in games that were pushed past regulation 24 hours ago.

The Sabres continued their good play recently with an overtime victory Friday night at home against the New York Islanders, while the Hurricanes saw their seven-game home winning streak end in a 4-3 shootout loss to Washington.

Buffalo won the season series against the Hurricanes 3-0 last year and is 6-3-2 in its last 11 games.

In general, the Hurricanes have had difficulties holding third-period leads, and that was the case again against the Capitals with Carolina allowing the tying goal with 6:04 left in regulation.

“We’ll be back in there again,” coach Bill Peters said of the matchup against Buffalo. “This loss (to Washington) wasn’t for a lack of chances. We were pushing, we were aggressive, we stayed on our toes.”

Washington had just seven shots midway through the game, but then started to play more physical against a Carolina team that likes to skate and play fast.

“We want to compete and make them pay on the scoreboard when teams get physical with us,” Peters said. “When it’s physical let’s dig in. It’s Christmas time so it’s better to give them receive.”

Peters admitted that a few players were “dinged up” after the Washington game but he’ll likely go with the same lineup as he did Friday night,’ including goalie Cam Ward, who will be making his 19th start in the last 21 games.

“The nice part is we come back and do it again,” Jeff Skinner said of the back-to-back scenario. “We sometimes have gotten away from our game trying to protect the lead. We have to stay on the forecheck and keep doing good things.”

“There are ways of making it easier on ourselves and finding ways to win games,” added Jordan Staal.

The Sabres, despite a slow start to the season, have the attention of Staal and his teammates.

“They are playing well and there is never an easy game in this league. We’re going to need these points to keep moving forward,” he said.

Buffalo has been one of them more injury-riddled teams in the league but is now starting to get healthy.

“If you asked me at the 22-game mark I don’t think we had gotten our identity of our team and how we wanted to play because of injuries to key guys, but we’ve played some good hockey and had some good games,” said Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma. “But here recently we’ve started to get some players back and you’re seeing how our ream can play. Look at some of the games we’ve taken over. That’s really kind of getting to how we’re going to play moving forward.”

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Buffalo Sabres vs Washington Capitals
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia

TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-B (Buffalo), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Capitals 5, Sabres 1

Captain Alex Ovechkin leads the team with 12 goals but is mired in a four-game drought that began after he registered his 16th career hat trick on Nov. 23 as the Capitals edged St. Louis 4-3. Buffalo is in the midst of a stretch during which it plays six of seven games at home, where it opened the string with a victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday but dropped a 2-1 decision to Boston two days later. Jack Eichel has come back strong from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the Sabres’ first 21 games of the season, recording three goals and an assist over his first two contests before being kept off the scoresheet by the Bruins. Brett Connolly had the best offensive game of his first season with Washington in the first matchup against Buffalo, netting a tally and setting up another for two of his three points this campaign.

ABOUT THE SABRES (9-10-5): With Josh Gorges expected to miss an undetermined number of weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his foot, Buffalo hopes to get back another defenseman in the very near future. Dmitry Kulikov skated with the team on Sunday for the first time since Nov. 11 and is day-to-day with a lower-back injury that has sidelined him for 11 games thus far but could return for the Sabres’ home contest against Washington on Friday. Brendan Guhle, a 19-year-old blue-liner recalled from juniors on an emergency basis, recorded four shots and a plus-1 rating in 16 minutes, 20 seconds of ice time in his NHL debut on Saturday.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (13-7-3): Washington has scored a total of three goals during its winless streak and netted more than three just once in its last seven contests. The Capitals could stand to receive some secondary scoring as the quartet of Ovechkin, Marcus Johansson (nine), T.J. Oshie (eight) and Nicklas Backstrom (seven) have accounted for 62 percent (36-of-58) of the team’s goals this season. Backstrom leads the team with 21 points and has recorded 12 over his last nine contests.

OVERTIME

1. Sabres C Sam Reinhart has collected two goals and three assists during his four-game point streak.

2. Washington is 11-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.

3. Buffalo is seeking back-to-back wins away from home after ending a four-game road slide, during which it totaled four goals, with a 5-4 triumph at Ottawa on Tuesday.

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Pegula said Thursday that the success didn’t show up in wins and losses but will show up in the future.

Pegula made the comments during a panel discussion with his wife, Kim, as well as Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday.

When asked whether success is measured differently for his sports business than his corporate enterprises, Pegula offered the example of the Sabres’ recent struggles, which were celebrated by fans who wanted the team to ”tank” for the first overall pick.

He says the seasons were ”two of the most successful seasons we’ve ever had.”

Buffalo’s boasted the league’s worst record in each the seasons, allowing the club to select top prospects Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel with the No. 2 overall picks in each of the last two drafts.

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His wife, kids and father-in-law drove down from Buffalo, N.Y., to see Pominville in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was a good night for the former Buffalo Sabres’ captain — he scored a goal and had an assist for his first points for the Wild since his trade last week — in supporting Niklas Backstrom’s 24 saves in a 3-0 Minnesota victory.

“I didn’t really expect them to come down,” said Pominville, acquired with a fourth-round selection in 2014 from Buffalo for goalie Matt Hackett, forward Johan Larsson, a first-rounder in 2013 and a second-rounder in 2014. “I talked to my wife on the phone and everything seemed normal. It was a nice surprise to see her and the kids before the game.”

The win was a big one for the Wild, who snapped a three-game losing streak that included their first shutout loss of the season in their last game.

“You can’t avoid it: Everyone is talking about (the playoffs),” Backstrom said after his second shutout of the season and 28th of his career. “But for us it’s still one day at a time, one game at a time.”

Ryan Suter’s wrist shot in traffic started the scoring, and Charlie Coyle benefited from a perfect pass from Mikael Granlund as the Wild netted two power-play goals in the second period.

Backstrom and his staunch defense did the rest until Pominville scored late off a tape-to-tape pass from Zach Parise.

“What you saw tonight is what our game is supposed to look like,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “I really liked a lot of players tonight. I thought everybody was on top of their game.”

It was a turnaround win for Minnesota, which had also lost four of five since a seven-game winning streak. The Wild scored only three goals in the three-game skid.

“Our last couple of games weren’t what we wanted and it’s nice to kind of get back on track, regroup and get things going again,” Coyle said.

The Wild came in ranked eighth in the NHL in road power plays. After a scoreless first period, the Wild made the most of a hooking penalty on Blake Comeau, who was playing his first home game for the Blue Jackets after being acquired from Calgary for a fifth-round pick.

Suter took a drop pass from Pominville, and Suter tucked a hard wrister from the high slot inside the far post through heavy congestion. It was the fourth goal of the season for Suter, a big-ticket free agent last summer.

Columbus’ Vinny Prospal was called for hooking later in the period, and the Wild cycled the puck while the Blue Jackets tried in vain to clear it.

Granlund slid a backdoor pass from the right wing to Coyle, who had slipped to the left doorstep for a jam shot that made it 2-0 at 15:03.

This defeat was extremely costly to Columbus, which is four points behind eighth-place Detroit in the West.

Now the Blue Jackets have little wiggle room with just nine games remaining in the regular season — including six on the road.

“This one definitely hurts,” said defenseman Jack Johnson, who said Columbus might have to win out to make the postseason.

The Blue Jackets came in having earned points in 16 of 19 games (11-3-5) and riding a four-game winning streak at home. Since their previous regulation home loss on March 7, they had gone 9-0-3 at Nationwide Arena.

“It’s a blow,” coach Todd Richards said of the loss that opened a three-game homestand. “We know what’s ahead of us. The players have talked, we have talked, about the importance of these home games. We lacked energy in the second period. We picked it up in the third, but we still didn’t do enough.”

Marian Gaborik, acquired by the Blue Jackets in a multiplayer deal with the New York Rangers at Wednesday’s trade deadline, was greeted by several signs in the crowd as he made his debut at home.

“We have to stay positive,” Gaborik said. “We have nine games left. We’ll do everything we can to be in the hunt.”

Backstrom was solid when needed. The Wild killed off four penalties, although Backstrom was at his best on even-strength threats. He gloved a hard one-timer by Jack Johnson midway through the first, stymied R.J. Umberger on a rush in the third, and turned aside Cam Atkinson’s blast in transition in the final minutes.

“What can you say about Backie?” Yeo said. “That was a good response by him. That’s what he does.”

Game notes

Columbus D James Wisniewski caught a skate to the leg in the second period and made it to the bench with some difficulty. He returned in the third. … Minnesota, which solidified its playoff spot heading into the final three weeks, ended a streak of five games in which it had allowed the first goal. … Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves for the Blue Jackets. … The Wild have 10 games remaining, including six at home.

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Turris scored twice, including the winning goal 3:54 into overtime, and added an assist to help the Senators overcome an early two-goal deficit and beat the unraveling Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday.

“I don’t know what it was, but my legs didn’t feel the best in the first period,” Turris said, before noting how the massage and injection of caffeine provided him a boost during the first intermission. “I felt much better in the second and much better in the third. I don’t know why, but it happens like that sometimes.”

Turris capped the Senators’ three-goal second period by scoring on a wraparound goal with 63 seconds left. After Buffalo’s Drew Stafford tied it at 3 with 7:54 left in regulation, Turris sealed the win with a power-play goal in overtime.

With Christian Ehrhoff off for interference, Daniel Alfredsson fed Turris in the lower left circle, where he one-timed a shot over goalie Ryan Miller’s shoulder on the short side.

Patrick Wiercioch had a goal and assist, and Chris Phillips also scored for Ottawa, which won for only the second time in eight games (2-2-4). Ben Bishop made 33 saves in his first start in four games. The Senators also extended their string of games decided by one goal to 11, one short of matching the NHL record set by Chicago during the 1997-98 season.

Stafford scored twice, and Mike Weber added a goal for Buffalo, which dropped to 1-2-3 in its past six games.

While the Senators celebrated their ability to bounce back after a sloppy first period, the Sabres lamented yet another inconsistent outing.

“I thought the first (period) was probably one of our best periods of the year, and the second was probably one of our worst,” Sabres interim coach Ron Rolston said. “We must have just got comfortable.”

The Sabres (10-14-4) can’t afford to get comfortable given how coach Lindy Ruff was fired a month ago.

Their fans continued to express their displeasure of a high-priced team that opened the season with high expectations. An hour after the game, one fan was heard inside the near-empty arena yelling, “Darcy’s got to go!” in reference to Sabres general manager Darcy Regier.

“It’s disappointing,” Sabres captain Jason Pominville said. “We just can’t get one point. We have to be able to get two points. We had a two-goal lead, and it just wasn’t good enough.”

That two-goal lead Buffalo enjoyed was its largest entering a second period in 32 games, dating to March 27 of last season. And the Sabres promptly squandered it.

Ottawa scored twice in the first 10:14, during a stretch in which it outshot Buffalo 12-2. Turris then gave the Senators their first lead by avoiding Jochen Hecht’s weak stick check attempt and banking the puck in off Miller’s skate.

Senators coach Paul MacLean was impressed by how his team rallied.

“That’s what we had to do — respond,” MacLean said. “Down 2-0 on the road, the next goal is huge. And I thought we came out and established our game finally and put some pressure on their goaltender.”

The Senators took full advantage of the flat-footed Sabres less than two minutes into the second period. During a 10-second span, Miller was forced to stop four shots — two by Jakob Silfverberg and two by Peter Regin — from in close. They all came after defenseman Robyn Regehr’s lazy giveaway inside his blue line.

Miller finished with 30 saves, including foiling Guillaume Latendresse, who was set up on the doorstep shortly before Turris scored in overtime.

Bishop was sharp, too. His best save came with 2:27 left in regulation during a Sabres power play. That is when he got his right pad out just in time to stop Thomas Vanek’s one-timer.

He had no chance on Stafford’s second goal, which deflected in off Senators forward Zack Smith’s stick in front.

“It’s going to happen sometimes,” Bishop said. “We responded well, so, no big deal.”

Game notes

Sabres LW Ville Leino had an assist in his season debut. He missed the first 27 games with a hip injury. … Senators D Sergei Gonchar had two assists to extend his point streak to six games. … Sabres RW Patrick Kaleta completed his five-game NHL suspension for an illegal hit, and is available to return to play at Washington on Sunday. … Senators LW Matt Kassian made his NHL season debut after being acquired in a trade with Minnesota on March 12. Kassian had been playing with Houston of the AHL.

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The announcement was made on the team’s Twitter account and confirmed by Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert on Wednesday. Ruff was relieved of his duties shortly after the team held a 90-minute practice, and a day after the Sabres were booed several times by their home fans during a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

The Sabres (6-10-1) have gone 4-10-1 since opening the season with two wins.

With a 571-432-162 record, Ruff was the team’s winningest coach. In his 16th season, he was also the active leader among NHL coaches with the same team.

The Sabres, who play at Toronto on Thursday, have not yet named a replacement. General manager Darcy Regier was scheduled to address reporters later Wednesday.

The news came as a surprise only because Sabres management, including team president Ted Black, had spent much of the past week voicing its support of Ruff. Team owner Terry Pegula was also regarded as a big fan of Ruff.

Pegula, however, was running out of options in his bid to turn the Sabres into a Stanley Cup contender, an objective he made clear upon purchasing the team two years ago. Ruff’s firing comes nearly two years to the day Pegula formally took over as the Sabres owner on Feb. 22, 2011.

Ruff was becoming increasingly aware that his job was on the line. Last week, he described the Sabres’ struggles as being “his mess,” while adding he wasn’t done trying to clean them up.

On Wednesday, he abruptly cut short his availability with reporters by hinting that changes were coming because “it isn’t working the way we’re going.” He didn’t specify what those changes might be.

Under Ruff, the Sabres made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and eight times overall. That included a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, when Buffalo was eliminated by Dallas in six games.

The Sabres, however, haven’t been the same since they reached the Eastern Conference finals — losing both times — in both 2006 and ’07. Buffalo has missed the playoffs in three of the past five seasons.

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Tavares scored three goals and assisted on another Saturday night to lead the Islanders to a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

“I think any great player puts a lot of responsibility on (themselves) because they want to lead (their) team,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. “To me, an elite player is someone you watch night in and night out, and your coaches prepare for in your pre-scout. You’re looking at 91 (Tavares).

“I’m sure teams are doing the same thing as we do with (Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven) Stamkos and some of the other players in the league.”

Matt Moulson had a goal and three assists, Michael Grabner scored with 35 seconds left, and Evgeni Nabokov made 30 saves for the Islanders, who beat the Rangers 4-3 in a shootout Thursday night.

“Just two games. Don’t want to blow it out of proportion,” Josh Bailey said. “Want to keep it rolling.”

Tavares, who notched his fourth career hat trick, has 20 points in 14 games. Moulson finished with four points, and Brad Boyes had two assists. Tavares is tied with Buffalo Sabres left wing Thomas Vanek and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal for the league lead with 11 goals.

“I think ever since I was a kid, my main attribute (has been to) be a goal scorer,” Tavares said. “Not that I go out there and think about leading the league in goals, but when I get my opportunities, I want to contribute. And I know offensively, that’s where I contribute the most. Just trying to, when I get my chances, put the puck in.”

The Devils’ lone goal was Marek Zidlicky’s power-play slap shot 8:47 into the third. Johan Hedberg made 28 saves for New Jersey, which has lost two of its last three.

“What, first place (in the Eastern Conference)?” New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer said sarcastically when he was asked if he was worried about the losses. “No one likes to lose, but you’re going to lose some games. There (are) no easy stretches this season and we’re going to bounce back Monday afternoon (at home against the Ottawa Senators).”

Tavares’ tap-in of Boyes’ rebound opened the scoring 16:46 into the second. Hedberg couldn’t control Boyes’ wrister and Tavares slammed the loose puck into the half-empty net.

Tavares doubled the lead to 2-0 1:23 later with his second of the game and 10th of the season. With New York on a power play, Tavares and Moulson played give-and-go, and the sequence ended with Tavares jamming a loose puck under Hedberg.

Moulson pushed the Islanders’ advantage to 3-0 57 seconds later with his seventh of the season. Tavares finished off his hat trick by zipping a power-play laser over Hedberg with 5:15 left in regulation.

It was a tightly contested goaltending showdown early. Hedberg robbed Boyes 1:06 into the game with a diving snare of an off-wing wrister. He also benefited from a bit of good fortune as Ullstrom’s backhand penalty shot attempt with 3:15 left in the first hit the crossbar.

“Heddy (played) an unbelievable game,” Devils captain Bryce Salvador said. “He comes out and does what he does. He gave us a chance to win. He made some big saves and we just kind of let down in front of him.”

Nabokov was every bit Hedberg’s counterpart’s equal. His most difficult save was a doorstep stuff attempt off the stick of Ryan Carter in the first period.

“I thought we had some breakdowns in the first period (and) he was there to close the door,” Capuano said of Nabakov. “He played extremely well. I don’t know a lot about that position, but I know he was aggressive tonight and his angles were good. He was square to the puck.”

New York went 3 for 6 on the power play, while New Jersey was 1 for 4 on the man advantage.

“Bottom line, our (penalty kill) wasn’t good enough. That’s the difference in the game,” Salvador said. “Our PK wasn’t sharp. Usually, PKs are our strength. They got a couple big power-play goals, bottom line. If our PK does the job, it’s a different game. The Islanders thrive on the special teams and our PK just wasn’t up to it tonight.

“In a game like tonight, our PK has to come out and do the job and we didn’t get it done.”

Game notes

The announced attendance was 15,488. … The teams have split the first four games of the regular-season series. They will meet once more this season, at the Prudential Center on April 1. … Tavares’ first goal ended Hedberg’s shutout streak against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum this season at 96:46. … New Jersey scratched Mark Fayne, Peter Harrold and Stefan Matteau. Eric Boulton, Thomas Hickey and Marty Reasoner were New York’s scratches.

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Coach Lindy Ruff said before the game that Sekera will miss at least a few days and potentially longer.

Sekera was hurt Saturday, when he was struck in the leg by Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin’s shot in the first period of a 6-1 loss at Montreal. Sekera played a few more shifts before missing the final two periods.

The Sabres are already missing veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr (lower body), who will miss his fourth straight game. Ruff said Regehr is expected to return to practice this week.

The Panthers opened a four-game road trip minus defenseman Ed Jovanovski (lower body) and forward Scottie Upshall (lower body).

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Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 27, 2013
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia
TV: 3 p.m., NHL Network (U.S.), MSG, Comcast Sportsnet D.C.
Prediction: Sabres 4, Capitals 1

Oddsmakers currently have the Capitals listed as 116-moneyline favorites versus the Sabres, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

Vanek has four points and five assists in his last eight games against Washington. Cody Hodgson has three goals to start the season after finishing with three in 20 games for Buffalo in 2011-12. Offseason acquisition Steve Ott, who scored in the season opener against Philadelphia, leads the team with 21 hits. Tyler Ennis, who finished last season with 24 points in 22 games, has one assist so far this season and is minus-3.

Last time out for Buffalo, they were a 3-1 loser as they battled the Hurricanes at home. Moneyline bettors who got the Hurricanes at +140 were rewarded, while the 4 combined goals moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

Team record: 0-3-1 SU, ATS
Current streak: lost 4 straight games.
is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Calgary are 3-7
After playing New Jersey are 4-6
After a loss are 7-3

Joel Ward, who scored six goals in 73 games last season, has two in his first four games this season. Goaltenders Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth have two starts apiece this season. Neuvirth has a 3.37 goals-against average and .877 save percentage, which is better than Holtby’s 5.04 GAA and .863 save percentage. Jason Chimera, who set a career-high with 20 goals and 39 points last season, has two assists – but he leads the team with 11 hits and is plus-1 this season.

Last time out for Washington, they were a 3-2 loser as they battled the Devils on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Devils at -158 were rewarded, while the 5 combined goals moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

Team record: 2-2-0 SU, ATS
Current streak: lost 2 straight games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 7 of last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 6 games on the road
When playing on Sunday are 8-2
Before playing Colorado are 8-2
After playing Carolina are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4

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