Are the Rangers really going to roll unbeaten thru the playoffs? So far, it's seven up and seven down, though New York is leaving little room for error in this series, each win decided by one goal and two of them in overtime. The Canes still look to be in this series, often outskating and outshooting the Rangers, and Frederik Andersen might have played his best game of this matchup in the 3-2 OT loss on Thursday, when the game-winner came early in OT from Artemi Panarin. With thirteen different Canes having scored goals in these playoffs, Rod Brind'Amour is not presiding over a helpless entry. Play Canes on Puck Line

That was some reappearance by John Means last weekend in Cincinnati, tossing three-hit, shutout ball thru seven innings of an eventual 2-1 Birds win over the Reds. That was just another in a succession of recent Baltimore wins, and upping the O's to 17-6 across their last 23 games. Meanwhile, the oddsmakers might still be overvaluing the D-backs just a bit, perhaps due to their sweep at Cincinnati before hitting Baltimore. But they were predictably cooled last night, and Ryne Nelson has had too many shaky efforts on the mound to trust him to outpitch a new-healthy Means. Play Orioles on Run Line

Maybe the marketplace isn't quite yet convinced on the Canucks, who not only earned home-ice edge for this series but showed more grit in the final 25 minutes of Game One than we've seen from the Oilers in the past year combined, rallying from a 4-1 deficit. Rick Tocchet has his troops circling the wagons in front of backup goalie Arturs Silovs, and Vancouver's discipline allowed it to work effectively down low in Game One to keep the pressure on the Oilers and GK Stuart Skinner, both eventually cracking in the third period. Has Edmonton found enough intestinal fortitude to make a deep run for the Cup, or are the Oilers destined to go out at this stage again? Play Canucks on Money Line

The worst home mark in MLB? That would belong to the Halos, a disappointing 4-12 at the Big A after a thumping 10-4 loss last night administered by the high-flying Royals. Not sure the Angels fare any better tonight as they again have to hold their breath regarding starter Griffin Canning, whose erratic form on the mound has led to a 6.69 ERA. Meanwhile, Alec Marsh back on the mound for surprising KC after a brief stint on the injured list, all after posting a solid 2.70 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in five earlier starts. Play Royals on Run Line

A bit of respect in the pricing here for the D-backs, who at 18-20 would figure to be posted as a bigger underdog than they are tonight against the team with the AL's best record. We wonder, however, if a bit too much respect paid to Arizona after its sweep at Cincinnati, which also got the broom treatment at home from Baltimore last weekend and is in a deep funk at the plate. The D-backs have also lost in five of the last six starts made by Brandon Pfaadt (who was clubbed last weekend by the Padres), while Cole Irvin brings a 20 2/3 IP scoreless streak into Camden Yards for the Birds tonight. Play O's on Money Line

We finally got our first "under" of the second round in the Stanley Cup playoffs last night in the Rangers-Canes clash, but "overs" are still 7-1 thus far in this round. That includes both games in this series at Sunrise, and a rousing 6-1 win for the Panthers in Game 2 to square the series. More importantly, for Florida's sake, finally solving Jeremy Swayman in the Boston net after he had posted a 1.40 GAA in the playoffs into Wednesday. As Linus Ullmark didn't fare any better off the bench, a good chance Jim Montgomery sticks with Swayman, at least at the outset, and Florida's games have been following a higher-scoring path all thru the playoffs. At 5.5, "over" looks good. Play Panthers-Bruins "Over"

The wagering public seems to be anticipating an Indiana recovery, with some slight upward pressure in a number that opened at 7 and has crept upwards slightly. Dangerous, maybe, as the Knicks have exhibited a lot of never-say-die in these playoffs, and nearly had three 30-point scorers (Brunson-DiVincenzo-Anunoby) in the wild win at MSG on Wednesday. But the one game in the first round when NY lost contact was Game 3 at Philly, when the Sixers came in trailing the series 2--0, and the Pacers took care of the Bucks in all three at Indy in the first round. Meanwhile, Anunoby likely misses tonight. Tyrese Haliburton's recovery to 34 points after a sluggish Game 1 was good news for Rick Carlisle. Play Pacers

Interestingly, the oddsmakers have only slightly budged the "total" in this series after a pair of easy "overs" in Games 1 & 2. The latter saw an early low-220s "total" not stick as it was bet down to the high 2-teens, landing very close to the Game 1 number, though the public seems comfy with the low 220s posted for tonight. So are we because we look "over" again, as the pace remains brisk as during the regular season when these two faced. The Knicks had a triumvirate of players (Brunson-DiVincenzo-Anoboby, the latter likely out tonight) just miss 30 points on Wednesday, while Tyrese Haliburton recovered with 34 for Indiana. NY also enters on a 17-3 "over" run. Play Knicks-Pacers "Over"

"If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck." So it goes in the second round of these NHL playoffs, which to date has seen one "over" result after another...all six of them, in fact, including Game 1 of this series in Big D two nights ago. The Stars blew a 3-0 lead in that one, though flurries of goals have been common in these playoffs for the Avs, who now have 32 of them thru their first six in the postseason, and all Colorado results landing "over" in that span. The Dallas offense can answer, however, in a faster-paced matchup than the opening round vs. VGK. Play Avs-Stars "Over"

Those who were on the "over" in Game 1 of this series can feel a bit aggrieved after the pace stalled later in the 4th Q. All after the game was trending "over" much of the way on Tuesday...that is until Jason Kidd cleared his bench midway thru the final stanza, and an amateurish display by the Mav reserves who helped conspire for that scoreline to land on 212 instead of the mid-to-high 220s as that game was headed. As long as the Mavs aren't so far behind that Kidd decides to rest Luka and Kyrie again in the late going, look for this scoreline to look more like some of the explosive results we saw in earlier meetings. Play Mavs-Thunder "Over"

We have taken note of the improved efforts lately from the White Sox, as some of the well-traveled pitchers in Pedro Grifol's beleaguered rotation have started to produce. Including ex-Nat Erick Fedde, who in fact posted a very respectable 2.40 ERA in April, while the Pale Hose bullpen has plugged some earlier leaks. Still, the Chisox offense, though upgraded lately, cannot be trusted to help out too much, and Cleveland starter Ben Lively (2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP in four starts) has been performing much better than anticipated. Play Cleve-Chisox "Under"