Stuart Skinner rewarded the faith Kris Knoblauch placed in him and returned to the nets in fine form during Saturday's 5-1 Oilers cruise to force this Game 7 tonight. But this has still been a series more dictated by Rick Tocchet, who has mostly been able to slow Connor McDavid, and will have the added bonus of the last line changes tonight to give JT Miller as many chances as possible tp disrupt the McDavid line. The question for Tocchet and the Canucks is if they can get one more big effort in goal out of Arturs Silovs, off of his most-shaky playoff effort on Saturday night. Note Vancouver 7-3 vs. Edmonton this season. Play Canucks on Money Line

It's very fair to begin speculating on the current effectiveness of Cards starter Sonny Gray, who has tired noticeably and lost velocity once beyond the third inning or so in his last two starts (with an ERA of 9.90), suggesting that his recent troubles have to do with much more than simply pitching away from Busch Stadium. He's also allowed four homers across his last two starts, another red flag. Granted, Dean Kremer off of a shaky outing on the O's side, but Baltimore had won in this three previous starts. The Orioles are also 29-15, the Cards only 20-26. Wrong team favored? Play Orioles on Money Line

They're playing two at Truist Field on Monday as the Braves, only on Game 43 (some teams have played as many as 49, like the Dodgers), have to start making up some dates. The Saturday rainout prompts this twin bill on Monday, and there's no way to categorize the opener as anything other than a pitching matchup, especially as Dylan Cease has pitched so much better on the road (4-0, 1.38 ERA< 0.61 WHIP) than at home for the padres, while Reynaldo Lopez (1.34 ERA) has been a pleasant surprise for the Braves. Atlanta also having trouble scoring runs (only three across last three games...all losses), so "under" appeals. Play Padres-Braves "Under" (Game 1 DH)

Never mind what happened to the Nuggets on Thursday night at Target Center; Denver waved the white flag early after a slow start, deciding to save its resources for one more home date on Sunday. Meanwhile, the T-wolves might want to use some of those 115 points they rolled up on Sunday, but the Nuggets have bounced off of the deck before in this series, specifically game 3 when in a must-win situation on the road. The Joker is two games removed from cooking Rudy Gobert for 40 points (and 13 assists) in Game 5, and we wonder if the T-wolves are going to be able to count on anybody except Anthony Edwards in potential crunch time of a Game Seven. Play Nuggets

Not sure we'll get a "Willis Reed moment" at MSG on Sunday even if OG Anunoby (out since Game 2 with hamstring) and/or Josh Hart (ab strain in Game 6) pass late fitness tests during warmups and are able to feature for the Knicks. Even as NY has dealt with various absences in this series, each of the games has landed above Sunday's 207 on the "totals" side, and Jalen Brunson continues to have a distorting presence on the floor. Note the high-scoring Pacers have not had a "total" beneath 214.5 all season prior to today. Play Pacers-Knicks "Over"

We're at a rubber match in this weekend set at Arlington because the Rangers finally pushed across a run in the 12th inning of an agonizing game last night at Globe Life. The rubber match mention is important because into later May the visiting Halos have only twice won a series this season. To do so Sunday will probably mean having to solve ex-Angels righty Michael Lorenzen, who enters Sunday off of his best effort of the season (no runs and two hits thru 7 IP) last Monday vs. Cleveland before the Texas bullpen imploded in the 7th and 8th innings. Play Rangers on Run Line

The Chisox look to be outclassed this weekend in the Bronx, scoring just three runs across the past two days at Yankee Stadium, losing both. As the offense has sputtered all season, it likely takes a big effort from starter Chris Flexen to have a chance on Sunday, though Flexen is off of a bumpy outing vs. the Nats when allowing a couple of homers across fewer than five innings in an eventual 6-3 loss. On the other end here is ex-Pale Hose starter Carlos Rodon, off of a couple of wins vs. the Astros and Twins when allowing just 3 runs across 12 1/3 IP. Play Yankees on RL

Kris Knoblauch is apparently going back to Stuart Skinner in net for the Oilers in tonight's Game 6, a bit risky considering how poorly Skinner was seeing the puck earlier in this series. But the overarching theme of the second round is much like the first round league-wide as scorelines have reduced toward the end of the round, and Edmonton at least kept a tighter defensive shell in front of Cal Pickard the past two games by curbing some of its aggressiveness. We'll see tonight, but it seems here as if Rick Tocchet is dictating the tempo of this series, and Vancouver's ability to shadow Connor McDavid (only 5 points), mostly with JT Miller, has defined this matchup. Play Canucks-Oilers "Under"

As this series has progressed, the Mavs have gradually figured out how to slow the Thunder, whose offense at times seems reduced to SGA going solo and trying to keep OKC in the game by himself. Indeed, save for late in Monday's Game 4, Dallas might have already wrapped up this series. Defense has been surprisingly good for the Mavs, who are also very happy to play the sort of halfcourt game that suits Luka Doncic and his sore legs quite well in mid-May. The emergence of PJ Washington and Derrick Lively as new threats have allowed Jason Kidd's offense to function even with lower usage rates by Luka & Kyrie, and signals this series might be ready to end tonight. Play Mavs

Performance basics are not always very complicated...especially if a team isn't scoring runs. "Unders" then become the default recommendation, and why not when it comes to the A's, whose offense has completely stalled in the past ten days, including six losses in a row. In the last five of those, Oakland has scored only nine runs, prompting us to look "under" at every opportunity. Especially tonight, as KC's Seth Lugo 6-1, 1.66 ERA) has been hard to hit for anyone, much less a slumping foe. Our only issue here is if Ross Stripling and the A's bullpen can keep the Royals in relative check. Play A's-Royals "Under"

Lots of us have been waiting almost two months for the buy signal on the Astros and now that we see it, let's continue to ride it. That's now wins in six straight and eight of nine for Houston after winning the opener of this weekend matchup vs. the Brew Crew last night, and now we get a chance to back Justin Verlander, who looks to have quickly rounded back into form after his last start, a sparkling seven innings of 2-hit, shutout ball at Detroit last Saturday. The Astros have outscored foes 36-11 in this win streak, while the Brews are 1-5 their last six away. Play Astros on Run Line

While we don't expect the Knicks to simply wave the white flag and save their energy for Game 7 the way the Nuggets did last night in Minnesota, there is something to be said for leaving something in reserve. The significant home edge in this series (host has won all five outright) and Indiana now 5-0 at Gainbridge (nee Conseco) Fieldhouse in the playoffs suggests that maybe Tom Thibodeau should save his weary troops for one more big effort at MSG in Game 7. NY is still shorthanded (OG Anunoby already again ruled out, along with Bojan Bogdanovic, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson), and the Pacers will recall being embarrassed on Tuesday when also outrebounded 53-29. We'll respect the home trends here. Play Pacers

This looks like the buy signal we have been waiting for with the Astros, who have surged with wins in five straight and seven of eight as they look to put their abysmal first month in the rear-view mirror. Pitching has excelled in the recent uptick and Hunter Brown is off of arguably his best effort of the season last week at Detroit when allowing only 1 run thru 5 IP, though that would be the only Houston loss in this current stretch. On the Brewers side, note Freddy Peralta has struggled in his last two starts on the road, allowing 8 runs thru 9 2/3 IP. Play Astros on Money Line

It's happening again for the A's, as their offense has once again gone on the blink, and losses are piling up. That's now setbacks in five straight for Oakland after getting swept four in Houston; worse yet, the A's didn't have a chance as they scored only a paltry four runs across the entirety of the series. Perfect opportunity, it would seem, for KC's Cole Ragans to get back on the beam after a difficult outing on Saturday at Anaheim, though remember he had allowed only four runs across 17 1/3 IP in his three previous starts. The Royals have been a bit sluggish themselves since the weekend, so 8.5 looks a rather high bar to clear. Play A's-Roya's "Under"

This has turned into a very taut series featuring solid defense and good goaltending. We actually started to see that in Game 3 until a fluky double-minor in the second period against the Bruins gave the Panthers an effective extended power play in which they scored twice to change the complexion of the game. The following Games 4 and 5 followed more predictable low-scoring paths, and worth noting that Boston hasn't solved Sergei Bobrovsky for more than two goals since Game 1. This Bobrovsky vs. Jeremy Swayman matchup in goal sets up as another 2-1 or 3-2 grinder. Play Panthers-Bruins "Under"