In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

NBA Model Predictions- Click Here

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NBA, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 5-4

Over/Under Predictions: 4-5

Spread Predictions: 3-6

Featured Matchup: 1-0

12 NHL games are scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all 12 matchups can be found below.

Florida Panthers @ Carolina Hurricanes

Model Predicts- Hurricanes ML, OVER 6, Panthers +1.5

The Florida Panthers will finish up a short two-game road trip on Thursday, with the final stop coming in Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes.

Florida enter tonight’s matchup as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, emerging victorious in eight of the last ten games after a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. However, Carolina has had similar success as of late, going 6-3-1 in its last ten games.

Carolina was shut out by the Rangers the last time we saw them on the ice, but our model sees the Hurricanes bouncing back tonight. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Florida Panthers

• Fresh off victory against Stars

  • Won game 4-3 after being down 3-1 after two periods

  • Now own 8-2-0 record in last ten games

• Offense is stagnant, and defense is due for regression despite recent wins

  • Own 1.93 GF/60 in 5-on-5 in last 10 games- 24th in NHL

  • GA/60 in 5-on-5 is in that time is 1.29, but xGA/60 sits at 2.64. Signals that more goals are on the horizon for Florida’s opponents

• Expected goalie- Sergei Bobrovsky

  • .926 Save % in 5-on-5 situations. Ranks third in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) with +18.8

Carolina Hurricanes

• Shut out in last game

  • Lost 1-0 to Rangers. Only second loss in last seven games

• Defense has been elite in last seven games

  • Own 2.19 xGA/60 in 5-on-5 situations- 7th in NHL

  • Holding opponents to 8.41 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes (HDCA/60) in 5-on-5 in that same stretch of games

• Expected goalie- Frederik Andersen

  • .904 Save % in 5-on-5. Ranks 41st in GSAx (+0.8)

What’s the Play?

Gettin shut out is never a good look, but we agree with our model that the Hurricanes are in a good position to bounce back tonight.

Carolina may not have found the back of the net against the Rangers, but that doesn’t mean the Hurricanes played poorly. Carolina out-shot New York 28-24 in the game, and posted a 2.86 xGF in 5-on-5 situations, per Natural Stat Trick. That shows that the Canes were generating plenty of scoring opportunities, but luck just wasn’t on their side.

Florida is currently outperforming expectations over the last ten games and is due to come back down to Earth, especially defensively. Meanwhile, the advanced metrics show Carolina is due to start finding the back of the net, and that combined with the Hurricanes’ stellar defense makes them a great candidate to get back in the win column.

The Play: Hurricanes ML (-120)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Carolina Hurricanes- 39-20-6 overall this season, 21-9-4 as the home team

• Toronto Maple Leafs- 37-19-8 overall this season, 19-7-6 as the away team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• New York Islanders- Over is 35-25-4 this season with average total of 6.34

• Pittsburgh Penguins- Under is 35-24-5 this season with average total of 5.73

Puck Line Trends ➕➖

• Columbus Blue Jackets- Puck line is 37-28 this season

• Philadelphia Flyers- Puck line is 39-27 this season

💰 Toronto gives McMann two-year extension. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Bobby McMann to a two-year contract worth $1.35 million per year. McMann, originally from Wainwright, Alberta, has been a key player for the team, scoring 10 goals and 18 points in 40 games this season after starting as a waiver. His recent performance includes eight goals and 11 points in his last 14 games, including a hat trick against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 13.

🥊 Brawl breaks out at Red Wings practice on Wednesday. During a recent practice, tensions rose between Detroit Red Wings' Lucas Raymond and Ben Chiarot, leading to a scuffle that required intervention. Despite the disagreement, teammates, including Patrick Kane and David Perron, viewed the incident as a sign of passion and a desire to improve amidst the team's six-game losing streak. The Red Wings, currently tied for a playoff spot, hope to reverse their losing ways in an upcoming game against the Arizona Coyotes tonight.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- NBA players Monte Morris and Georges Niang were college teammates at what Big 12 school?

Question #2- Retired MLB player Hunter Pence played on four teams during his career- the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and what other team?

Question #3- What team defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL (2005-06 season)?

Anyone know what has happened on March 14th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On March 14th…

1960- NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain scores 53 points in a playoff game. The performance came in a 76ers win over the Syracuse Nationals, and game Philadelphia won 132-112. Wilt’s scoring outburst set a new NBA playoff record as well, a record that would be later broken by Elgin Baylor just one month later.

1972- The NBA’s Cincinnati Royals announce that the team will relocate to Kansas City, Missouri. The cause for the relocation was due to low turnout at Royals home games, ending the Royals’ 15-year stay in Cincinnati. The team would play in Kansas City until 1985, which is when the Royals relocated to Sacramento, California and became the Sacramento Kings.

2022- Australian golfer Cameron Smith wins the PGA Players Championship. Smith shot a final round 66 to push his tournament score to 13-under par, defeating India’s Anirban Lahiri by one stroke to take the title. He would also walk away with $3.6 million in winnings, the largest individual event purse in golf history.

1. Iowa State

2. Philadelphia Phillies

3. Pittsburgh Steelers