Bryan Power

8* Dallas (7:35 ET): Ottawa pulled an upset Saturday afternoon, beating the Kings here at home by a score of 5-1. That certainly surprised me as I had the Kings. It was also a departure from recent Senators performances which had seen them give up 13 goals in the previous two games. I don't see them pulling two upsets in a row as they're still being outshot rather significantly, by an average of 38.4 to 27.4 per game. The Sens still are a bottom of the barrell team to me. 

Dallas has started its season 3-1 w/ all four games coming at home. They've scored 14 goals in the L3 games alone, so look for them to find the back of the net early and often tonight. They are averaging 36.2 shots per game, so they should have plenty of opportunities. Though it's a non-conference game, the Stars should be highly motivated as they are coming in w/ substantial revenge. They have lost all four times they've played Ottawa the past two years.

Ottawa is a young team with a lot of fresh faces. While they certainly played well against the Kings on Saturday, such a performance will not be the norm this season. Goaltending also looks like it will be an issue. That's not a good thing when facing a team like the Stars, who scored four times in a six-minute span against Anaheim on Saturday. They outshot the Ducks 30-4 in the second period! Dallas also has the league's top power play, which is converting a ridiculous 54.5% of the time. 8* Dallas

10* Under 49ers/Packers (8:15 ET): Both of these teams certainly played well enough to win last week, but neither did. San Francisco outgained Arizona 447-220, but lost 28-18 thanks to a -5 turnover margin. It was a similar story for Green Bay, who was +257 in total yardage (521-264), but lost to Detroit 31-23 due to a combination of a -3 turnover margin and kicker Mason Crosby going an unconscionable 1 for 5 on field goal attempts. So both teams definitely left plenty of points "on the field." That sounds like a reason to possibly lean Over the next time out, but I don't see either team moving the ball as effectively Monday night. Both defenses surprisingly rank in the top 10 in efficiency.  I'm on the Under. 

Green Bay is just 2-2-1 SU and the big story for them has been Aaron Rodgers' knee. Now Rodgers' knee didn't really seem to be bothering him last week as the Packers offense didn't punt a single time on their 11 possessions. But the former MVP did fumble twice for just the third time in his 14-year career. Protection has been an issue w/ Rodgers getting sacked 16 times and maybe that can be pinned on the knee injury. Yet another issue has been injuries at the receiver position. Both Geronimo Allen and Randall Cobb are listed as questionable and w/ the bye week looming, one has to wonder if it would be the "right move" to hold them out. The Packers have not scored 30 pts in a game this season and average just 23.0 PPG, 18th overall. 

San Francisco (1-4) doesn't want to hear about injuries right now as few teams have been hit harder than them in that department. QB Jimmy Garoppolo has been lost for the season, leaving the uninspiring CJ Beathard at the helm. The Niners have done a surprising amount of scoring w/ Beathard starting, but look for that to subside. Eight offensive players missed practice time this week, a group that includes three starting linemen, three receivers a tight end and a running back. So it could be a real "skeleton crew" lining up at Lambeau Field Monday night. I don't look for much from the Niners this week and this simply isn't the same Packers' offense as we've been accustomed to seeing through the years. 10* Under 49ers/Packers 

8* LA Dodgers (7:35 ET): Dodger Blue has been my choice in this series and I'll stay consistent as things shift to Chavez Ravine for Game 3. Milwaukee chose to wait until now to unveil their top starter Jhoulys Chacin, which ideally gives them a better shot on the road. However, the reality of the matter is that Chacin is not better than any of the Dodgers' top three starters. After Clayton Kershaw shockingly imploded in Game 1, Hyun-Jin Ryu was "good enough" in Game 2 by holding the Brewers to just two runs in 4 1/3 IP. Back at home, I expect LA's significant edge in starting pitching to be on full display w/ Walker Buehler tonight and I'll go w/ them here. 

I've said it before & will reiterate it again here: Buehler may be the best #2 starter in any rotation in all of baseball. The rookie turned in a ridiculous year as he has a 2.55 ERA and 0.927 WHIP in 24 starts. Pay no mind to the fact he gave up five runs in his LDS start vs. Atlanta as that was on the road and he was victimized by a grand slam. Here at home, Buehler has a 1.34 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. Remember the Dodgers didn't allow ANY runs in their two home games in the LDS. That's pretty par for the course as they were #1 in the NL in run suppression at home during the regular season. They give up just 3.5 runs per game here. Buehler held the Brewers to one run on five hits (7 IP) the lone time he faced them this year. 

Chacin has pretty good numbers, but he typically doesn't go very deep into starts and he isn't overpowering as evident by a low strikeout total. Chacin hasn't gone a full six innings since the end of August nor has he had more than five strikeouts in a start since then. I don't see him getting much run support here. I know Milwaukee had won 12 in a row before the Game 2 loss, but there's like some "give back" now that the streak is over. Also, this is technically a "day game," a situation the Dodgers are 29-18 in this year while the Brew Crew is just 31-32. 8* LA Dodgers

8* Houston (5:09 ET): It appeared as if the Astros were destined to go up 2-0 in this best of seven ALCS when they took a 4-2 lead in the top of the third inning Sunday night. But it was not to be as the Red Sox quickly answered w/ three of their own and their bullpen was able to render Houston's starting pitching edge null and void. But my read on this series still hasn't changed as I view the Astros as the superior team here. They did their job in earning a split in the two games in Boston and now I believe they'll really start to assert their superiority here at Minute Maid Park. Remember that Sunday was the Astros first loss this postseason.

Dallas Keuchel will get the start for the Astros in Game 3. It says something about their rotation (hint: it's really good!) when he's your #3 starter. Keuchel started the clincher in the ALDS at Cleveland and allowed just two runs in five innings. He has always pitched better at home than on the road. This year, the split was not quite as pronounced, but I still certainly trust him in this spot more than I do Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi. Keuchel's one regular season start against Boston did not go so well, but it was in Boston. Since the start of July, the Astros are 12-6 in Keuchel starts. Not only is he working on extended rest here (4-0 TSR on 7+ days rest, btw), but the team is 10-1 off a loss since mid-August. 

The Red Sox rotation appears to be in a state of flux right now. Eovaldi only gets the call for Game 3 because Rick Porcello was used in relief Sunday. Ace Chris Sale has reportedly fallen ill and there couldn't be a worse time for that. David Price is a broken man in the playoffs. So a lot is resting on the arm of Eovaldi here. He was 6-7 w/ a 3.81 ERA in the regular season. He did pitch Game 3 of the LDS vs. the Yankees and was supported in an incredible way (Red Sox won 16-1!). Don't expect that to happen here though. What you can look for, however, is more lefties in AJ Hinch's lineup against the righty Eovaldi, who did not face Houston in the regular season. The Red Sox are just 2-5 in Eovaldi's last seven starts against teams w/ winning records. 8* Houston