So, how about the others? Let’s take a look at the updated NFL playoff picture entering Week 16. WEEK 16 NFL PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread Each week, AccuScore will update its 2017 NFL postseason forecast by simulating the remainder of the NFL season 10,000 times to predict win totals, division winners and probabilities of reaching the playoffs on the road to Super Bowl 52. Below are the probabilities and Vegas odds of making the NFL playoffs and how they have changed....

There should be some nice late-September football weather elsewhere around the league, with Lions-Cowboys, Bengals-Falcons, Texans-Colts, and Seahawks-Cardinals getting the advantage of being played in stadiums with a roof. Week 4 Rankings:Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker NFL Week 4 weather updates A few spots in the Midwest could see relatively cool temperatures with some light rain throughout the day. Bills-Packers in Green Bay is the most likely, but Bucs-Bears in Chicago also has a similar forecast....

For updated Week 8 point spreads and totals, visit our live odds page. Thursday, October 23, 2014 Chargers at Broncos -7 This will be the third straight game against a division foe for San Diego, which lost at home to the Chiefs on Sunday and failed to get the cash for the second straight week (both as favorites). The Chargers covered the spread in both of their trips to Denver last season – in an outright win on Thursday night in Week 15 (+10), and in a 24-17 loss in the playoffs (+8)....

While some teams have stepped up efforts to retain staff, others have made the decision to layoff employees. Sporting News is tracking how each organization is addressing the impact of the crisis. April 10 In a statement, the Arizona Coyotes announced a temporary furlough of 50 percent of the organization’s employees through June 30. The team said they will continue to cover 100 percent of health benefits for its furloughed employees....

The NHL started handing out its 2021 awards on June 14, although we knew a few winners beforehand. Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 41 goals during the regular season. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy with an NHL-best 105 points. He scored 21 more points than the No. 2 guy on the list, teammate Leon Draisaitl. Matthews and McDavid are also up for the Hart Trophy....

Friday night at 8 p.m. ET, the NHL’s next wave of superstars will find out which sweater they will be donning when they join the professional ranks. Neil Smith knows all about the draft process. Over the course of more than 20 years with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and New York Rangers, Smith shaped the future of the NHL. Before this years draft, Sporting News caught up with the former Rangers and Islanders GM on the phone to take us inside how the draft works, if he could take back any pick he made and what New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero will do with the number one pick on Friday....

The United States National Team Development Program set a record, there was a run on defenseman and a goalie was taken in the first round for just the third time since 2012. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Well, at least not exactly. We’re talking about the good picks and the bad ones. Here are the best and worst picks from the first round in the NHL Draft: Worst Moritz Seider, D, Germany, Red Wings: This was the first pick of the Steve Yzerman tenure in Detroit and it was a controversial one....

When the 2016 NHL Entry Draft begins, Matthews will go from Scottsdale, Ariz., to the Swiss hockey league to No. 1 pick. That’s the consensus of projections, that Matthews will be called by the Maple Leafs as part of the major overhaul under way in Toronto. MORE: Who is Auston Matthews? | NHL goes to Vegas, taking money on the run The draft begins with the annual booing of Gary Bettman at 7 p....

Some believe championship rosters can be constructed through formulas and analytic innovation, while others lean toward the “old school” method of eyeballing the kids who stand out and getting them to buy into a culture that focuses on exceeding expectations rather than simply meeting them. In the end, however, whichever concept drives a team’s overarching building strategy ultimately is measured by what the players become and how well the team performs with them....

One of the NHL’s top young defensemen, Werenski, 22, was the Jackets’ last remaining restricted free agent, signed only days before the team opens camp for the 2019-20 season. “We couldn’t be happier that he will continue to be a foundational player for the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Kekalainen said in a statement. “He is a gifted offensive player that has continued to improve in all facets of the game and will be an elite player for many years....

Meet HockeyBird: Not to be confused with the Virginia Tech mascot "Hokie Bird," the NHL's newest avian destroyer will debut at the Coors Light Stadium Series game between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 25 at Dodgers Stadium. According to his bio on NHL.com, HockeyBird said goodbye to his Angry Birds friends after he was selected with the top pick in the NHL mascot draft. He is the symbol of energy, intensity and joy of the game and shares many of the NHL values: passion, toughness, courage, sacrifice, honor, teamwork, respect, and commitment....

The New Jersey Devils star winger, a 2018 Hart Trophy finalist and the NHL’s sixth-leading scorer this past season, played since December with a significant hand injury, one that required surgery last week. Doctors repaired torn ligaments in his left hand, with the surgery deemed successful by the Devils medical staff in a statement released by the team on Tuesday. Beginning on Jan. 2, Hall was a dominant force for the Devils, recording points in 26 consecutive games in which he played through March 6....

Multiple players returned from the games nursing injuries. And the news for a lot of those players is not good. We already knew about the Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg, who may be gone for the season with a herniated disc in his back. We also knew about the New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello, who is out 3-4 weeks with a fractured hand. There was a double whammy for the Florida Panthers as Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Tomas Kopecky (concussion) also went down during the games....

Who they will select from the 30 teams is anyone’s guess. (Vegas is exempt from the expansion draft.) GM Ron Francis has said he’d liked to have cap space in today’s economy but his owners have also given him the green light to spend freely to the cap ceiling if he feels it neccessary. There are a few rules Francis and his staff need to follow when making their selections:...

Tthe Globe and Mail reports: “Such efforts are soon to become the norm. The NHL first has to decide which technologies to test, with Sportvision and SportVU, both Chicago-based, the leading contenders. The league aims to test one or more systems, starting this fall, with five to eight teams. One goal would be to integrate all the information with the league’s broadcasters.” SportsVU, specifically, just finished its first season as the official tracking system of the NBA....

However, Columbus clawed its way back and Seth Jones fired the wrist shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy with the man advantage to seal the 4-3 comeback win. The defenseman now has two postseason goals in his career to go along with 10 assists in 18 career games. Jones’ goal capped off the first comeback of three or more goals against Tampa Bay all season that included goals by Nick Foligno, David Savard and Josh Anderson....

That was the probability of the Toronto Maple Leafs advancing past the Boston Bruins entering Sunday’s Game 6. That number reflects the Maple Leafs’ proficiency killing penalties through the first six games of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Of all the areas the Maple Leafs have improved since they met the Bruins in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, killing penalties is not one of them. It needs to be better and the Maple Leafs know it....

It wasn’t an easy road for either team to get to this point. San Jose trailed three games to one in its opening series with Vegas, and both teams needed to win a Game 7 in the second round to advance. The Blues defeated the Dallas Stars and the Sharks bested the Colorado Avalanche. Let’s not even start with where the Blues were on Jan 1. SN STAFF PREDICTIONS:Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup The last time these teams met in the Western Conference finals was in 2016, with the Sharks advancing in six....

While that’s still true, the four teams headed to Boston to compete for a national title are four of the top five ranked teams. Minnesota State, Michigan and Denver finished the regular season ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the USCHO polls and Minnesota was No. 5. As a result, we do have the best teams in Boston, meaning we have some of the best players in college hockey competing....

When it opened, few observers expected them to end their decade-long playoff drought. Last January, Tom Dundon took over as owner and promoted Don Waddell to general manager and Rod Brind’Amour to head coach in May. Despite their solid defense corps, questions were raised about the team’s scoring punch and goalie depth. Thanks to Waddell and Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes confounded the experts. Off-season acquisitions Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland bolstered the lineup while free agent signing Petr Mrazek and waiver pick-up Curtis McElhinney solidified the goaltending....