At 9:40 PM ET on Saturday, we will be playing the money-line on the Colorado Avalanche (8) versus the Dallas Stars (7) in Game Four of their Western Conference Quarterfinals series. THE SITUATION: Colorado (50-29-6) has lost the last two games in this series after their 2-1 loss in overtime on Wednesday. Dallas (52-27-6) has a 2-1 series lead after winning two straight games in overtime.

REASONS TO TAKE THE AVALANCHE WITH THE MONEY-LINE: Colorado should bounce back tonight as they have won 22 of their last 34 games following a loss in their last game. They have also won 10 of their last 13 games at home after losing two or more games in a row. Additionally, they have won 5 of their last 7 games at home after failing to score more than one goal in their last game. The Avalanche stay at home where they have won 16 of their last 24 games. Mackenzie Blackwood did play better in Game Three after surrendering four goals on the 39 shots he faced in Game Two on Monday. He had a 2.55 Goals-Against-Average and a .912 save percentage in the regular season. He battles the Stars’ Jake Oettinger who had a 2.58 GAA and a .909 save percentage in the regular season. But while Oettinger enjoys a 2.14 GAA and a .920 save percentage in his 32 regular season starts at home, those numbers rise to a 3.16 GAA and a .896 save percentage in 26 regular season starts on the road. Dallas has lost 5 of their last 9 games on the road as an underdog.

FINAL TAKE: The Stars have lost 12 of their last 19 games on the road against teams with a winning record — and the Avalanche have won 14 of their last 22 home games against teams with a losing record. 8* NHL Saturday Late Show Bailout with the money-line on the Colorado Avalanche (8) versus the Dallas Stars (7). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 8:35 PM ET on Saturday, we will be playing the Houston Rockets (567) plus the points versus the Golden State Warriors (568) in Game Three of their Western Conference Quarterfinals series. THE SITUATION: Houston (53-31) snapped a four-game losing streak with their 109-94 victory as a 4-point favorite at home against the Warriors on Wednesday. Golden State (50-35) had won two games in a row before that loss.

REASONS TO TAKE THE ROCKETS PLUS THE POINTS: Houston got the proverbial money off their back by winning their first playoff game in the Jalen Green era. I expect them to play loose and with confidence tonight. After struggling in Game One, Green was sensational in Game Two by scoring 38 points from 13 of 25 shooting including an 8 of 18 clip from behind the arc. Head coach Ime Udoka has his team playing physical basketball which should translate well into the postseason. The Rockets rank fifth in the NBA in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. They also lead the league by pulling down 36.3% of their missed shots. They outrebound their opponents by +7.0 Rebounds-Per-Game — and the Warriors have failed to cover the point spread in 5 of their last 8 games at home against teams who outrebound their opponents by +3.0 or more RPG. Golden State lacks size and does not have an effective counter to Houston’s big man Alperin Sengun. This young Rockets team will enter into this game rested and ready — and they have covered the point spread in 25 of their last 39 games when playing for the second time in five days. They have covered the point spread in 6 of their last 9 games on the road when listed in the +/- 3-point range. And while they had played three straight games at home before tonight, Houston has then covered the point spread in 5 of their last 7 road games after playing three or more games in a row at home. Additionally, while the books expect an old-fashioned NBA rock fight tonight with the Total set in the 203 range, that fits Udoka’s coaching style quite well when considering his teams have covered the point spread in 13 of the 21 games in his head coaching career when the Total was set from 200 to 209.5. Golden State’s Jimmy Butler is a game-time decision tonight after he suffered a pelvis injury during Wednesday’s game. He is officially listed as questionable — and we have to assume that Butler plays given his toughness. If he can’t take the court, then swell. But even if he plays tonight, he will likely not be close to 100%. As it is, the Warriors have scored only 94 and 95 points in the first two games of this series. This team lacked a reliable second scorer to help Stephen Curry which is why the organization traded for (and agreed to pay) Butler. Golden State has failed to cover the point spread in 6 of their last 9 home games after playing a game where they did not score more than 100 points. The Warriors are usually overvalued by the betting public when playing at home as the favorite as well — they have failed to cover the point spread in 42 of their last 63 games at home when playing the points including 20 of those 31 games this season. They have failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their last 5 games at home.

FINAL TAKE: Golden State has failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 11 home games when attempting to avenge a loss on the road. 25* NBA Saturday Night ABC-TV Game of the Month is with the Houston Rockets (567) plus the points versus the Golden State Warriors (568). Best of luck for us — Frank.

FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR SATURDAY, 4/26:

My “Cutting Room Floor” plays are the situations I considered the closest to being worthy of investment but did not make the “final cut” for my official plays today for subscribers. The last play I cut for Saturday is with the Los Angeles Dodgers with the  money-line versus the Pittsburgh Pirates listing both starting pitchers Roki Sasaki and Mitch Keller. Los Angeles (16-10) has lost three games in a row after their 3-0 loss at home against the Pirates last night. The Dodgers have still won 10 of their last 13 games at home. They have also won 11 of their last 16 games against right-handed starting pitchers. Pittsburgh (11-16) has lost 7 of their last 10 games after winning their last contest. The Pirates have also lost 9 of their last 14 games on the road. Take the Los Angeles Dodgers with the money-line listing both starting pitchers. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports is on a 5 of 7 (71%) MLB sides run with featured 25*/20*/10* plays! Frank DELIVERED his 25* MLB National League Game of the Month earlier this month on April 14th with San Diego’s win against the Chicago Cubs — and his NEXT MLB Game of the Month is on Saturday as he UNLEASHES his 25* Major League Baseball Game of the Month for April!

Frank is on a 13 of 20 (65%) NHL Playoff run with featured 25*/20*/10* plays — and now Frank furthers his 6 of 9 (67%) NHL sides featured plays (NEVER priced higher than -150) with his 25* National Hockey League Game of the Month for Saturday! DO NOT MISS OUT!

At 4:10 PM ET on Saturday, we will be playing the money-line on the Vegas Golden Knights (3) versus the Minnesota Wild (4) in the Quarterfinals of their Western Conference series. THE SITUATION: Vegas (51-24-10) has lost two games in a row after their 5-2 loss on the road against the Wild on Thursday. Minnesota (47-31-7) has won two games in a row to take a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series.

REASONS TO TAKE THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS WITH THE MONEY-LINE: Vegas has been outscored by a 10-4 margin in the last two games of this series — but they have won 9 of their last 14 games after losing two games in a row. And while they have played three straight Overs, they have then won 4 games in a row after playing three or more Overs in a row. Goalie Adin Hill allowed four goals on 21 shots on Thursday — but he should steady the ship tonight. In his 22 games in the postseason in his career, he has a 2.31 Goals-Against-Average and a .922 save percentage. The Golden Knights have won 12 of their last 19 road games with the Total set at 5.5 including seven of those 11 games this season. Minnesota has lost 7 of their last 11 games after a win at home by three or more goals. Goalie Filip Gustavsson stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the victory. But Gustavsson entered the playoffs with a 3.11 GAA and a .886 save percentage in his final six regular season games. The Wild have lost 19 of their last 29 games at home as an underdog. They have lost 14 of their last 20 games at home against teams with a winning percentage in the 51-60% range including eight of those 12 games this season. And while the Golden Knights outshoot their opponents by +4.2 shots per game, Minnesota has lost 12 of their last 16 home games against teams who outshoot their opponents by +3.5 or more shots per game.

FINAL TAKE: Vegas has won 31 of their last 43 games when avenging a loss on the road including 15 of those 22 games this season. 25* National Hockey League Game of the Month is with the money-line on the Vegas Golden Knights (3) versus the Minnesota Wild (4). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 8:40 PM ET on Saturday, we will be playing the money-line on the San Diego Padres (928) versus the Tampa Bay Rays (927) listing both starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Ryan Pepiot. THE SITUATION: San Diego (17-9) has lost three of their last four games after their 1-0 loss at home against the Rays in the opening game of this weekend series. Tampa Bay (12-14) has won three games in a row.

REASONS TO TAKE THE PADRES WITH THE MONEY-LINE: San Diego should bounce back tonight as they have won 5 of their last 7 games after a loss this season. They have won 12 of their 14 games at home at Petco Park this season — and they have won 49 of their last 78 games at home when priced as a money-line favorite priced at -110 or higher including nine of their 10 games this season. Cease gets the ball tonight looking to improve on his 1-1 record along with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in five starts. His numbers are saddled by one bad start in the minor league ballpark in Sacramento when the Athletics scored nine times against him in four innings. Take away that start and the right-hander has a 3.32 ERA this season. The underlying metrics look good despite the bad start on the road as both his SIERA and xFIP project an ERA of 3.60 and 3.62 moving forward. Last year, Cease enjoyed a 3.03 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 14 starts at home. He had a 14-11 record with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP last season — and those numbers were validated by his 3.46 SIERA and 3.44 xFIP. In his three starts at home this season, he boasts a 3.31 ERA along with a 1.16 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .234. His walks are down from an 8.9% mark of the batters he faced last season to a 7.9% clip this year. Cease’s strikeouts are up as well — he averaged 9.83 strikeouts per nine innings last year and now is generating 9.96 Ks per nine innings this year. He’s fine. He should thrive against a Rays’ lineup that is hitting only .228 in their last seven games with a .302 on-base percentage and a .668 OPS during that span. Tampa Bay also ranks 20th in both weighted On-Base Average and weighted Runs Created on the road against right-handed pitchers this season. The Rays have lost 5 of their last 8 games after winning their last game. They have also lost 9 of their last 14 games against teams with a winning record. And in their last 27 games against teams who are winning at least 62% of their games, they have lost 20 of those contests including eight of those 11 games on the road. Pepiot gets the ball for Tampa Bay. he has a 1-3 record this season with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP — and all those starts have been at home at their temporary home at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Having to pitch at a hitter-friendly minor league park may have exposed the right-hander. Last season, Pepiot had a 1.07 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .198 in his 14 starts at Tropicana Field — but in his 12 starts on the road, those numbers rose to a 1.25 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .229. Both his SIERA and xFIP projected an ERA of 3.88 and 4.05 based on his peripheral numbers last season. His expected ERA (xERA) from Statcast this season which incorporates exit velocity and hard-hit rate into the otherwise fielding independent data sits at 4.69. He has surrendered seven home runs in his last three starts which demonstrates significant concern over him giving up too many hard-hit balls. His change-up has not been as effective as a secondary pitch. He ranks in the 21st percentile with opposing hitters generating a barrel rate on 11.8% of the batted balls against him. Opposing hitters are generating a hard-hit rate in 42.4% of their batted balls against him which ranks in the lowest 38th percentile — and the average exit velocity of 90.2 miles per hour of the batted balls against him is in the lowest-34th percentile.

FINAL TAKE: The Padres have a .275 batting average at home at Petco Park with a .359 on-base percentage and a .790 OPS in their 14 home games this season. They rank seventh in MLB in weighted On-Base Average at home against right-handed pitchers — and they rank third in MLB in weighted Runs Created at home. 25* Major League Baseball Game of the Month with the money-line on the San Diego Padres (928) versus the Tampa Bay Rays (927) listing both starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Ryan Pepiot. Best of luck for us — Frank.