Two squads currently on losing streaks, the Los Angeles Kings and the Dallas Stars clash at the American Airlines Center in a Western Conference matchup. The opening face-off takes place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23, and you’ll be able to catch it live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Dallas Stars Odds
Dallas is 3-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 42-40 record that the team managed during last year’s regular season campaign. Four of the team’s seven matches have gone under the total, while two have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 3-2 SU at home this season.
The Stars have successfully found the net on 33.3 percent of their power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when they were ranked 19th in the league by scoring on 19.3 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has weakened slightly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 13th overall last season) to 80.0 percent this year.
As a team, the Stars have been penalized 3.7 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.2, the fourth-highest figure in the league. After serving an average of 10.1 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 8.3 minutes per outing this year.
Boasting a .920 save percentage and 27.6 saves per game, Ben Bishop (two wins, three losses) has been the top goalkeeper for Dallas this season. If the Stars, however, decide to give him the evening off, head coach Jim Montgomery may turn to Anton Khudobin (1-1-1 record, .898 save percentage, 3.02 goals against average).
The Stars will continue seeking leadership from Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov. Seguin (10 points) has tallied three goals and seven assists while Radulov has four goals and six assists to his credit so far in the season’s early stages.
Over on the visiting bench, Los Angeles is 2-6 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through eight regular season contests, four of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and just one has pushed. The Kings are 1-3 SU as an away team this season.
The Kings have recorded a goal on 10.7 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 19.8 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a mark that was right at league average). The team’s gone from successfully defending 85.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked first overall last season) to 71.4 percent in 2018-19.
Los Angeles’ players have been penalized 3.5 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.8 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per matchup this season.
Jack Campbell (23.8 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Los Angeles. Campbell has two wins and four losses to his credit, while registering a .917 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average this year.
Alex Iafallo (two goals, five assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Kings.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Dallas Stars Betting Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in three of Dallas’ last five games.
Los Angeles has managed 29.3 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Dallas is averaging 35.8 shots per game over its last five at home.
Dallas has averaged 2.7 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 0.7 goals per contest on its three-game losing streak.
Los Angeles skaters recorded 27.3 hits per game last season, while the Stars logged 22.7 hits per matchup.
+++++
