The Staples Center is playing host an East-West matchup as the Los Angeles Kings take the ice against the visiting New Jersey Devils. It’s the last time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. This one will get going at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 17 and it will be televised live on Fox Sports West.
New Jersey Devils vs. Los Angeles Kings Odds
With a moneyline of -155, Los Angeles enters the game as the substantial favorite. The line for New Jersey sits at +135, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -130 for the under and +110 for the over.
The Kings are 39-32 straight up (SU) and have netted 2.8 units for moneyline bettors this season. That win percentage, the second-best in the Pacific Division so far this season, is a welcome improvement compared to how the team performed during last year’s regular season (39-43). Out of the team’s 71 regular season contests, 36 of them have gone under the total, while 32 have gone over and just three have pushed. The team’s 19-16 SU at home this season.
Los Angeles has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.8 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Los Angeles has been whistled for penalties 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 3.3 per game over its past ten contests. The team’s had to defend opposition power plays for just 6.8 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Sporting a .923 save percentage and 27.3 saves per game, Jonathan Quick (28-27-2) has been the top goalkeeper for the Kings this season. If they decide to rest him, however, head coach John Stevens may roll with Darcy Kuemper (10-9-9 record, .932 save percentage, 2.10 goals against average).
The Kings will continue to look for offensive production from Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Kopitar (80 points) has tallied 29 goals and 51 assists and has recorded two or more points in 21 different games this year. Doughty has nine goals and 42 assists to his credit and has recorded a point in 37 contests.
New Jersey is 36-34 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 7.7 units this year. A total of 34 of its games have gone over the total, while an additional 34 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the away team, New Jersey is 18-17 SU.
New Jersey has converted on 20.8 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
New Jersey’s skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 2.5 per game over their past ten contests. The team’s had to kill penalties just 5.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cory Schneider (2.81 goals against average and .912 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for New Jersey. Schneider is averaging 28.5 saves per game and owns an 18-20-6 record.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Devils will be Taylor Hall, who’s got 31 goals and 45 assists this year.
New Jersey Devils at Los Angeles Kings Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Devils, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in three of Los Angeles’ last five outings.
Los Angeles has attempted 31.2 shots per game overall this season (ranked 22nd in the NHL), and 31.2 in their last five home outings.
Penalties and power plays could be extremely important in this game. The Devils are 10-18 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-26 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Kings are 14-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 26-16 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
New Jersey is 5-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Los Angeles is 2-1 in shootouts.
Los Angeles is ranked 32nd with 4.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down lately, however, as it has created 3.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 3.0 takeaways over its last five.
New Jersey is ranked 11th in the league with 8.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as it’s created 7.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.0 takeaways over its last five.
New Jersey might hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 19-16 in one-goal games, while Los Angeles is 12-16 in such games.
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