In their third head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings and the Arizona Coyotes face off at Gila River Arena for a divisional showdown. The action gets going at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 13, and fans at home can catch it live on Fox Arizona Plus.
Los Angeles Kings at Arizona Coyotes Odds
Los Angeles is 38-31 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.1 units this year. 34 of its matches have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Kings are 20-15 SU as a road team in 2017-18.
Los Angeles has converted on 20.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Kings have been sent to the penalty box 4.0 times per game this season, and 3.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.4 saves per game with a .922 save percentage, Jonathan Quick (27-27-2) has been the top option in goal for Los Angeles this year. Quick played last night, however, so Los Angeles could opt to rest him and go with Darcy Kuemper instead (10-9-3 record, .932 save percentage, 2.10 goals against average).
Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Kings. Kopitar (75 points) has tallied 28 goals and 47 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 21 different games. Doughty has nine goals and 37 assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in 35 games).
Arizona is 22-46 straight up (SU) and has lost 17.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 68 regular season contests, 36 of its games have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just one has pushed. This year, the team’s 13-22 SU as the home team.
The Coyotes have converted on just 16.3 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.6 percent of all penalties.
Coyotes players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.3 times per game in total this season, 3.4 per game over their last five outings total, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 5.6 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Antti Raanta (26.8 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Coyotes. Raanta has 16 wins, 23 losses, and six OT losses to his name and has registered a .924 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average this season.
Clayton Keller (18 goals, 31 assists) will lead the attack for the home team.
Los Angeles Kings at Arizona Coyotes Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
A majority (68.4 percent) of Los Angeles’ wins have come by two or more goals, and the team is 26-16 overall in games decided by at least two scores. 8 of Arizona’s wins (36.4 percent) have been decided by two or more goals.
Power plays and penalty kills could be key tonight. The Kings are 13-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 25-15 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Coyotes are 10-19 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-33 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Arizona (1-5 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Los Angeles, on the other hand,has yet to lose a shootout this year (2-0).
The under has hit in three of Arizona’s last five outings.
Arizona is ranked 6th this season with 7.1 giveaways per game. That figure has improved recently, however, as it’s averaged 5.8 giveaways over its last 10 games and 4.6 giveaways over its last five.
Los Angeles is ranked 23rd this season with 10.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it’s averaged 11.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.6 giveaways over its last five.
This game features a couple of the tougher teams in the league. Los Angeles skaters have accounted for the league’s third-most hits per game (25.5) while the Coyotes have recorded the fourth-most (24.4).
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