Two squads that’ve positioned themselves squarely in playoff contention, the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks clash at the SAP Center in a Pacific Division matchup. This one gets underway at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 23 and it will be televised live on Fox Sports West.
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks Odds
San Jose (+105) is currently the underdog to San Jose (-125), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-140 for the under, +120 for the over).
Los Angeles is 22-14 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 5.8 units this season. 18 of its games have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and just three have pushed. This 2017-18 Kings team is 11-7 SU on the road.
Los Angeles has converted on just 15.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 28th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and the team’s successfully killed off a whopping 86.8 percent of its penalties.
The Kings, as a collective unit, have been sent to the penalty box 4.0 times per game in the 2017-18 season, 4.4 per game over its last five outings total, and 4.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team has had to kill penalties 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 28.1 saves per game with a .928 save percentage, Jonathan Quick (17-11-1) has been the top option in goal for Los Angeles this year. If Los Angeles decides to rest him, however, head coach John Stevens could roll with Darcy Kuemper (5-5-3 record, .934 save percentage, 2.11 goals against average).
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Kings. Kopitar (40 points) has tallied 17 goals and 23 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games. Brown has 13 goals and 16 assists to his name (and has registered at least one point in 19 games).
On the other bench, San Jose is 18-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 33 regular season matches, 21 of its games have gone under the total, while 11 have gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 10-8 SU as the home team this season.
The Sharks have converted on 22.4 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 86.4 percent of all penalties.
San Jose players have been penalized 3.9 times per game in total this season, 3.4 per game over their last five outings total, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Martin Jones (25.7 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Sharks. Jones has 11 wins, 12 losses, and four OT losses to his name and has registered a mediocre 2.62 goals against average and a .912 save percentage this season.
Logan Couture (15 goals, 11 assists) will pace the offensive counter for San Jose.
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
Over San Jose’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
The Sharks are 7-6 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Kings are 10-6 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
San Jose is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Los Angeles is 2-0 in shootouts.
The over has hit in four of San Jose’s last five games.
San Jose is ranked 29th this season with 13.7 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it’s averaged 10.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.0 giveaways over its last five.
Los Angeles skaters have averaged 8.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.9 giveaways per game (ranked 23rd overall).
Los Angeles skaters have accounted for the league’s third-most hits per game (25.0).
