In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks clash at Rogers Arena for a divisional tilt. The opening face-off is at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 30, and fans at home can catch it live on CBC Sports.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks Odds
Vancouver (+120) is entering this one as the underdog to Los Angeles (-140), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-135 for the under, +115 for the over).
Los Angeles is 22-16 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 3.2 units this season. Through 38 regular season matches, 20 of its games have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and just three have pushed. As a road team in 2017-18, the Kings are 11-8 SU.
Los Angeles has converted on just 15.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 28th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and the team’s successfully killed off a whopping 87.0 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Los Angeles has been sent to the penalty box 4.2 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 5.6 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s had to kill penalties 11.8 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
With a .928 save percentage and 28.4 saves per game, Jonathan Quick (17-13-2) has been the best option in goal for Los Angeles this season. If head coach John Stevens decides to rest him, however, Los Angeles may turn to Darcy Kuemper (5-5-3), who has a .934 save percentage and 2.11 goals against average this year.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Kings. Kopitar has 40 points on 17 goals and 23 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 11 different games. Brown has 13 goals and 16 assists to his credit, and has logged at least one point in 20 games.
On the other side of the rink, Vancouver is 16-22 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 22 of its contests have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team’s 7-13 SU as the home team.
Vancouver has converted on 21.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Vancouver players have been called for penalties 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 4.7 per game over their last ten match ups. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Jacob Markstrom (26.3 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom has 10 wins, 17 losses, and four OT losses and has maintained a mediocre 2.74 goals against average and a fairly-weak .907 save percentage this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Brock Boeser (21 goals, 17 assists).
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Canucks, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
The over has hit in four of Vancouver’s last five games.
Los Angeles has managed 26.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Vancouver is averaging 31.6 shots per game over its last five home outings.
The Kings are 10-8 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canucks are 9-8 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
Los Angeles is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vancouver is 0-2 in shootouts.
Vancouver has created 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 5.6 takeaways per game (ranked 27th in the NHL).
Los Angeles has created 6.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.1 takeaways per game (ranked 32nd in the NHL).
