The Vegas Golden Knights at the Staples Center in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. NBC Sports Network will showcase the action, which gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 15.
Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings Odds
Vegas (+120) is entering this one as the underdog to Los Angeles (-140) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 5 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Vegas is 53-31 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 17.5 units this season. 42 of its outings have gone over the total, while 40 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Knights are 22-19 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Following a regular season where they scored on 21.5 percent of all power-play chances (the 10th-strongest), the Golden Knights have connected on 14.3 percent of their postseason power plays.
The Golden Knights’ offensive skaters attempted 33.0 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.3 goals per contest (ranked fourth overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, the team’s risen to an average of 42.0 shots on goal (and down to 1.5 goals per game).
Averaging 27.8 saves per game with a .930 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury (31-17-4) has been the primary option in goal for Vegas this season. If Vegas chooses to rest him, however, head coach Gerard Gallant could go with Malcolm Subban (15-7-2), who has a .910 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average this year.
William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Golden Knights. Karlsson (78 points) has tallied 43 goals and 35 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 19 different games. Marchessault has 27 goals and 49 assists to his credit (and has notched a point in 46 games).
On the other side of the ice, Los Angeles is 45-39 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 1.3e-15 units this season. 44 of its contests have gone under the total, while 37 have gone over and just three have pushed. It’s 23-18 SU at home this year.
The Kings have converted on just 20.3 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.0 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles skaters have been called for penalties 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last ten games. The team has had to kill penalties just 5.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (27.3 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for the Kings. Quick has 33 wins, 33 losses, and four overtime losses to his name and has recorded a 2.35 goals against average and a .923 save percentage this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Anze Kopitar (35 goals, 57 assists).
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Los Angeles’ last five games.
Five of Los Angeles’ last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals. The club is 4-1 overall in those games.
The Kings this season have recorded the third-most hits per game (26.9).
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