Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights Predictions, Odds, Picks

• The Los Angeles Kings are 4-4-2 over their last ten games.
• The Vegas Golden Knights are 5-4-1 over their last ten games.
• The Golden Knights lost their previous two games by a combined score of 8-0.

Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights Odds

Odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights Predictions and Picks

The Los Angeles Kings face the Vegas Golden Knights in a Pacific Division showdown. The Kings could move into the third-place spot with a victory, while the Golden Knights would inch closer to the first-place spot with a win.

The Kings have had a pretty good season and have a solid chance of making the playoffs. They do not have one star, but they have a lot of productive players. They have five players (Adrian Kempe, Alex Iafallo, Anze Kopitar, Viktor Arvidsson, and Phillip Danault) with five goals or more. Although the Kings are not of the higher-scoring teams in the league, they have strong defensemen in Drew Doughty, Mikey Anderson, Olli Maatta, and Matt Roy. The Kings defense only allows 28.8 shots per game and 2.71 goals per game. The Kings’ biggest flaw is their goaltender game. Jonathan Quick has played most of the  28 of the Kings’ 48 games, but Cal Petersen is only a little behind him at 19. Neither of them are bad netminders, but they are also not top players at their position.

The Golden Knights are again Stanley Cup contenders. Their defense is a little worse than the Kings, but their offense makes up for it. Offensively, they do not have one player with over 20 goals, but they have a handful of guys who can score and a lot of good passers. The Golden Knights, like the Kings, do not have a great goaltender. They do, however, have a starting goaltender. Robin Lehner is their starting goalie; he allows almost three goals a game and only has one shutout. The Golden Knights have a handful of injured players, but I still expect them to win this road battle.

Pick:

Vegas Golden Knights beat Los Angeles Kings 4-3. Los Angeles Kings cover, Over 6 goals.

Why Might the Los Angeles Kings Win?

The Kings will have a tough battle in this game. However, they can give themselves a good chance if they get second-chance shots and avoid drawing penalties.

The Kings will be playing a Golden Knights squad without goaltender Robin Lehner. They need to take advantage of that and crash the net. If they do, they may be able to slip one or two second-chance shots past backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit.

The Golden Knights do not have a great power-play unit. However, they have a better power-play unit than the Kings. Since that is the case, the Kings have to avoid drawing penalties, so they do not give the Golden Knights a man advantage.

Why Might the Vegas Golden Knights Win?

The Golden Knights could use a win right now. They lost their last two games to the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche by a combined score of 8-0. They are the better team in this game, so it is a good chance to get them back on track. The Golden Knights need to focus on limiting the Kings’ shots and slowing down Adrian Kempe.

The Kings take an impressive amount of shots. They shoot 35.6 times per game. The Kings will have even more chances to score this game because Robin Lehner is injured. The Golden Knights need to limit the Kings shots so they can keep the score low.

Kings winger Adrian Kempe leads the Kings in goals with 19. He makes almost 15% of his shots and is not much of a passer. Since Kempe is a dynamic scorer, the Golden Knights defenseman need to force him to take bad shots.

Kings Key Player: (C) Trevor Moore

Center Trevor Moore is not a premier player on this Kings team. He only plays 14:23 a game. However, I picked him as the Kings key player because he is efficient during those 14:23.

Moore has seven goals, 18 assists, and a +/- of 14. He simply makes his team better. He does shoot a lot, but since he does not score very much, he has become more of a passer.

Defensively, the Golden Knights should not expect him to score. They should, however, look to cut off his passing lanes.

Golden Knights Key Player: (C) Jonathan Marchessault

Center Jonathan Marchessault is a versatile player. He has 20 goals and 13 assists. Five of those goals and six of those assists have come on the power-play.

Marchessault is a dangerous player and a leader on this Golden Knights team. He is especially dangerous on the power-play. The veteran from Quebec needs to be accounted for at all times by the Kings.

Marchessault has a lot of different skills on the ice, which is why he is the Golden Knights key player.

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