Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings: Predictions and Odds

Where: Staple Center – Los Angeles, CA.

When: Wednesday, December 4, 10PM EST

How (TV/Radio): NBC Sports Washington, FSW | WFAN

Washington Capitals (Away)

Head Coach: Todd Reirden{All-Time 67-30-13 WSH}

The Washington Capitals are on the road where they have a record of 11-2-1 this season.

They have also won their last three games in a row but will be without forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Carl Hagelin.

Offense

This team can score. Plain and simple. The Caps average more than 3.5 goals per game this season and have scored a combined 101 goals – more than any other team in the league.

Captain Alexander Ovechkin leads the team with 20 goals and ranks second in the league, and DEFENSEMAN John Carlson still ranks in the league’s top-ten for scoring.

These goals are a result of their incredible shooting percentage.

Washington has the league’s third-best shooting percentage at 11.4 percent and that’s when only having taken the tenth-most shots in the league (even the Kings have more shots this year).

Their power play should also give the Kings a lot of problems as the Caps’ power play percentage is the fifth-best in the NHL at 25.29 percent.

They have combined for 22 power-play goals this season.

Defense

Believe it or not, Washington actually has notable defensive disadvantaged heading into this game.

First of all, they allow far too many shots against.

Washington allows more than 30 shots per game on average and have allowed the 13th-most total in the league.

This team also spends far too much time in the penalty box, averaging almost ten minutes of penalty time per game.

That ranks them at 25th in the league.

Their penalty, although not terrible, only ranks at 13th as well, with a respectable 83 percent. But this team should be better.

Luckily they have kept their average of goals allowed per game below three and sit just outside the league’s top-ten when it comes to fewest goals scored against.

Goaltending

It is expected that the Washington Capitals will start goaltender Ilya Samsonov in net against the Kings.

Samsonov has a season record of 6-2-1 with a goals-against-average of 2.58 and a .914 save percentage.

Head Coach: Todd McLellan{All-Time 445-297-92 LAK, EDM, SJS}

The Kings have been managing to scrape together points lately, going 5-4-1 in their last ten.

But they are coming off of a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Offense

This team doesn’t have much to brag about offensively but there are some positives to look at.

Namely their shooting. They may not all be pretty, but the Los Angeles Kings have managed to hit the net more than any other team in the league except for Vegas.

They have combined for 973 shots on net.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate to many goals as they have only a combined 72 goals this season and a ghastly 7.4 shooting percentage – the second-worst in the league this season.

The Kings will be bringing a slight edge in faceoffs to the table against Washington however.

The Kings have managed to keep their faceoff percentage over 50 percent where the Caps have dipped below that margin.

L.A. ranks 11th in the league for faceoffs and Washington ranks 18th.

Defense

Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Kings, they will be without not one, but two of their blueliners in Wednesday night’s matchup as Alec Martinez and Derek Forbort are both out with injury.

With that said, they also won’t have to worry about Washington superstars Carl Hagelin and Nicklas Backstrom either as they are both out with injuries as well.

L.A.’s biggest strength in this game is their ability to contain the puck in their zone and not allow many opposing shots to hit the net.

The Kings rank first in the league for fewest shots allowed per game on average and have allowed the fifth-fewest shots against this season. It’s just a shame that their goaltenders have played so poorly.

The Kings will also have to play a disciplined game against the Caps as they have the third-worst penalty-killing unit in the league.

The Kings have killed off just 74.7 percent of their penalties this season.

Goaltending

Kings’ number-one Jonathan Quick has had a rough season but he is still expected to be in net come Wednesday night.

Quick’s season record sits at 7-10-1. He has career-low numbers that include a goals-against-average of 3.36 and a save percentage of .882.

These two teams have not met since late last season. Their last game came on February 18 where the Washington Capitals picked up a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

This is just a game which would further solidify the Washington Capitals as the dominant team that they are.

With two points here, the Caps would surpass the Boston Bruins for first in the league with 45 points on the season.

A win for the Kings would be a huge upset but ultimately wouldn’t hold much weight in the long run.

They sit eighth in the Pacific division and 28th in the league.

Questions to Answer

Will the Washington Capitals be able to continue their winning ways?

Having won their last three games in a row, can they extend their winning streak to four by beating the Kings?

Who has the home-ice advantage here?

The Kings actually have a winning record at home, going 9-5-1 at the Staples Center. But the Caps are 11-2-1 on the road.

Can the Los Angeles Kings take advantage of the injured Washington Capitals who will be playing Wednesday night’s game without forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Carl Hagelin in the lineup?

Washington Capitals Injury Report

F Nicklas Backstrom – day-to-day (upper-body)

F Carl Hagelin – DL (upper-body)

Los Angeles Kings Injury Report

D Alec Martinez – DL (wrist)

D Derek Forbort – IR/NR (back)

Washington Capitals vs Los Angeles Kings – Game Odds

The latest odds for the Capitals vs Kings game are provided by bet365 NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and SugarHouse.

Good luck!

Moneyline