Kings vs. Ducks Pick
Are the Los Angeles Kings and host Anaheim Ducks going to engage in a defensive, low-scoring game tonight at 10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Ducks are a -160 favorite to win on the spread line. The Kings are a +140 underdog, while the total is set at 5.5 goals. As of Friday afternoon, 62 percent of public bets have come in on the Kings.
Los Angeles enters with a 24-16-5-0 record after a 3-1 home loss Thursday versus the Penguins. Anaheim is 21-16-4-5 following a 5-3 victory Wednesday against Pittsburgh. The Kings have won two of three meetings this season, while the over has gone 2-1. The eight meetings since the start of last season are split down the middle at 4-4. The over-under in those games has gone 3-3-2.
In the loss to Pittsburgh, Adrian Kempe scored the lone goal for Los Angeles on assists from Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin. Jonathan Quick took the loss as he surrendered three goals on 31 shots. Kempe tied it up at 1-1 at the 5:50 mark of the second period, but the Penguins put it away in the third with a pair of goals.
Anaheim was paced by Ondrej Kase with a goal and an assist in the triumph over the Penguins. Adam Henrique, Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rikell and Chris Wagner all added one goal apiece. John Gibson made 30 saves on 33 shots to pick up the win. The Ducks trailed 1-0 through one period, but tallied four goals in the second to grab a 4-1 lead and fully take control.
Los Angeles is 0-5 in its last five games overall. The over is 7-1-3 in the last 11 meetings in Anaheim and 3-1-1 in the last five meetings overall.
The over has been the better play in this series, but the under seems to be the play here. I expect Quick and the Kings defense to bounce back in a big way after their last loss, while the Ducks’ offense is only 24th in the NHL in scoring at 2.7 goals per game. Couple that with the eighth-best goals against average in the NHL (2.7) and I see the makings of a game where defense and goaltending will be the story.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: KINGS/DUCKS UNDER 5.5