Lightning vs. Kings Pick
Which of the hot teams in the NHL will pick up another win tonight when the Los Angeles Kings host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 10:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Kings are favored in tonight’s game, as Los Angeles is getting odds of -140 to win. Tampa Bay is listed with odds of +120 to win, while the over/under total has been set at 5.5 goals. Tonight’s contest takes place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Tampa Bay is coming off a 5-1 win at San Jose on Wednesday night for its second straight victory. The Lightning are 12-2-2 on the season and 5-1-1 on the road. Tampa is averaging 3.94 goals per game this season while allowing 2.63 per contest. Nikita Kucherov has tallied 15 goals and 11 assists already this season to lead Tampa while Steven Stamkos has seven goals with 21 assists. Peter Budaj will be in net tonight. He is just 0-1-1 on the year with a 4.00 GAA and a .855 save percentage.
The Kings are coming off a 4-3 OT win over the Ducks in Anaheim on Tuesday night. Los Angeles is now 11-2-2 on the season and 5-0-2 at home. Los Angeles is putting up 3.40 goals per game and allowing 2.27 per contest. Anze Kopitar is leading the team with eight goals and 11 assists while Dustin Brown, Tyler Toffoli and Adrian Kempe each have seven goals. Jonathan Quick is 9-2-1 on the season in net and he has a 2.06 GAA and a .937 save percentage.
Tampa Bay has won two straight meetings with the Kings, but I don’t like the way things are shaping up for this game. Budaj hasn’t looked good in net in his two previous outings and he is facing a talented Los Angeles attack. The Kings have a variety of scorers, which will make it tough for Budaj to keep the puck out of the net. Quick should do his part on the other end, limiting what Kucherov and Tampa are able to do. The public betting is backing the Kings at home, and I agree.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES KINGS -140