Two teams squaring off for the first time this season, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings face off at the Staples Center for an East-West showdown. The opening face-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 1, and it’s being shown live on NSP+ and FSW.
Philadelphia Flyers at Los Angeles Kings Odds
,Los Angeles (-120) is currently favored over Philadelphia (+100) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).
Philadelphia is 5-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Eight of its games have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. As the away team this season, the Flyers are 3-3 SU.
The Flyers have found the net on 15.9 percent of their power play chances thus far. That’s a fairly big drop-off from last year, when they were ranked 17th in the league by scoring on 19.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has fallen off drastically, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 76.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 26th overall last season) to 67.4 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, the Flyers have been penalized 4.8 times per game during the 2018-19 season, a number that’s jumped noticeably from last year’s 3.6 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 11.0 minutes per matchup this season.
Sporting a .889 save percentage and 25.0 saves per game, Brian Elliott (4-5) has been the primary option in goal for Philadelphia this year. If head coach Dave Hakstol decides to rest him, however, the team may turn to Calvin Pickard (2-1), who has a .833 save percentage and 4.73 goals against average this year.
Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek will both lead the way for the visiting Flyers. Giroux (13 points) is up to three goals and 10 assists, and has recorded two or more points in four different games. Voracek has three goals and nine assists to his credit (and has registered a point in five games).
Los Angeles is 3-8 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 11 regular season contests, five of its games have gone over the total, while another five have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 2-3 SU as the home team thus far.
The Kings have converted on just 13.2 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 28th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Kings skaters have been penalized only 3.7 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.8 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 9.3 minutes per matchup this season.
Jack Campbell has stopped 23.4 shots per game as the primary option in goal for the Kings. Campbell has three wins and five losses to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 2.72 goals against average and a .912 save percentage this season.
Drew Doughty (one goal, seven assists) and Ilya Kovalchuk (three goals, five assists) will lead the offensive attack for the Kings.
Philadelphia Flyers at Los Angeles Kings Free Picks
,Free Prediction: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Under
