The Staples Center is the site for an East-West showdown as the Los Angeles Kings take on the visiting New York Rangers. Fox Sports West will broadcast the game, and the action gets going at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 28.
New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings Odds
New York (+135) is entering this one as the underdog to Los Angeles (-155), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
New York is 3-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 10 regular season matches, seven of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. This 2018-19 Rangers team is 0-4 SU on the road.
The Rangers have converted on 21.9 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That mark hasn’t moved too much from last season, when they were ranked 12th in the league by scoring on 21.2 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has fallen off noticeably, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 81.4 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked eighth overall last season) to 75.8 percent this year.
The Broadway Blueshirts, as a collective unit, have been whistled for penalties 4.6 times per game this season, a number that’s jumped some from last year’s 3.5 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.0 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for a whopping 11.2 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 30.3 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Henrik Lundqvist (2-6-1) has been the top option in goal for New York this season. If head coach David Quinn decides to rest him, however, New York may go with Alexandar Georgiev (1-1), who has a .883 save percentage and 4.56 goals against average this year.
Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Rangers. Zibanejad has nine points via five goals and four assists, and has recorded multiple points in two different games. Zuccarello has two goals and six assists to his name (and has registered a point in six games).
On the other bench, Los Angeles is 2-8 straight up (SU) and has already lost 8.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Five of its matches have gone under the total, while four have gone over and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 1-3 SU at home.
The Kings have converted on just 8.8 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Kings players have been whistled for penalties 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 had to kill penalties for 9.1 minutes per matchup this season.
Jack Campbell (23.6 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for the Kings. Campbell has two wins and five losses to his name and has maintained a mediocre 2.67 goals against average and a .917 save percentage this year.
Alex Iafallo (two goals, five assists) will pace the attack for the Kings.
New York Rangers at Los Angeles Kings Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Over
