Two of the league’s best at killing off power plays, the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks clash at the Honda Center for a Pacific Division showdown. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the game, and the puck drops at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 7.
Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks Odds
Los Angeles (-120) is currently favored over Anaheim (+100), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 5 goals (-140 for the over, +120 for the under). After they initially opened at -130 over and +110 under, those lines have shifted.
Los Angeles is 10-4 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 5.8 units this year. Seven of its outings have gone over the total, while six have gone under and just one has pushed. This 2017-18 Kings team is 5-2 SU on the road.
The Kings have found the net on 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities so far. That mark hasn’t moved too much from last season, when they were ranked 14th in the NHL by scoring on 19.1 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 84.6 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked third overall last year) to 91.8 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, the Monarchs have been penalized 4.0 times per game in the 2017-18 season, a number that is up a bit from last year’s 3.7 penalties per game. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 31.0 saves per game with a .939 save percentage, Jonathan Quick (8-3-1) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles this year. If head coach John Stevens decides to rest him, however, the team might turn to Darcy Kuemper (2-2-1), who has a .908 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average this year.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Kings. Kopitar has 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists, and has recorded multiple points four times. Brown has six goals and seven assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in seven games).
On the other bench, Anaheim is 6-8 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Eight of its outings have gone under the total, while six have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 3-5 SU at home this year.
The Ducks have converted on just 11.9 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.0 percent of all penalties.
Ducks players have been sent to the penalty box 5.0 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.6, the worst mark in the NHL. After serving an average of 12.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 12.5 minutes per outing this season.
John Gibson has stopped 28.7 shots per game as the primary selection in goal for the Ducks. Gibson has five wins, seven losses, and one OT loss and has registered a .915 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average this season.
Rickard Rakell (five goals, four assists) and Andrew Cogliano (three goals, six assists) will lead the attack for the home team.
Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Ducks, O/U – Over
Betting Trends:
- The under has hit in three of Anaheim’s last five outings.
- Anaheim has averaged 2.9 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 1.7 goals per contest over its three-game losing skid.
