Two squads on two-game winning streaks, the Los Angeles Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets take the ice at Nationwide Arena. This East-West matchup gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 19, and it’ll air live on Fox Sports West.
Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Columbus (-145) is being chosen as the favorite over Los Angeles (+125), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. If you want to play the matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 for the over and -110 on the under.
Los Angeles is 15-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 36 regular season matches, 18 of its games have gone under the total, while 16 have gone over and just two have pushed. As a road team in 2019-20, the Kings are 5-14 SU.
Los Angeles has converted on just 13.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off only 73.9 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 3.5 times per game overall this season, and 4.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays 12.2 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Boasting a .893 save percentage and 25.5 saves per game, Jonathan Quick (10-14-2) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles this year. If Los Angeles chooses to rest him, however, they could turn to Jack Campbell (5-7-1), who has a .893 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average this year.
Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty will both be offensive focal points for the visiting Kings. Kopitar (32 points) has tallied 14 goals and 18 assists, and has recorded two or more points eight times. Doughty has six goals and 17 assists to his creditand has logged a point in 15 games.
Columbus is 14-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. 19 of its outings have gone under the total, while 14 have gone over and just one has pushed. This year, the team’s 9-9 SU as the home team.
Columbus has converted on 17.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is also ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Columbus players have been penalized only 3.3 times per game this season, and 4.0 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 8.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Joonas Korpisalo (25.3 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for Columbus. Korpisalo has 14 wins, 13 losses, and three OT losses and has recorded a fairly-weak .908 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average this year.
Gustav Nyquist (eight goals, 15 assists) will lead the attack for Columbus.
Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Predictions
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their past five matchups.
- Two clubs that shoot the puck early and often, Los Angeles has taken the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (33.8) and Columbus’s attempted the ninth-most (33.3).
- Los Angeles skaters notched 23.3 hits per game last season, while the Jackets forced 23.0 hits per matchup.
