Facing each other for the final time this season, the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers face off at the Wells Fargo Center. The opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18, and fans at home are able to catch this East-West matchup live on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Philadelphia (-180) is currently favored over Los Angeles (+160), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-120 to bet the under, +100 for the over).
The Flyers are 25-23 straight up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 1.6 units this year. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2018-19 season (37-45). Among its 48 games this season, 25 have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 15-8 SU at home this season.
Philadelphia’s converted on 18.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 14th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.8 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Philadelphia has been penalized 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 4.6 per game over its past five games. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for just 8.1 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .905 save percentage and 22.1 saves per game, Carter Hart (15-17-3) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Flyers this year. If head coach Alain Vigneault decides to give him a breather, however, the Flyers could turn to Brian Elliott (10-12-12 record, .897 save percentage, 3.14 goals against average).
Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny will both be focal points for the Flyers. Couturier (41 points) has put up 13 goals and 28 assists and has recorded two or more points in 10 different games this year. Konecny has 15 goals and 25 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 30 contests.
On the other bench, Los Angeles is 18-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 49 regular season contests, 26 of its games have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just two have pushed. Los Angeles’ 7-20 SU as the road team this season.
Los Angeles has converted on just 16.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 29th overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.5 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles’ skaters have been penalized only 3.2 times per game this season, and 1.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 4.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (3.01 goals against average and .896 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles. Quick is averaging 25.8 saves per game and owns an 11-20-3 record.
Anze Kopitar (17 goals, 26 assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Kings.
Los Angeles Kings at Philadelphia Flyers Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Penalties and power plays could be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Kings are 6-11 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-24 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Flyers are 11-13 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-18 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Philadelphia (5-5 in shootouts) has significantly more experience this season in games decided by shootout. Los Angeles fell short in both of its shootouts this year.
- Philadelphia has created 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a slight drop from its season average of 6.6 takeaways per game (ranked 26th).
- Los Angeles has given up 3.3 goals per game (while managing just 2.0 goals per contest) over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
- Los Angeles has managed 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.3 takeaways per game (ranked 29th overall).
- Philadelphia could hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 14-9 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 9-14 in such games.
