Two clubs squaring off for the second time this season, the Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings face off at the Staples Center. Fox Sports West will showcase this Western Conference matchup, which gets going at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 4.
Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings Odds
Nashville (-135) is being tabbed as the favorite over Los Angeles (+115) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 6 goals. If you want to play the matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -115 for the over and -105 for the under.
Nashville is 18-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 39 regular season outings, 25 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and none have pushed. As a road team this season, the Preds are 8-10 SU.
Nashville has converted on just 16.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 24th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 28th overall, and it has successfully killed off only 74.8 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Nashville has been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over its past five total, and 4.2 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team’s been forced to kill penalties 8.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .893 save percentage and 23.3 saves per game, Pekka Rinne (13-11-3) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If head coach Peter Laviolette decides to rest him, however, the team might go with Juuse Saros (5-15-3), who has a .890 save percentage and 3.23 goals against average this year.
The visiting Predators will be led by Roman Josi and Matt Duchene. Josi (41 points) is up to 14 goals and 27 assists, and has recorded multiple points 10 times. Duchene has nine goals and 19 assists to his nameand has registered at least one point in 18 games.
Los Angeles is 17-25 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.9 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 23 of its contests have gone under the total, while 17 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team is 11-8 SU at home this season.
Los Angeles has converted on just 14.6 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 30th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Los Angeles players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.3 times per game this season, and 2.0 per game over their last five games. The team’s had to kill penalties just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick has stopped 25.6 shots per game as the top choice in goal for Los Angeles. Quick has 11 wins, 17 losses, and two OT losses and has maintained a subpar .894 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this year.
The Kings will be led on offense by Anze Kopitar (15 goals, 22 assists).
Nashville Predators vs. Los Angeles Kings Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in four of Los Angeles’ last five outings.
- Two clubs that fire the puck on goal a lot, Nashville has registered the league’s fifth-most shots on goal (34.1) while Los Angeles’s attempted the sixth-most (33.8).
- The Kings are 6-9 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 13-19 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- Los Angeles has managed 3.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.1 takeaways per game (ranked 31st in the NHL).
- Nashville has allowed 3.4 goals per game overall this year, but is giving up 5.0 goals per match up over its three-game losing streak.
- Nashville skaters have averaged 8.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked eighth in the NHL).
