PNC Arena will play host to an intriguing matchup as the Los Angeles Kings visit Raleigh to meet the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the final time that the two clubs will meet in the regular season. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 26, and you can catch this cross-country matchup live on Fox Sports West.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Carolina Hurricanes Odds
With a -240 moneyline, Carolina heads into the game as the heavy favorite. The line for Los Angeles is standing at +200, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 6 goals. If you want to play this matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.
The Hurricanes are 33-29 straight-up (SU) and have punished moneyline bettors to the tune of -7.3 units so far. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2017-18 season (36-46). Through 62 regular season matches, 37 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 24 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 16-14 SU at home this season.
Carolina has converted on 17.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Carolina has been whistled for penalties 3.6 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over its last five games total, and 3.4 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays for just 7.1 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, in total.
With a .902 save percentage and 24.0 saves per game, Petr Mrazek (14 wins, 15 losses, and three OT losses) has been the most dependable option in goal for the Hurricanes this season. If head coach Rod Brind Amour decides to give him the night off, however, the Canes could roll with Curtis McElhinney (16-8-8 record, .923 save percentage, 2.25 goals against average).
The Canes will continue to look for offensive production via Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Aho (69 points) is up to 24 goals and 45 assists and has recorded two or more points in 17 different games this year. Teravainen has 17 goals and 38 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 32 games.
Los Angeles has lost 14.7 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 23-39 straight up (SU). Through 62 regular season matches, 32 of its games have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just one has pushed. Los Angeles’ 11-22 SU as the road team this season.
Los Angeles has converted on just 14.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that places it in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 30th overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.1 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles’ players have been penalized only 3.3 times per game this season, and 4.0 per game over their last five on the road. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (26.6 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles. Quick has 11 wins, 21 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit, and has registered a .896 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Kings, the offense will run through Anze Kopitar, who’s got 27 assists and 17 goals on the year.
Los Angeles Kings at Carolina Hurricanes Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in four of Carolina’s last five games.
- Los Angeles has managed 28.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Carolina is averaging 33.4 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Kings are 8-15 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-29 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- Three of Los Angeles’ past 10 contests have ended in a shootout. The team is 1-2 in those games and 2-3 overall in shootouts this season.
- Carolina skaters have created 11.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 10.7 takeaways per game (ranked 2nd overall).
- Los Angeles has allowed 3.1 goals per game as a team this season, but is giving up 4.3 goals per match up over its last eight games (0-8 SU over that span).
- Los Angeles has created 7.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.0 takeaways per game (ranked 32nd in the league).
