Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and the Boston Bruins are set to face off against Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center in an East-West showdown. New England Sports Network will air the matchup, and the puck drops at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 16.
Boston Bruins vs. Los Angeles Kings Odds
Los Angeles (+135) is playing the role of underdog to Boston (-155), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
Though the team is 33-25 straight up (SU) this season, Boston has actually lost 5.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 58 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and just three have pushed. As an away team this season, the Bruins are 12-15 SU.
Boston enters the match up with the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 26.7 percent of its extra-man opportunities this year. Its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 80.7 percent of its penalties..
With a .923 save percentage and 27.3 saves per game, Jaroslav Halak (15-15-4) has been the best option in goal for Boston this year. Halak did just play last night, however, so Boston might decide to rest him and instead turn to Tuukka Rask (18-13-4 record, .920 save percentage, 2.38 goals against average).
On the other side of the rink, Los Angeles is 23-34 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 57 regular season contests, 30 of its games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 12-15 SU at home this year.
The Kings have converted on just 15.4 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Jonathan Quick (26.9 saves per game) has been the top option in the crease for the Kings. Quick has 11 wins, 19 losses, and five OT losses to his name and has registered a poor .899 save percentage and 3.09 goals against average this season.
Boston Bruins vs. Los Angeles Kings Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Over Los Angeles’ last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
- Power plays and penalty kills may play a critical role tonight. The Bruins are 16-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 23-17 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Kings are 8-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 17-26 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Two of Los Angeles’ last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 2-2 overall in shootouts this season.
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their past five outings.
- Boston has averaged 12.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 10.3 giveaways per game (ranked 18th).
- Los Angeles is ranked 20th this season with 10.6 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as the team’s averaged 8.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.8 giveaways over its last five.
- Boston skaters have accounted for the league’s 11th-most hits per game (23.6).
