A game that features two squads that’ve positioned themselves firmly in the playoff hunt, the Dallas Stars and the Los Angeles Kings face off at the Staples Center in a Western Conference matchup. The opening face-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 22, and you are able to witness the game live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Dallas Stars vs. Los Angeles Kings Odds
Los Angeles comes into the game as the favorite with a moneyline of -135. The line for Dallas sits at +115 and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Dallas is 34-26 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.1 units this season. Through 60 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Stars are 13-16 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Dallas has converted on 19.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 82.2 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Dallas has been penalized 4.3 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, 4.0 per game over its last five games total, and 4.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties 8.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .916 save percentage and 25.7 saves per game, Ben Bishop (24-22-3) has been the primary option in goal for Dallas this year. Bishop did just play last night, however, so the team might opt to rest him and go with Kari Lehtonen instead (11-9-1 record, .920 save percentage, 2.27 goals against average).
John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov will both lead the way for the visiting Stars. Klingberg has 54 points on seven goals and 47 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 13 different games. Radulov has 21 goals and 32 assists to his credit (and has registered at least one point in 36 games).
On the other side of the ice, Los Angeles is 33-27 straight up (SU) and has earned 3.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 60 regular season contests, 30 of its games have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just three have pushed. The team is 14-12 SU at home this season.
Los Angeles has converted on 20.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles players have been penalized 4.2 times per game in total this season, 3.6 per game over their past five match ups total, and 4.2 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Jonathan Quick has denied 27.4 shots per game as the top choice in goal for Los Angeles. Quick has 23 wins, 23 losses, and two overtime losses and has recorded a .921 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average this season.
The home team offense will be led by Anze Kopitar (25 goals, 39 assists).
Dallas Stars at Los Angeles Kings Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Stars, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Dallas (4-2 in shootouts) has more experience this season in games decided by shootout. Los Angeleshas yet to lose a shootout this year (2-0).
- The total has gone over in three of Los Angeles’ last five outings.
- Los Angeles has allowed just 2.0 goals per game (while scoring 3.7 per contest) over its three-game winning streak.
- Over Los Angeles’ last ten outings, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-3 in those games).
- The Kings this season have recorded the fourth-most hits per game (25.3).
