A couple of teams that have put themselves squarely in the playoff hunt, the Los Angeles Kings and the Dallas Stars clash at the American Airlines Center in a Western Conference matchup. The match gets underway at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 30, and fans at home can view it live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Dallas Stars Odds
Dallas (+160) is entering this one as the underdog to Dallas (-180), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
Losing -0.5 units for moneyline bettors, Dallas is 28-22 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is a surprising improvement over the 34-48 record from last years regular season campaign. Of the teams 50 games this season, 28 have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 17-8 SU at home.
The Stars have converted on 20.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 16th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.4 percent of all penalties.
The Stars, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties 4.4 times per game overall this season, and 5.6 per game over their last five games at home. The team has been forced to stave off opposition power plays for a whopping 19.0 minutes per game over their last five outings, overall.
Sporting a .917 save percentage and 26.0 saves per game, Ben Bishop (21-18-3) has been the best option in goal for Dallas this year. If Dallas decides to give him a breather, however, the team might go with Kari Lehtonen (8-7-7 record, .914 save percentage, 2.42 goals against average).
The Stars will continue looking for offensive production out of John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov. Klingberg (48 points) has tallied six goals and 42 assists and has recorded two or more points 13 times this year. Radulov has 20 goals and 28 assists to his name and has notched a point in 31 games.
On the other side of the rink, Los Angeles is 26-23 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 49 regular season contests, 25 of its games have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just three have pushed. As the away team so far, the Kings are 14-11 SU.
The Kings have converted on 18.8 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked first overall and it’s successfully killed off 85.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
Los Angeles skaters have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 5.4 per game over their past five match ups. The teams had to kill penalties a whopping 15.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Jonathan Quick (27.4 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Los Angeles. Quick owns a 20-19-2 record, while registering a .921 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Kings, the offense will run through Anze Kopitar, who has 32 assists and 19 goals on the year.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Dallas Stars Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Over Dallas last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
- Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be even more key than usual tonight. The Kings are 10-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-10 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Stars are 12-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 16-11 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Dallas (3-2 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Los Angeles, however, emerged victorious in both of its shootouts this year.
- Dallas may hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The teams 10-7 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 10-13 in such games.
- The over has hit in three of Dallas last five outings.
- Dallas is ranked 9th this season with 8.2 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed recently, as it’s averaged 9.4 giveaways over its last 10 games and 10.4 giveaways over its last five.
- Los Angeles is ranked 22nd this season with 10.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it’s averaged 8.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 8.2 giveaways over its last five.
- Los Angeles skaters have accounted for the fourth-most hits in the league (25.2 per game), but that numbers down to just 18.4 hits over their last five away games.
