In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers take the ice at Rogers Place for a Pacific Division tilt. Sportsnet West will air the game, and the opening face-off takes place at 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 2.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers Odds
Edmonton (+100) is playing the role of underdog to Edmonton (-120), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
Los Angeles is 23-16 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its games have gone under the total, while 16 have gone over and just three have pushed. As the road team in 2017-18, the Kings are 12-8 SU.
Los Angeles has converted on just 15.9 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, it has the top penalty kill in the league, and it has successfully killed off a whopping 87.1 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall during the 2017-18 season, and 5.2 per game over its last five on the road. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 11.0 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Sporting a .927 save percentage and 28.2 saves per game, Jonathan Quick (18-13-2) has been the top option in goal for Los Angeles this year. If Los Angeles decides to rest him, however, they might turn to Darcy Kuemper (5-5-3), who has a .934 save percentage and 2.11 goals against average this year.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Kings. Kopitar (40 points) is up to 17 goals and 23 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 11 different games. Brown has 13 goals and 16 assists to his name (and has notched at least one point in 20 games).
On the other bench, Edmonton is 17-22 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 39 regular season matches, 19 of its games have gone over the total, while another 19 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 8-12 SU at home this season.
Edmonton has converted on just 17.0 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 32nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 71.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Edmonton players have been whistled for penalties 3.9 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five home outings. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot has stopped 26.8 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for Edmonton. Talbot has 14 wins, 15 losses, and two overtime losses and has registered a pedestrian 3.01 goals against average and a subpar .905 save percentage this year.
Connor McDavid (14 goals, 31 assists) will lead the attack for the Oilers.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Oilers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The total has gone under in three of Edmonton’s last five games.
- Los Angeles has managed 30.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Edmonton is averaging 35.8 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Kings are 10-8 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Oilers are 7-13 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- Edmonton is ranked 11th in the league with 8.1 takeaways per game. That figures trended lower, however, as the team has averaged 7.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Los Angeles skaters have created 5.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 5.1 takeaways per game (ranked 32nd in the NHL).
