Ilya Kovalchuk, Anze Kopitar, and the Los Angeles Kings will do battle against Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, and the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center for a Western Conference matchup. The first puck will drop at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 24, and you’ll be able to catch it live on Fox Sports Midwest.
Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues Odds
Los Angeles (+170) is entering this one as the underdog to St. Louis (-200) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-105 over, -115 under).
Losing 3.7 units for moneyline bettors, St. Louis is 4-5 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is a big slide from what the team recorded during the 2018-19 season (45-37). Of the team’s nine regular season outings, five have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 2-3 SU at home this season.
The Blue Notes have successfully scored on 22.2 percent of their power play opportunities in 2019-20. That’s a big improvement from last year, when they were ranked 15th in the league by scoring on 19.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 16th overall last season) to 85.2 percent this year.
Boasting a .912 save percentage and 28.1 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (three wins, four losses, and three OT losses) has been the most dependable goalkeeper for St. Louis this season. If head coach Craig Berube chooses to give him the night off, however, St. Louis may roll with Jake Allen (1-1-1 record, .849 save percentage, 4.17 goals against average).
Los Angeles has earned 0.8 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 4-5 straight up (SU). A total of five of its games have gone over the total, while four have gone under the total and none have pushed. As the visiting team so far, the Kings are 2-2 SU.
The Kings have scored on 11.1 percent of their power play chances this year after successfully converting on 15.8 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2018-19 (a mark that was ranked just 28th in the NHL). The team has gone from killing off 76.2 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 29th overall last season) to 75.8 percent in 2019-20.
Jonathan Quick (4.44 goals against average and .847 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles. Quick is averaging 24.4 saves per game and has two wins and three losses to his credit.
Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The Kings are 2-1 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Blues are 0-4 SU when they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
- After going 3-3 in games decided by a shootout last year, the Blues are off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Los Angeles was 3-4 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their last five outings.
