A game between two squads that’ve positioned themselves firmly in playoff contention, the Los Angeles Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning clash at Amalie Arena in an East-West showdown. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 10, and you can witness it live on Fox Sports West.
Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay heads into the matchup as the obvious favorite with a moneyline of -215. The line for Los Angeles sits at +180, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 37-17 straight up (SU) and has earned 11.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Of its 54 games this season, 33 have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 18-6 SU at home this season.
The Lightning currently have the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as they have found the net on 24.2 percent of their extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 78.2 percent of all penalties.
The Lightning, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties 4.1 times per game overall this season, 3.8 per game over their last five outings total, and 3.6 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per game over their last 10 matchups, overall.
Averaging 29.0 saves per game with a .929 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (32-13-2) has been the primary option in goal for the Bolts this season. If the Bolts, however, choose to rest him, Tampa Bay could turn to Louis Domingue (2-9-9 record, .877 save percentage, 3.88 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both spearhead the attack for the Lightning. Kucherov (68 points) has tallied 28 goals and 40 assists and has recorded two or more points 22 times this year. Stamkos has 20 goals and 42 assists to his credit and has recorded a point in 36 games.
Los Angeles is 30-24 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. A total of 27 of its games have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Kings are 16-12 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Kings have converted on 19.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked second overall and it’s successfully killed off 84.8 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles players have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 4.8 per game over their last five on the road. The teams been forced to kill penalties 10.8 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Jonathan Quick (27.7 saves per game) has been the main choice in goal for Los Angeles. Quick owns a 21-20-2 record, while registering a .921 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Kings, the offense will be coordinated by Anze Kopitar, who has 36 assists and 22 goals on the year.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Eight of Los Angeles last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-3 in those games.
- Los Angeles has scored 2.9 goals per game overall this season, but has raised it up to 4.7 per match up in their past three games (the teams a perfect 3-0 SU over that streak),
- The Kings are 10-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-11 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- Los Angeles is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Tampa Bay is 2-2 in shootouts.
- Tampa Bay might have an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The teams 13-6 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 10-13 in such games.
- The over has hit in four of Tampa Bay’s last five outings.
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 8.4 giveaways per game (ranked 10th in the NHL).
- Los Angeles is ranked 22nd this season with 10.2 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the teams averaged 8.8 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.4 giveaways over its last five.
- Los Angeles skaters have given out the leagues third-most hits per game (24.9), but that numbers down to just 19.6 hits over their last five away games.
