A couple of teams that have started the season off strongly, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings take the ice at the Staples Center in a cross-continent showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 2, and it will be televised live on Fox Sports West.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Los Angeles Kings Odds
The Kings are 9-3 straight up (SU) and have earned 6.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked fourth in the NHL in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 39-43 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Among its 12 games this season, five have gone under the total, while five have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 4-1 SU at home thus far.
Los Angeles has converted on 15.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 93.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, LA has been penalized just 3.9 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to last year’s 3.7 penalties per game the team gave up. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 8.3 minutes per matchup this year.
Boasting a .942 save percentage and 30.8 saves per game, Jonathan Quick (7-3-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Kings this season. If head coach John Stevens chooses to give him a rest, however, the team might go with Darcy Kuemper (2-1-1 record, .929 save percentage, 1.92 goals against average).
The Monarchs will continue relying on leadership out of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Kopitar (14 points) is up to seven goals and seven assists and has recorded multiple points in four different games this year. Brown has six goals and six assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in five games.
On the other bench, Toronto is 8-5 straight up (SU) and has earned 0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 13 regular season matches, eight of its games have gone over the total, while three have gone under and just one has pushed. As the away team so far, Toronto is 4-2 SU.
Toronto has converted on 25.0 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked eighth overall and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of all penalties.
Toronto’s players have been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.9 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for 8.3 minutes per outing this year.
Frederik Andersen (.901 save percentage and 3.26 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Toronto. Andersen is averaging 29.7 saves per game and owns a 7-5 record.
Auston Matthews (nine goals, seven assists) will pace the attack for the visiting Maple Leafs.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Los Angeles Kings Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Maple Leafs, O/U – Under
Betting Trends:
- The under has hit in four of Los Angeles’ last five outings.
- Toronto has managed 26.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Los Angeles is averaging 34.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Penalties and power plays could be critical in this one. The Maple Leafs are 2-3 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-4 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Kings are 3-1 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 7-1 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- After going 2-4 in games decided by a shootout last year, Los Angeles is off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Toronto went 1-8 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
