The Staples Center will be the site for an East-West matchup as the Los Angeles Kings welcome the visiting Washington Capitals. It’s the last time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. The action will get underway at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 8 and it is being shown live on Sportsnet.
Washington Capitals vs. Los Angeles Kings Odds
Los Angeles (-135) is currently favored over Washington (+115), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-125 for the under, +105 for the over).
Washington is 37-29 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 3.1 units this season. Through 66 regular season outings, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 27 have gone under and just one has pushed. As a road team in 2017-18, the Caps are 14-18 SU.
Washington has converted on 22.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.5 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Washington has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 4.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 8.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
With a .907 save percentage and 27.7 saves per game, Braden Holtby (29-19-4) has been the best option in goal for Washington this year. If Washington chooses to rest him, however, the team may turn to Philipp Grubauer (8-17-3 record, .922 save percentage, 2.36 goals against average).
The visiting Capitals will be led by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ovechkin (72 points) has tallied 40 goals and 32 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 19 different games. Kuznetsov has 20 goals and 44 assists to his name, and has notched a point in 40 games.
Over on the other bench, Los Angeles is 36-30 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.8 units this season. Through 66 regular season matches, 33 of its games have gone under the total, while 30 have gone over and just three have pushed. This year, the team is 16-15 SU as the home team.
Los Angeles has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Los Angeles players have been whistled for penalties 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 6.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick has denied 27.4 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for Los Angeles. Quick has 25 wins, 26 losses, and two overtime losses and has registered a 2.47 goals against average and a .921 save percentage this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Anze Kopitar (27 goals, 44 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Los Angeles Kings Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in three of Los Angeles’ last five games.
- Power-play opportunities could be critical in tonight’s matchup. The Capitals are 12-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-14 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Kings are 13-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 23-14 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Washington is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Los Angeles is 2-0 in shootouts.
- Los Angeles skaters have averaged 4.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a slight drop from its season average of 5.0 takeaways per game (ranked 32nd overall).
- Washington skaters have created 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 16th in the NHL).
- Washington could hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 16-12 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 12-15 in such games.
