NHL: Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings Betting
Predators Continue Road Trip After Opening Night Loss to Vegas
The Nashville Predators (24-19-1, 49 points) play the second of six road contests in their next seven games when they land in Tinsel Town to take on the Los Angeles Kings (21-12-8, 50 points) after a 1-3-2 road trip or 1-5 as the betting public likes to look at it. Nashville is hanging on to the last wild card spot in the West, two points ahead of the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken. Los Angeles owns the third spot in the Pacific Division but is being challenged by the Edmonton Oilers who have won 11 straight and remain a point in back of LA with a game in hand. Oddsmakers have made the Kings a -150 favorite with a total of 6. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT.
Predators vs Kings 
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Predators Still Lack Identity
While watching the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights game, a Predators 4-1 loss, we kept on wondering one thing; who are these Predators and can we rely on them with our money? That happens when you’re in the middle of a 4-4 stretch after losing four straight games, of course after a 7-1-1 stretch in early December. In the grand scheme of things, Nashville is eighth in the league with 3.01 units won behind a gambling record of 24-20, which tells you who a team is.
We’ve always believed that no matter when a team loses, that should be reflected in their record. It’s always more confusing when a team is more profitable on the road (+3.50 units) than they are at home (0.48 units). Over the last two seasons, Nashville has been profitable with 5.03 units won but that’s on the back of a 66-60 record record which still keeps a toe in the doubt column for bettors.
They started the season 5-10 in a year that has featured two four-game losing streaks and a four and six-game win streak. At this moment they would make the Stanley Cup Playoffs but the Flames have won four straight giving tonight’s game a little extra meaning if Nashville wants to maintain their hold on a playoff spot. We continue our Predators vs Kings game betting preview with a look at the home team.
Los Angeles Outshined By Stars
By the time the Kings road trip came to a conclusion you knew that this was an exhausted Kings team. The problem for bettors comes from knowing that it will take a game or two for the Kings to get their legs back. We’ve always cautioned against betting on a team at home after a long road trip because the mindset isn’t one that a home team should have yet. Give them a couple of nights in their beds and they’ll be ready but Los Angeles is one of those teams that have struggled to win at home with a 7-7-5 record.
To bettors that record is 7-12 making the task of handicapping this game that more difficult. This season, Los Angeles is -5.37 units, but what makes that number worse is they’ve lost 8.22 units at Crypto.com, giving them the distinction of being the worst team in the league to bet at home. The somewhat good news is they’re 17-13 as an NHL odds favorite, and 4-7 as a dog. We conclude our Predators vs Kings game betting preview with our official selection.
Special Teams Gives Kings Advantage
Los Angeles may not be playing well at home but they do own one advantage that bettors can’t overlook and that’s an edge on special teams, especially on the penalty kill. The Preds have killed off just 77.1% of their penalties this season (24th) and face a Kings team that won’t light it up against the better teams in the league but 21.2% is good enough to give them an advantage.
Five-on-five Los Angeles still has plenty of depth, especially if Pierre-Luc Dubois can start adding more than 2 goals in his last 10 games. Making the Kings a somewhat large favorite despite two teams with almost identical NHL records, shows us that the oddsmakers agree with us. Expect to see the two Kings power play units get plenty of chances making that the reason why we’re going to lay the -150.
Predators vs Kings Game Betting
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