NHL: Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings Odds Preview
The Canucks are securely on top of the Pacific Division but that lead could disappear quick
In what will be one of the better games on the NHL hockey schedule, the Vancouver Canucks (39-17-7, 85 points) continue their 3-game road trip with a stop at Crypto.com Arena to take on the Los Angeles Kings (31-19-10, 72 points), who are just 12-10-6 at home.
Oddsmakers have opened the Kings as a small -120 home favorite with a total of 6.5 (under -125). Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports West and ESPN+. Let’s start our Canucks vs Kings odds preview by analyzing the Vancouver Canucks from a betting perspective.
Hurricanes vs Coyotes 
Day/Time:
Location: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Streaming: NHLPP|ESPN+
Is Beating The Ducks Snapping A Losing Streak?
The Vancouver Canuck started their West Coast swing with a 2-1 win at Anaheim, snapping a 2-game losing streak while improving to 2-6 over their last eight games. If we dig deeper, we would see those two wins against the Boston Bruins and the Ducks come with some question marks.
First, a win against the Ducks, especially a one-goal win where they couldn’t get more than two behind Lukas Dostal, who gives up almost four a game, doesn’t count as everything being okay against a lengthy slump. The win against Boston was a come-from-behind effort, with Boston playing their third game in four days.
The point with all of this is until the Canucks can come up with a 6-minute effort against one of the better NHL teams in the league, the slump should continue in the mind of bettors. Vancouver appears to be safe for now, but the Edmonton Oilers just took over second place from the Vegas Golden Knights and own four games in hand on the Canucks.
A win in all four would mean the Oilers would close the gap in the NHL West standings, making every Canucks game important. Vancouver is fourth in the NHL with 6.80 units won this season behind St. Louis (9.35 units).
Winnipeg Jets (7.74) and the Florida Panthers (7.45). If the Canucks finish in the black, it will be the first time in three years that they’ll add money to a bankroll. As an underdog, Vancouver is 14-10 (+6.44 units), with only the St. Louis Blues (+12.15 units) better. As a road dog, the Canucks are 9-8 this season (+3.03 units).
Kings Lost In Playoff Shuffle
The only time we’ve spent much time talking about the Los Angeles Kings this NHL season is early in the year when they started with 11 straight wins on the road and 12 straight without a regulation road loss. Since then, Los Angeles is 7-9-2 away from the city of Angels and the talk fell to a whisper.
The Kings and the Nashville Predators are consuming the last two wild-card spots in the West, but with the Predators owning four more regulation wins, the Kings should be looking for an easier path to the postseason, and if the Vegas Golden Knights continue their slump, Los Angeles is just one point behind the Knights with a game in hand.
We have the Kings at 11th in our current power rankings, one spot ahead of Vegas. As they are right now, we don’t think Los Angeles will do much damage in the postseason, but with the trade deadline coming, both the Kings and the Knights would look to bolster their playoff roster. We conclude our Canucks vs Kings odds preview with our official selection.
Money Trickling In On The Kings
With less than 300 wagers monitored, the early cash seems to be coming in on the Los Angeles Kings, causing a small moneyline jump. We’re more interested in the under 6.5.
Our recommendation is to jump on this wager now because it’s likely this number will come down to six at some point. Part of the canucks slump is because they haven’t been able to find the back of the net with any regularity after scoring just 12 goals in their last six hockey games, while the Kings have been a reliable under wager all season with 36 unders in 57 decisions.
LA has allowed just two goals in their last 120 minutes of play. That makes for a low NHL score, forcing us to put our money on the under.
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