Vegas Golden Knights vs Los Angeles Kings 1/7/23 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights meet Saturday in NHL action at the T-Mobile Arena. The Los Angeles Kings have won 6 of their last 9 games. The Vegas Golden Knights have won 5 of their last 7 games.

The Los Angeles Kings are averaging 3.2 goals per game and are scoring on 23.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Gabriel Vilardi leads Los Angeles with 16 goals, Kevin Fiala has 29 assists and Trevor Moore has 115 shots on goal. Defensively, the Los Angeles Kings are allowing 3.4 goals per game and are killing 71.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jonathan Quick has given up 75 goals on 647 shots faced, and Pheonix Copley has allowed 30 goals on 304 shots.

The Vegas Golden Knights are averaging 3.3 goals per game and are scoring on 25 percent of their power play opportunities. Reilly Smith leads Vegas with 18 goals, Chandler Stephenson has 29 assists and Jonathan Marchessault has 121 shots on goal. Defensively, the Vegas Golden Knights are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 78.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Logan Thompson has given up 73 goals on 860 shots faced, and Adin Hill has allowed 36 goals on 376 shots.

The Kings are 7-1 in their last 8 vs. Western Conference and 7-3 in their last 10 overall. The Golden Knights are 4-0 in their last 4 home games and 5-2 in their last 7 overall. The under is 8-3 in Kings last 11 overall. The over is 4-0 in Golden Knights last 4 home games. The over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Vegas and 8-1 in the last 9 meetings.

The Los Angeles Kings are playing well enough to deserve a look in the underdog role, but their defense is still spotty to where I can’t trust them on the road against quality teams. The Vegas Golden Knights are also usually money on their home ice, and you usually get them at much steeper prices. I’d need more bang for my buck if looking at the Kings here. Give me Vegas and the reasonable price.