The St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings meet Saturday in NHL action at the crypto.com Arena. Here’s a Kings vs Blues Prediction. This article will include a Kings vs Blues Pick.
St. Louis Blues Betting Preview
The St. Louis Blues beat the Kings and Ducks, and they play the Penguins, Wild, and Predators next. The Blues have won seven of their last nine games, some of their best hockey of the season.
The St. Louis Blues are averaging 2.84 goals per game and are scoring on 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities. Jordan Kyrou leads St. Louis with 24 goals, Robert Thomas has 34 assists, and Dylan Holloway has 147 shots on goal. Defensively, the St. Louis Blues are allowing 2.98 goals per game and are killing 70.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jordan Binnington has allowed 120 goals on 1,184 shots faced, and Joel Hofer has given up 61 goals on 603 shots.
Los Angeles Kings Betting Preview
The Los Angeles Kings lost to the Blackhawks and Blues, and they play the Golden Knights, Islanders, and Capitals next. The Kings have lost five straight games and have been outscored 8-21 during that span.
The Los Angeles Kings are averaging 2.8 goals per game and are scoring 15 percent of their power play opportunities. Adrian Kempe leads Los Angeles with 26 goals, Anze Kopitar has 34 assists and Kevin Fiala has 177 shots on goal. Defensively, the Los Angeles Kings are allowing 2.65 goals per game and are killing 81.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Darcy Kuemper has given up 80 goals on 897 shots faced, while David Rittich has allowed 66 goals on 586 shots.
Why the Los Angeles Kings will win
- The Blues have lost seven of their last eight road games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The Kings have won six of their last seven games at Crypto.com Arena against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Kings have covered the puck line in 12 of their last 14 night games following a shootout loss.
- The Blues have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games at Crypto.com Arena against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Kings have won the second period in each of their last four games as favorites against Central Division opponents when leading after the first period.
Why the St. Louis Blues will win
- The Kings have lost four of their last five games as favorites after coming off a shootout.
- The Blues have won each of their last three games as road underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
- The Blues have covered the puck line in 11 of their last 12 games as road underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
- The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine home games after coming off overtime.
- The Blues have won the third period in seven of their last eight road games against Pacific Division opponents when trailing after the second period.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Los Angeles Kings rank 30th in the league in power play percentage this season (15.00%).
- The Los Angeles Kings rank 6th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.65).
- The St. Louis Blues rank 30th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (70.78%).
- The St. Louis Blues rank 31st in the league for Period 3 goals scored per game this season (0.88).
Kings vs Blues Injury Report
The Kings don’t have any players listed on their injury report.
The Blues will continue to be without Torey Krug and Colton Parayko.
Kings vs Blues Prediction
These are two teams heading in different directions, as the Blues have won six of their last seven games and their offense has caught fire. The Kings have lost five straight games, and they’ve scored no more than two goals in all of those games. If the form for both sides holds true, this should be a comfortable win for the Blues. The Blues have also won four straight games over the Kings, which includes a 3-2 shootout victory a few days ago. The fact the Kings are favored feels like a joke. Give me the Blues and the plus money as the value bet of the day.