LA Kings vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction 1-4-25 NHL Picks

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings meet Saturday in NHL action from the Crypto.com Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a LA Kings vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recap

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to rebound after ending up with a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks last time out, dropping to 20-13-2 on the year. After this game, Tampa Bay will head on the road to close out their west coast road trip with a date with the Anaheim Ducks.

Lightning Drop Back-To-Back Games

Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 54 points including a team-high 17 goals and 37 assists while Brandon Hagel has 42 points with 17 goals and 25 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 33 points of his own with 18 assists. Brayden Point has 43 points with 23 goals and 20 assists while Victor Hedman has 28 points with 24 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 37 points with 20 goals and 17 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 16-11-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .914 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 4-2-1 with a 3.36 GAA and a .900 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Lightning have won four of their last five games as underdogs against the Kings.
• The Kings have lost two of their last three games as favorites following a win.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last five games as underdogs against the Kings.
• The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in six of their last seven games as home favorites against opponents on a losing streak.

Los Angeles Kings Recap

The Los Angeles Kings come into this game looking to add to their 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils last time out to improve to 22-10-5 on the year. After this game, Los Angeles will welcome the Calgary Flames to town.

Kings Win Third Straight

Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 39 points including 12 goals and 27 assists while Alex Laferriere has 26 points with 13 goals. Adrian Kempe has 36 points with a team-high 18 goals and 18 assists while Brandt Clarke has 21 points with 18 assists. Kevin Fiala has 22 points with 14 goals and Warren Foegele has 23 points with 11 goals and 12 assists. Darcy Kuemper has gone 10-2-5 so far this season with a 2.29 GAA and a .916 save percentage in goal for the Kings so far this season. David Rittich is 11-8 with a 2.55 GAA and an .887 save percentage while Erik Portillo has a 1.02 GAA and a .966 save percentage as well on the year.

Why the Los Angeles Kings will win

• The Kings have won each of their last eight games at Crypto.com Arena.
• The Lightning have lost five of their last six road games against opponents on a winning streak.
• The Kings have covered the puck line in six of their last seven games at Crypto.com Arena.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games following a road loss.

Total Goals Facts

• Seven of the Kings’ last eight games following a win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
• Four of the Lightning’s last five road games against opponents on a winning streak have gone UNDER the total goals line.

LA Kings vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction

I’m on the Kings here. This is a Kings team that continues to play their best hockey on home ice and while I’m not fading the Lightning off of one game, the fact of the matter is that the loss to the Sharks is a black eye for Tampa Bay and while I’m sure they won’t necessarily roll over here, I just think that the line favoring the Kings in this spot tells us which side to be on in this one. Give me Los Angeles in this one.