Kings vs. Avalanche prediction, odds, pick, how to watch
The Los Angeles Kings take on the Colorado Avalanche. Let's take a look at our NHL odds series for our Kings-Avalanche prediction and pick.
A big-time NHL matchup under the Friday night lights will be underway as the Los Angeles Kings take on the Colorado Avalanche in the Mile High City. Let's take a look at our NHL odds series where our Kings-Avalanche prediction and pick will be revealed.
Entering play fresh off a tough 5-3 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres which proved to be a tough pill to swallow, the Kings have only secured two wins since Dec. 28th and are quickly falling off the map in regards to the Western Conference playoff chase. Nevertheless, thanks to a hot start to the season, LA still sits with a 22-14-9 record and still have plenty of opportunities to get their season back on track.
On the other side of things, there is no doubt that the Colorado Avalanche look like bonafide Stanley Cup contenders at this point of the regular season. Through 48 games played, the Avs are 31-14-3 and are tied for the third-most points in the league. After crushing the Washington Capitals by a score of 6-2, Colorado has now won three of their last four and are officially clicking on all cylinders.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Kings-Avalanche Odds
Los Angeles Kings: +1.5 (-205)
Moneyline: +122
Colorado Avalanche: -1.5 (+168)
Moneyline: -146
Over: 6.5 (-102)
Under: 6.5 (-120)
How to Watch Kings vs. Avalanche
Time: 9:10 ET/6:10 PT
TV: ESPN+
Why The Kings Will Cover The Spread/Win
In order to come up with a monumental road victory against a titan in the west like Colorado, Los Angeles will need to make it a priority to keep the sloppiness out on the ice to a minimum. Most recently, the Kings spent eight minutes in the penalty loss in the loss to Buffalo and also could not generate the type of power-play attack that they would've hoped. On paper, Los Angeles went only 1-3 on the extra-man attack. Clearly, Colorado is far too elite to make mistakes and hopes to come out covering the spread or even winning the contest outright, so be on the lookout for LA to make an effort to gain an edge in the power-play department in all aspects.
Despite out-shooting Buffalo and even proving to be the more physical team on the night by receiving more hits than the Sabres, the Kings ultimately ran into a hot goalie which proved to be too difficult to overcome. If all else fails on the offensive end for a unit that is averaging only 3.18 goals per game, don't be overly shocked if LA depends on the netminder himself in backup David Rittich. As a whole, the starting man in-between the pipes in Cam Talbot has struggled mightily over his last several games, so it could be up to Rittich to save the day. At first glance, Rittich is 4-1-2 in his seven starts total and is only surrendering 1.76 goals per game over that span.
Why The Avalanche Will Cover The Spread/Win
Ladies and gentlemen, the Colorado Avalanche appear to be on a mission after falling short in last year's postseason. Less than two years removed from hoisting the third Stanley Cup trophy in the franchise's history, there are a select few of teams that are playing as well as the Avalanche at the moment.
For starters, Colorado's front line has been undeniably elite over its recent stretch of play. Overall, it is the offense that has become immune in finding the back of the net as the Avalanche have scored a combined 13 goals in their previous two games played. Even more specifically, but center Nathan MacKinnon is playing like a man possessed including dropping a four-goal outing in the win over the Capitals. With the most points and assists in the league, MacKinnon is arguably the top skater on the ice for this one which will ultimately benefit the Avs in a big way. It'll be important to keep tabs on winger Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Maker to inflict some serious damage on the offensive end of the ice as well.
Although Colorado owns the NHL's top-scoring offense with 3.81 goals per game, the Avs' one glaring weakness is through their goaltending room. Even though goalie Alexandar Georgiev is more than capable and currently possesses the league's top record at 26-11-2, he is still prone to giving up some softies and is only stopping .897% of opposing shots on net. It is quite possible that Georgiev is taking a step in the right direction after limiting Washington to only a pair of goals en route to amassing 23 saves, but he will need to clearly be on his A game against the Kings on Friday.
Final Kings-Avalanche Prediction & Pick
Buckle up for this Western Conference showdown! With that being said, Colorado is way too scorching hot at the moment to be slowed down considerably. Combine this with the Avalanche playing in front of their home crowd, and the struggling Kings will be in for a tough matchup.
Final Kings-Avalanche Prediction & Pick: Avalanche -1.5 (+168)
