Kings vs Wild Prediction

pickdawgz.com

19 October 2023

The Los Angeles Kings will play the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Los Angeles got their first win of the year in their last game, while Minnesota has won two of their first three games.

Kings Preview

The Los Angeles Kings are 1-1-1 this year after they defeated the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-1 in their last game. Los Angeles led 2-0 after the first period and they extended the lead to 5-0 in the third, but they allowed a late goal to lose the shutout. The Kings out shot Winnipeg by a total of 29-27 and went 1-5 on the power play in the win. Los Angeles lost their first two games to Colorado and Carolina, but were able to get in the win column against the Jets. The LA Kings are scoring 4.00 goals per game and they are allowing 3.67 goals against per game, while going 17.6% on the power play and 90.9% on the penalty kill. Trevor Moore has led the Kings this year with three goals, one assist, and nine shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Los Angeles is Cam Talbot, who is 1-1-0 this year with a 2.51 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

Wild Preview

The Minnesota Wild are 2-1-0 this season after they defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-2 in their last game. Minnesota led 3-0 in the second period and 5-1 in the third period, as they coasted to the win. The Wild out shot Montreal by a total of 35-28 and went 3-8 on the power play. Minnesota started the season by defeating Florida and losing to Toronto in their first two games. The Minnesota Wild are scoring 3.67 goals per game and they are allowing 3.00 goals against per game, while going 30.8% on the power play and 81.8% on the penalty kill this year. Kirill Kaprizov has led the Wild with one goal, four assists, and 12 shots on goal this season. The projected starting goalie for Minnesota is Filip Gustavsson, who is 1-1-0 this year with a 3.50 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Minnesota Wild Team Facts

The Wild have lost four of their last five games as favorites following a road win.
The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in seven of their last eight games at Xcel Energy Center following a road win.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 3' market has hit in each of the Wild's last six games as favorites against Western Conference opponents.
The Wild have lost the second period in five of their last six games against Western Conference opponents.

Los Angeles Kings Team Facts

The Kings have lost five of their last six games.
The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six night games at Xcel Energy Center following a road win.
The favorites have won the first period in four of the Kings' last five games.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 2' market has hit in each of the Kings' last eight games as underdogs.

Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts

Kirill Kaprizov has scored a goal in five of the Wild's last six home games against the Kings.
Marcus Foligno has recorded a point in each of his last four appearances with the Wild as favorites against the Kings.
Joel Eriksson Ek has recorded at least one assist in four of his last five appearances against Western Conference opponents.
Kirill Kaprizov ranks T1st in the league for Power Play Points (4) this season.

Los Angeles Kings Player Prop Facts

Adrian Kempe has scored at least one goal in three of the Kings' last four games at Xcel Energy Center.
Adrian Kempe has recorded at least one point in each of the Kings' last four games at Xcel Energy Center.
Kevin Fiala has recorded at least one assist in six of his last seven appearances after playing less than 20 minutes in the Kings' last game.
Arthur Kaliyev has the highest Plus/Minus for the Kings this season (+3).

Matchup/League Facts

The Minnesota Wild ranks T1st in the league in short handed goals allowed this season (0).
The Minnesota Wild ranks 2nd in the league in short handed goals this season (2).
The Los Angeles Kings ranks 2nd in the league for goals in Period 2 per game this season (2.00).
The Los Angeles Kings ranks T3rd in the league for goals in Period 3 per game this season (1.67).

Pick

The Kings played well in their last game, erupting for five goals against the Jets. Los Angeles is 1-1-1 so far this year, but they have lost to two very good teams (CAR, COL). Minnesota has won two of three games so far this season and they have scored 11 goals in the process. This should be a very entertaining game, but I am going with the Wild at home in this one. Minnesota shut out Florida in their other home game and is a better offensive team than Winnipeg is. Take the Wild at home here.