Los Angeles Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview, and Odds

Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas - Championship Sunday

The Los Angeles Kings will go on the road and take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Los Angeles has a record of 28-17-6. Tampa Bay has a record of 31-15-1. Both of these teams faced each other once this season with Los Angeles winning the matchup. The puck drops at 7 PM EST.

Kings On Back To Back

Los Angeles is on the back end of a road back-to-back. They were a +120 underdog in their previous game but they defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3. Adrian Kempe scored a goal and had an assist. Anze Kopitar, Viktor Arvidsson, and Matt Roy each scored a goal. Pheonix Copley stopped a whopping 45 out of 48 shots faced.

Los Angeles has been good on offense recently. They scored four or more goals in five of the last nine games. Los Angeles ranks 14 in goals per game and 11 in shots per game. Kevin Fiala leads the team with 51 points. Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 20 goals. Anze Kopitar has 40 points. Philip Danault has 35 points and Viktor Arvidsson and Kempe each have 34 points.

The defense has been very good but goaltending has been rocky for LA this season. They rank 22 in goals against per game and sixth in shots against per game. Pheonix Copley has a record of 15-3-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .901 SV%. Jonathan Quick has a record of 8-11-4 with a 3.34 GAA and a .884 SV%.

Lightning Win Two Straight

Tampa Bay had a -110 odd in their previous game and defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2. Nikita Kucherov had three assists. Brayden Point scored a goal and had two assists. Victor Hedman and Brandon Hagel each scored a goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp in the game, stopping 37 out of 39 shots faced.

The offense has been very good for the Lightning this season. Tampa Bay ranks fifth in goals per game and 14 in shots per game. They scored four or more goals in six of their last nine games. Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 71 points. He has recorded one or more points in nine out of the last 10 games. Kucherov ranks third in points and first in assists among all players in the league. Brayden Point leads the Lightning with 28 goals.

Defense and goaltending have both been good for Tampa Bay this season. They rank 14 in goals against per game and 16 in shots against per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a record of 22-12-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .918 SV%. Brian Elliott has a record of 9-3-0 with a 3.07 GAA and .903 SV%. Victor Hedman has 32 points.

Best Bets

Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

Tampa Bay has been excellent at home this season. They have a 19-4-1 home record on the year. Tampa Bay has dominated the Kings in recent meetings. The Lighting are 9-1-0 in the last 10 games against LA. Tampa Bay has won six straight home games against the Kings. Offense and goaltending are two big advantages for Tampa Bay. The Lightning rank fifth in goals per game and 14th in goals against per game. The Kings rank 14th in goals per game and 22nd in goals against per game. Playing at home, Tampa Bay will win this matchup by two or more goals.

Bet the goal spread (-1.5) and take Tampa Bay.

Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning (-1.5)

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

Both teams have a good offense. The Kings scored three or more goals in six of the last 10 games. Los Angeles ranks 14th in goals per game and 11th in shots per game. Tampa Bay ranks fifth in goals per game and 14th in shots per game. They scored four or more goals in six of their last nine games. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning with 71 points. He has recorded one or more points in nine out of the last 10 games. Kucherov ranks third in points and first in assists among all players in the league. The over has hit in 14 out of 24 home games for the Lightning this season and the over is 6-2 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams. Both teams have been good on offense and the over will hit in this matchup.

Take the over, six goals.

Prediction: Over 6

Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports, especially football, and basketball. This led to an interest in research and stats for fantasy sports, which quickly led to a successful career as a sports bettor. His passion has produced multiple tournament wins with generous earnings and he has combined that with his talented writing skills to join our team here at StatSalt. James graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business and has used his overall knowledge of sports betting to make him one to follow each and every day.