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Kings vs. Lightning Prediction and Odds: Don't Underestimate Los Angeles

By Iain MacMillan

The Kings are set to take on the Lightning in Tuesday night NHL action.
The Kings are set to take on the Lightning in Tuesday night NHL action. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the middle of a battle for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. At 38 points, the Lightning are sitting two points back from the Panthers and Leafs, but a win tonight against the Los Angeles Kings would go a long way.

Meanwhile, the Kings are trying to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in over the past month of action. They're in sixth place in the Pacific Division but have won two straight games ahead of tonight's contest.

Let's take a look at the odds via WynnBET for this interconference matchup.

Kings vs. Lightning Odds and Total

Moneyline:

  • Kings: +175
  • Lightning: -200

Puck line:

  • Kings: +1.5 (-145)
  • Lightning: -1.5 (+125)

Total:

  • 5.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Kings vs. Lightning Betting Trends

  • The UNDER is 4-1 in the Kings last five games.
  • Lightning are 8-0 in their last eight games against the Kings.
  • Lightning are 6-1 in their last seven home games.

Kings vs. Lightning Prediction and Pick

The Los Angeles Kings aren't nearly as bad as their record might indicate. They rank in the top of the NHL in things like CORSI% and high danger scoring chances. They're even eighth in team save percentage. The large majority of their woes have been caused by their lack of accuracy with their shots. They rank 29th in the NHL in shooting percentage, finding the back of the net on only 7.48 of shot attempts.

Still, they have a tall order infront of them if they want to hang with the Lightning. Tampa Bay may not get a lot of shots on net, but that's because their offensive style based more on creating high quality chances instead of just firing pucks from anywhere they can. That's displayed by the fact that they rank 25th in shots per 60 minutes, but sixth in high danger scoring chances.

Nobody wants to lay -200 juice (bet $200 to profit $100) on an NHL game, so this might be the rare time that I back the underdog on the puck line. I think the Kings may be able to keep it close tonight with the Lightning.

Pick: Kings +1.5 (-145)

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