A couple of teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche clash at Falcon Stadium. NBC will air this Western Conference matchup, and the opening face-off takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 15.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Playing the role of sizable favorite will be Colorado (-220), while Los Angeles is an underdog showing moneyline odds of +180 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. If you want to play this matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -105 money on the over and -115 for the under at Fanduel New Jersey Sportsbook.
The Avalanche are 33-23 straight up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 4.4 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 38-44 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Through 56 regular season matches, 28 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 15-12 SU at home this year.
Colorado’s converted on 19.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 22nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Colorado has been whistled for penalties 3.7 times per game overall this season, 4.0 per game over its past five matchups total, and 3.4 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays for 8.9 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .915 save percentage and 27.5 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (19-16-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Avalanche this year. If they choose to give him the evening off, however, head coach Jared Bednar could roll with Pavel Francouz (14-7-7 record, .925 save percentage, 2.42 goals against average).
Nathan MacKinnon and Andre Burakovsky will both lead the offensive attack for the Avalanche. MacKinnon (80 points) has put up 32 goals and 48 assists and has recorded two or more points on 23 separate occasions this year. Burakovsky has 18 goals and 25 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 25 contests.
In the other locker room, Los Angeles is 20-38 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 58 regular season matches, 31 of its games have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just four have pushed. As a road team , Los Angeles is 8-25 SU.
Los Angeles has converted on just 16.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.3 percent of all penalties.
Los Angeles’ skaters have been called for penalties only 3.1 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (.895 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Los Angeles. Quick is averaging 25.9 saves per game and has 11 wins, 25 losses, and three OT losses to his credit.
Anze Kopitar (17 goals, 32 assists) has been one of the primary playmaking threats for the visiting Kings.
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The total has gone under in each of Colorado’s last five games.
This game features two clubs that force a lot of shots on goal. Los Angeles has attempted the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (33.9) and Colorado has attempted the seventh-most (32.9).
Penalties and power plays may have a key role in tonight’s game. The Kings are 7-15 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-31 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Avalanche are 18-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 24-10 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Colorado is ranked 10th overall with 8.2 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as the team has created 6.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
Los Angeles skaters have averaged 4.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.2 takeaways per game (ranked 31st overall).