In their fourth and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings collide at the Staples Center. The action will get going at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 12, and fans at home will be able to view this divisional matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings Odds
Playing the role of favorite will be Calgary (-145), while Los Angeles is an underdog offering moneyline odds of +125,. If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -115 for over 6 scores and +-105 for under under at PointsBet Indiana Sportsbook.
Calgary is 29-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 57 regular season contests, 28 of its games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Flames are 16-14 SU as the road team in 2019-20.
Calgary has converted on 21.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.1 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Calgary has been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game in the 2019-20 season, and 4.6 per game over its past five matchups. The team has had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 17.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Averaging 28.2 saves per game with a .910 save percentage, David Rittich (22-19-5) has been the primary option in goal for Calgary this season. If it chooses to rest him, however, Calgary could roll with Cam Talbot (7-12-1 record, .918 save percentage, 2.72 goals against average).
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk will both be offensive focal points for the visiting Flames. Gaudreau has 45 points via 14 goals and 31 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games. Tkachuk has 19 goals and 26 assists to his name (and has registered a point in 29 games).
Los Angeles is 19-38 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. 31 of its games have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and just four have pushed. This season, the team’s 11-13 SU at home.
Los Angeles has converted on just 16.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 28th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.8 percent of all penalties.
The Kings have been penalized only 3.1 times per game this season, and 2.3 per game over their last ten contests. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 5.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (25.9 saves per game) has been the primary option in the crease for Los Angeles. Quick has 11 wins, 25 losses, and three OT losses and has maintained a fairly-weak .895 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this season.
Anze Kopitar (17 goals, 30 assists) will lead the attack for the Kings.
Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Kings, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Los Angeles’ last five outings.
The Kings are 6-15 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-31 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
Calgary (6-1 in shootouts this season) has more experience in games decided by shootout. Los Angeles is winless in two shootouts this year.
Los Angeles skaters have managed 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 5.3 takeaways per game (ranked 30th overall).
One of the best teams at pressuring their opponents, Calgary is ranked third in the NHL with 8.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the team has created 7.7 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 takeaways over its last five.
Calgary might have an advantage if it’s a tight one late. The team’s an impressive 17-9 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 10-14 in such games.