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While viewers on the east coast may be in for a late-night, the Boston Bruins will travel nearly 3,000 miles to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Bruins-Kings prediction and pick will be unveiled.
Owning the most points in the NHL with 60, the Bruins could not be possibly playing any better at this point in time. Fresh off of a low-scoring 2-1 affair that resulted in a victory over the Penguins, Boston has only lost four games in regulation with a record of 29-4-4 and are on a mission to capture their first Lord Stanley trophy since 2011.
The Kings passed a major test en route to their magnificent 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and will be faced with another hefty task against a lethal Boston Bruins squad. While it won’t be easy, LA has in fact won three of their four previous matchups and seem to be trending in the right direction moving forward no matter what ends up occurring later tonight.
Here are the Bruins-Kings NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Bruins-Kings Odds
Boston Bruins: -1.5 (+160)
Los Angeles Kings: +1.5 (-200)
Over: 6 (-110)
Under: 6 (-110)
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Why The Bruins Could Cover The Spread
It is hard not to be in awe by the way this Bruins roster plays the game of hockey, as their near-flawless approach to the game plan rarely goes awry. Believe it or not, Boston has come away with at least a point in its last 11 games.
In order for the Bruins to cover the spread against the Kings and improve their overall mark ATS to 23-14, Boston will need to have a repeated effort in the third period if they are unable to get off to a super quick start. At first glance, the Bruins boast the most third-period goals to go along with a league-leading goal-differential. Alas, the Bruins are as clutch as it gets when the game is hanging in the balance as they almost always find a way to get the job done when it is needed the most. Because of this, Boston’s recipe for success will be to stymie the Kings early and avoid what happened the last time these two sides faced off when Boston jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and failed to close the door in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss.
Other than avoiding an epic collapse in the later periods of this one, Boston is lucky to have right-winger David Pastrnak, who remains one of the top skaters on the face of the Earth. Not to mention, Pastrnak ranks within the top ten of the league in goals scored and points recorded. Surprisingly, Pastrnak was shut out in the win versus Pittsburgh and failed to establish a rhythm on the ice. Expect that to not be the case later tonight, as Pastrnak may end up burying the Kings alive with a flurry of scoring and passing prowess.
Why The Kings Could Cover The Spread
Slowly but very surely, the Kings are beginning to prove their haters wrong and are all of a sudden starting to get caught up in the art of winning. While the Kings enter this one as massive underdogs, Los Angeles had the last laugh against the Bruins back on Dec. 15th and are playing as well as any other team in the National Hockey League.
For starters, even though the Kings will be playing this one at their home arena where they have gone a respectable 12-6-2 record, Los Angeles cannot afford to make a slew of mistakes that will prove to be too costly to overcome. To begin, the Kings winning DNA has taken shape by finding a diamond in the rough in goalie Pheonix Copley, as he is fresh off of stonewalling the Stars with 28 saves on 30 shots overall.
It is hard to argue against the case that Copley should remain as the starting goaltender for this Kings bunch and it’s becoming obvious that it is Copley’s job to lose. Tasked with going up against an offense in the Bruins that is averaging a whopping 3.73 goals per game, Copley will definitely have his hands full.
On the other side of things, Los Angeles’ offense will need to get some good looks in order to prevail. Statistically, the Kings don’t boast the offensive firepower compared to other teams around the league, but they are a steady unit that isn’t afraid of the task at hand. Be on the lookout for Kevin Fiala to continue his torrid tear with his club-leading 29 assists on the season. Simply put, Fiala has put on an absolute show this year and will be a menacing threat against Boston if LA can draw up the game plan around him.
Final Bruins-Kings Prediction & Pick
Not only is Boston and Los Angeles two of the biggest cities in America, but this epic showdown will feel colossal when the puck finally drops. However, despite the Kings playing some of their best hockey of the still young season, it would be wise to side with a Bruins squad that is clearly playing on a whole other level right now.
Final Bruins-Kings Prediction & Pick: Bruins -1.5 (+160)
How To Watch Bruins vs. Kings
TV: NHLPP/ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT