Some fierce NHL action will be all of the talk on this Thursday as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Los Angeles Kings. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Penguins-Kings prediction and pick will be revealed.
After losing a pair of games in a row, it has been proven that the Penguins can get swiftly get back on track. Since their losing ways, Pittsburgh has reeled off back-to-back wins and are trending in the right direction including a 2-0 shutout victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Overall, the ‘Pens are 5-6-0 eleven games into the season.
Meanwhile, the Kings are fresh off a dominating 4-1 road victory over the Vegas Golden Knights and have certainly made a statement over the course of their past few games. Impressively enough, Los Angeles has found themselves in the midst of a four-game winning and are an elite 8-2-2 thus far.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Penguins-Kings Odds
Pittsburgh Penguins: +1.5 (-215)
Los Angeles Kings: -1.5 (+176)
Over: 6.5 (-138)
Under: 6.5 (+112)
How to Watch Penguins vs. Kings
Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Penguins Will Cover The Spread/Win
Although the Penguins have been playing stellar hockey of late, they will need all of their hands on deck if they are going to prevail and cover the spread. Indeed, all eyes will be on stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, but the biggest question mark surrounding the Penguins heading into this Thursday night tilt will be surrounding their number-one goalie in Tristan Jarry. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it was Jarry that was forced to exit their last game in the second period and his availability on the ice is up in the air for the foreseeable future.
Obviously, this is a glaring concern for Pittsburgh, but fear not Penguins bettors! The extraordinary play of Sidney Crosby continues to amaze the hockey world as he is riding a six-game point streak with three goals and seven assists combined over that span. Just as encouraging has been Malkin and Letang leaving no crumbs out on the ice as both have also been sizzling lately. This three-headed monster that exists in Pittsburgh is no joke, and if this trio continues to operate at high capacity, then they will continue to be a tough team to beat even if their record isn't very flashy at the moment.
All in all, be on the lookout for backup goalie Magnum Hellburg to fill in the rather large shoes of Tristan Jarry to help his squad continue their winning streak. If Hellburg isn't sharp from the opening face-off, then covering the spread in a hostile environment will prove to be difficult.
Why The Kings Will Cover The Spread/Win
So far, so good! Despite the regular season still being extremely young in the month of November, the Kings have already looked the part of a bonafide contender. Over the course of their four-game winning streak, many of those matchups have come on the road, but this squad now returns to the City of Angels to begin four straight contests on their home ice. Will more success be in store at Crypto.com Arena starting with his showdown against the Penguins on this Thursday night?
Most importantly, the biggest reason that the Kings will take care of business later this evening will be their ability to find productive offense from a slew of names within that locker room. For example, LA saw five different names that found the back of the net last Saturday against the Flyers, and their continued balance on the offensive side of the ice should continue to be one of LA's more stronger attributes.
Similarly to Pittsburgh, the possibility of covering the spread and not will ultimately fall on the shoulders of goaltender Pheonix Copley who has certainly experienced his fair struggles this season. After it was Cam Talbot who stringed together his fifth-consecutive start in a row on Wednesday, the Kings will need Copley to turn things around in a big way starting tonight. In his three starts on the year, Copley has posted a sluggish 4.98 GAA and possesses a disturbing .788 save percentage. As ugly as these numbers are to the naked eye, the Kings have no other option to depend on the 31-year-old backup netminder to put together one of his better starts of the season.
Final Penguins-Kings Prediction & Pick
Both teams enter this contest with some positive play, but at the end of the day, the Kings on their home ice will prove to be too much to overcome.
Final Penguins-Kings Prediction & Pick: Kings -1.5 (+176)