Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, NHL Odds
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Edgar Chaput
The Los Angeles Kings are the forgotten Western Conference team in the playoff conversation, but the club is right there in the second Wild Card spot. They survived a Saturday night tilt with the Lightning by winning 4-3 in extra time. The Canucks are the surprise team of the 2023-24. No team has played better than them after entering the season with expectations as low as theirs. They handled the Flames 4-2 on Saturday.
The NHL odds believe the host Canucks will defence home ice tonight. They’re priced at -130 on the moneyline.
Kings vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds
Vancouver has had its hands full in recent games versus L.A. While they won the last meeting 2-1 in overtime, the Californian club had claimed the three before that, including a 5-1 beatdown in Vancouver earlier this season.
The Kings enter this contest with a three-game winning streak under their belt and four successes in five games, although two of those victories were courtesy of pounding the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the worst teams in the NHL. L.A. has been hit-or-miss with the puckline too, going 4-3 in their last seven games. Cam Talbot has found his game in net with the fourth beast GAA (2.44) and third-best save percentage (.917). It would a surprise not to see him play on Monday.
It hasn’t always been obvious against the spread for Vancouver, but overall they’ve still mustered a 39-32 tally through 71 matches. What really hurt them was a dreadful spell from mid-February to early March when they dropped nine in a row. Since then they’ve covered four of seven spreads. More importantly they continue to survive most of their games with Casey DeSmith in net as Thatcher Demko nurses an injury. The offence has been clicking throughout the campaign, as the Canucks average 3.51 goals per match, fifth-best in the NHL.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings partook in what was probably the game of the day on Saturday when the surging Tampa Bay Lightning paid a visit. Both clubs have been playing strong hockey at just the right time of year.
Adrian Kempe got his 22nd of the campaign in the first period from in close, but something would handicap the Kings throughout the match: hanging on late in periods. Tampa tied it with only six seconds left before the break. After Trevor Moore (26) and Mikey Anderson (second) made it a 3-1 game in the third, that’s when the stress factor shot up. The Lightning scored twice through Steven Stamkos, the second with under a minute to go in regulation. That said, the hosts handled OT with swiftness, as Vladislav Gavrikov (sixth) was sent on a breakaway 25 seconds in and sniped a wrister for the 4-3 victory.
Vancouver Canucks
Monday’s game will be the stiffest test in nearly two weeks for the Canucks during this massive nine-game home stand – the seventh of those matches.
The Canucks got to tussle with a decent but unspectacular Sabres side, then swatted away the Canadiens, before finally dowsing the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday night. Truth be told, the outcome wasn’t so obvious for large stretches. Vancouver once again opened the scoring early when Nils Hoglander (21st) tapped in the puck 48 seconds in off some brilliant passing. Hoglander earned himself a brace in the middle frame with a sensational breakaway goal, but the Canucks struggled to put the Flames away.
It was 2-1 when J.T. Miller (34th) finally rocketed a shot on the power play late in the game to finally get some breathing room. Elias Lindholm (14th) also slotted home the puck into a gaping net late.
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