After an 0-2 start to the 2022-23 campaign, the LA Kings will hit the road for the next five games, starting on Saturday in Minnesota.
The Kings followed up their disappointing opening night performance with a lackluster 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Projected Lineup
Kempe – Kopitar – Fiala
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Byfield – Vilardi
Grundstrom – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Clarke
Quick
Petersen
Viktor Arvidsson missed the last game due to an illness, he skated on Friday, so it seems he would be likely to draw back in. Though head coach Todd McLellan shook things up in the third period of Thursday’s games, there doesn’t seem to be an indication yet that he’s ready to move on from the original forward lines.
The blue line has been a conversation all summer, and that’s only heated up after two subpar games. We’re likely to see some sort of rotation between Sean Durzi, Sean Walker, and Brandt Clarke mixed between LD2 and RD3. Clarke sat the opener, Durzi was in the press box on Thursday, and it would seem Walker could be next on Saturday to watch the game from above.
In goal, I expected Petersen to make his season debut on Thursday, but the Kings opted to stick with Jonathan Quick after his strong performance on opening night. With Saturday’s tilt being the first of a back-to-back, we’re almost sure to see both goaltenders this weekend. The Wild is the tougher of the two opponents, I’ll lean toward Quick getting the nod tonight.
Of course, we’ll learn more during Saturday’s morning skate.
Minnesota, meanwhile, kicked their season off at home against the New York Rangers on Thursday. Things didn’t go any better for the Wild, going down 3-0 in the opening 20 minutes, ultimately losing 7-3.
Here’s how they lined up on Thursday:
Kaprizov – Hartman – Zuccarello
Jost – Eriksson Ek – Foligno
Gaudreau – Steel – Boldy
Dewar – Rossi – Duhaime
Goligoski – Spurgeon
Brodin – Dumba
Middleton – Addison
Fleury
Gustavsson
As noted, it was an ugly first game, but the team lined up with those same lines at Friday’s practice.
Same lines at @mnwild practice. Everyone here. Greenway working in on some rushes. pic.twitter.com/tBSssBV9Hu
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) October 14, 2022
Betting Odds
Both teams will be looking for better performances on Saturday. Let’s take a look at the odds, courtesy of our partner Betstamp (promo code: hockeyroyalty).
*Note: the odds below are for sports books offered in New York. Refer to available sports books specific to your state.
**Odds as of 11:30 am ET/8:30 am PT and may have changed since this has been published.
After being favored in their first two games, the LA Kings are underdogs against the Wild. It isn’t hard to see why given their 45.51% CF% and 42.02 xGF% so far this season. WynnBet has the best offering at +150 (40% implied probability). Last season, the Kings were one of the best teams in the NHL on the road, boasting a 23-11-7 record away from Crypto.com Arena.
Minnesota is one of the top teams in the Central Division. While the Kings were very good on the road last season, the Wild were among the best at home, going 31-8-2 at Xcel Energy Center. If you like Minnesota, BetRivers‘ -164 (62.1% implied probability) gives you the best odds.
The total is currently set at six goals. DraftKings has our best odds on the Over (-105), while BetRivers’ -108 is the way to go for the Under.
DraftKings Player Props
DraftKings (promo code: THPN)
These two teams made some pretty big news this summer when the Kings acquired forward Kevin Fiala in exchange for a first-round pick and defense prospect, Brock Faber. It’ll be Fiala’s first game back in Minnesota after spending over three seasons in the State of Hockey. That includes his career-best 33 goals, 52 assists, 82 point season in 2021-22.
DraftKings has Fiala at -140 to register a point and is +180 to score a goal in his return to Minnesota.
If the Kings do indeed shuffle the lines, it was Alex Iafallo who spent time back with Anze Kopitar on the team’s top line. Iafallo is +135 to record a point at DraftKings.
Minnesota’s Matt Boldy started his season off hot with two goals against the Rangers in their season opener. He is -110 to pick up a point and is +270 to score a goal.
Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild in goals in 2021-22. While he did not find the back of the net on Thursday, he is +130 to score anytime on Saturday.
Enjoy the game!
Follow me on Betstamp @JWPatarino!
(Main photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today)