LA Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins projected lineups & betting preview

The first three games of the LA Kings‘ five-game road trip have all ended in wins, including Tuesday’s thriller in Nashville. The Penguins in Pittsburgh are next for the Kings.

Projected Lineups

LA Kings (3-2)

Kempe – Kopitar – Fiala
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Kaliyev – Byfield – Vilardi
Lemieux – Lizotte – Grundstrom

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Clarke – Walker

Petersen
Quick

The injury to Alex Iafallo opened up a spot on the third line, which was initially occupied by Carl Grunstrom on Tuesday. However, trailing by two entering the third, head coach Todd McLellan put Arthur Kaliyev with Quinton Byfield and the red-hot Gabriel Vilardi in an effort to spark some more offense. While the trio only played 1:51 together, I wouldn’t be surprised to see McLellan roll them out from the start on Thursday.

While Brandt Clarke did take a couple of penalties that showed he’s still getting adjusted to the NHL, he was again strong in his 11:22 of 5-on-5 play. Per MoneyPuck, the 19-year-old had a 68.2% xGF% and 56.5% CF% at 5-on-5. We’ll see if the penalties lead McLellan to make a change, but his overall play has been strong. Alexander Edler is still day-to-day and fellow left-shot defenseman Jacob Moverare is also an option for today.

Conventional wisdom would have Jonathan Quick as the favorite to get the start, but I wouldn’t count Cal Petersen out. After the game in Nashville, McLellan said, “So, for as much it’s been talked that he’s got to find his game, he’s won two twice, and that’s a real good thing. I think he started to settle in.” This isn’t a back-to-back situation, and sure, Petersen was inconsistent as a whole on Tuesday, he ended strong, McLellan may see if he’s got a hot hand he can ride. It’s also not as if Quick has been great to start at 1-2 with a 3.73 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2-0-1)

Here’s how the Pens lined up at Wednesday’s practice:

Penguins' lines and D-pairings remain unchanged:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Heinen-Carter-Kapanen
McGinn-Poehling-Archibald

Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Petry
Joseph-Rutta
Blueger-Ruhwedel

— Danny Shirey (@DannyShireyPGH) October 19, 2022

After winning their first two games of the season and then jumping out to a two-goal lead on two Evgeni Malkin first-period goals in Montreal, the Penguins allowed two third-period goals before losing in Overtime.

Casey DeSmith got the start on Monday, so I’d expect starter Tristian Jarry to be back in net against the Kings. Jarry is 2-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.

Betting Odds

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 10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT and may have changed since this has been published.

Unsurprisingly, the LA Kings head into PPG Paints Arena as underdogs. WynnBet’s +160 (38.5% implied probability) is your best bet if you are looking to ride the LA winning streak. During the three-game stretch, the Kings have a 48.9 CF% and 52.2 xGF% at 5-on-5 (per Natural Stat Trick). 

The concerns with LA are still there, namely the goaltending. Both Petersen (-2.6) and Quick (-0.9) are off to less-than-ideal starts in the goals-saved above-expected category. It’s been an encouraging start for their offense, though, as their 13 goals at 5-on-5 are second in the NHL.

LA is going up against a stingy team in Pittsburgh, whose two goals against at 5-on-5 are tied for the league best. The total in this game is 6.5, and I’d expect the Kings to try and get back to their roots, clog the neutral zone and slow down a dangerous Penguins offense. The under is +100 at WynnBet.

Pittsburgh is off to another good start, picking up points in all three games. Their 53.2% CF% at 5-on-5 is good for 11th in the NHL, while their 66.2% xGF% is second in the league. If you’re confident in a Pens bounce back, and the Kings hit a wall on this road trip, BetRivers’ -182 (64.5% implied probability) is your best bet.

DraftKings Player Props

Sponsored by DraftKings (promo code THPN)

As long as Gabriel Vilardi keeps doing it, you might as well tag along. It helps that he was back on the top power play unit on Thursday. The surging winger is +475 to record a powerplay point against the Pens.

With as much buzz as there’s been about Vilardi’s start, Adrian Kempe‘s four goals and six points in five games aren’t being talked about as much as they should be. The line of him, Anze Kopitar, and Kevin Fiala have combined for 17 points in the early going. Kempe is +170 to score on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down. The 35-year-old future Hall of Famer leads the Penguins with a pair of goals and six total points in three games. He is +145 to score a goal and -120 to pick up an assist.

Former LA Kings center Jeff Carter anchors the third line and gets reps on the second powerplay unit. He is +280 to score a goal.

Good luck and enjoy the game!

Follow me on Betstamp @JWPatarino!