The LA Kings continue their road trip with the second of a back-to-back on Sunday in Columbus.
Projected Lineups
LA Kings (15-11-4)
Here’s how the Kings skated last night:
Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –
Fiala – Kopitar – Kaliyev
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Kempe – Vilardi
Anderson-Dolan – Lizotte – GrundstromAnderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – WalkerCopley
Quick— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 10, 2022
Besides Pheonix Copley getting the start, there were no changes to the lineup after Thursday’s drubbing in Toronto. It came as a bit of a surprise, but it worked.
It’s reasonable to expect some changes given the back-to-back. We should see Jonathan Quick between the pipes while Alex Edler could be given a rest, making way for Tobias Bjornfot. We’ll see what Todd McLellan decides to do.
Columbus Blue Jackets (9-15-2)
Here is how Columbus lined up in their win over Calgary on Friday:
Gaudreau – Jenner – Nyquist
Laine – Roslovic – Chinakhov
Marchenko – Sillinger – Johnson
Robinson – Kuraly – Olivier
Gavrikov – Bjork
Berni – Gudbranson
Christiansen – Peeke
Korpisalo
It appears we’re likely to see the same lineup on Sunday. However, Joonas Korpisalo left the game against Calgary early and is going to miss some time. Elvis Merzlikins should be in net against the Kings.
5-on-5
Here’s how the two teams match up at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick
| Team | CF% | xGF% | SCF% | HDCF% | SH% | SV% | PDO |
| Los Angeles Kings | 51.7 | 52.6 | 52.2 | 51.7 | 8.3 | 0.900 | 0.983 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 45.2 | 46.2 | 44.8 | 44.9 | 9.2 | 0.895 | 0.987 |
There haven’t been many teams this season where LA has had the better 5-on-5 save percentage, but Columbus is having pretty much everything go wrong for them in 2022-23. They’ve battled numerous injuries in the early part of the season and never have been able to get caught up.
Special Teams
The Kings went without a power-play goal for the second straight game on Saturday, but they are still in the top ten at 24.5%. Their penalty kill had a good night in Montreal, killing off all three Canadiens’ power plays, but remains just 26th in the NHL at 72.7%.
Some good news for the LA penalty kill, however, is that they are playing an NHL-worst power play in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have converted just 12.5% of their power play opportunities this season. They are not a team that draws a lot of penalties, their 72 opportunities this season are tied for the fewest in the league.
On the penalty kill, Columbus is better, but still in the bottom third of the league at 77%.
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 9 am ET/6 am PT may have changed since this was published.
The LA Kings come in as road favorites here, with BetRivers offering -135. I actually think potential lineup changes (particularly on the blueline) would make the Kings’ lineup better and more balanced. This number should be more around -150 in my opinion so I’m definitely going to be in on the Kings in this one. If you do prefer the home underdog, FanDuel’s +125 is where you should shop.
The total is 6.5 with a few books offering the Over at Even money while BetRivers’Â -108 is your best bet on the Under.
DraftKings Player Props
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In a game like this with a depleted Blue Jackets’ defense corps, I am looking to the Phillip Danault line with Trevor Moore and Viktor Arvidsson. They’re once again a strong possession line, controlling over 52% of shot attempts and expected goals at 5-on-5. I expect this line to live in the Columbus zone on Sunday. Danault is -140 to register a point while Moore and Arvidsson are -125 and -150 respectively.
We’ll see how the Blue Jackets match things up on Sunday, but the Kings do not have a third-line center. The trio of Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi and Adrian Kempe have been getting killed (40% CF, 33% xGF) when together. It’s simply not working. If Columbus has their Cole Sillinger line matched against them, I think youngster Kent Johnson is a good look to get a point at +115. His linemates, Sillinger and Kirill Marchenko, are each +320 to score.
Good luck, and enjoy the game!
Follow me on Betstamp @JWPatarino!Â
(Main Photo Credit: NHL.com)