The LA Kings welcome the Western Conference’s top team, the Dallas Stars, to town on Tuesday.

Projected Lineups

LA Kings (21-12-6)

Here is how the Kings skated during Monday’s practice:

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Iafallo – Danault – Arvidsson
Fiala – Lizotte – Vilardi
Lemieux – Kupari – Grundstrom – Anderson-Dolan

Anderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – Walker

Copley
Quick

It appears it’ll be a pretty similar look to what LA went with against Philadelphia on Saturday. I’d expect Pheonix Copley to get the start in goal on Tuesday.

Dallas Stars (23-9-6)

Here’s how Dallas lined up against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday:

It should be noted that Denis Gurianov skated on Monday. He has missed some time recently due to a personal issue, and it remains to be seen if he’ll be available for Tuesday’s game.

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
Dallas Stars 51.3 51.2 53.2 51.8 8.9 0.925 1.014
Los Angeles Kings 51.7 52.8 51.8 52.2 8.1 0.908 0.989

The Stars have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference all season. However, in most of the key possession metrics, the Kings are right there with them. The big difference is, of course, the goaltending. Dallas’ Jake Oettinger has picked up where he left off in last year’s postseason with a .921 save percentage (3rd in the NHL) and 9.8 GSAx (10th per MoneyPuck.com).

Special Teams

Team PP% PK%
Dallas Stars 28.8 83.7
Los Angeles Kings 23.2 71.6

While the Stars’ 5-on-5 numbers are above average to good, their Special Teams are excellent. They boast the number two power play in the league and the number four penalty kill. Given how much the LA penalty kill has struggled (they’ve allowed a goal in ten straight games), it’ll be imperative that they play this game at even strength.

Betting Odds

Let’s look at the odds, courtesy of Betstamp.

*Note: the odds below are for sports books offered in New York. Refer to available sports books specific to your state.

**Odds as of 9:30 am ET/6:30 am PT may have changed since this was published.

Via Betstamp

The LA Kings are home underdogs in this one, with BetRivers offering +112. This opened around the +105 number that we’re seeing in the rest of the market. I’d be hesitant to play it at +105, but if Pheonix Copley is in goal, the +112 is much closer to a number that I could get behind.

For Dallas, the best price is -122 at FanDuel. The total on the game is six across the board, with BetRivers offering the Over at -118 while multiple books have the Under at Even Money.

News & Notes

  • Per LA Kings Insider, Zack Dooley, Arthur Kaliyev, and Trevor Moore both remain day to day. Neither took the ice on Monday.
  • Dallas’ +33 goal differential is tops in the Western Conference and second only to the Boston Bruins in the NHL. The Kings remain the only team currently in a playoff position with a negative differential (-9).
  • Only two teams in the NHL (San Jose and Anaheim) have allowed more goals than the LA Kings this season.
  • In the first meeting between the two teams, Dallas held a 54% CF% advantage, while the Kings had the edge in expected goals (52% xGF%) at 5-on-5 (per Natural Stat Trick).
  • Phillip Danault is currently riding a seven-game point streak, notching five goals and four assists during the seven games.
  • Danault’s linemates, Alex Iafallo and Viktor Arvidsson have been hot as well lately. Iafallo just had a five-game point streak of his own snapped during the loss to Philadelphia, while Arvidsson has six points (1G, 5A) in his last three games.
  • Dallas brings a four-game winning streak into Los Angeles, with their most recent coming on Saturday against San Jose. They’ve also knocked off Minnesota, Nashville, and Montreal during this stretch. They have not given up more than two goals in any of the last four games.
  • At 25 goals and 54 points, Jason Robertson is third in the NHL in scoring.
  • Longtime Kings nemesis Joe Pavelski inked a one-year contract extension with the Stars on Monday.

 

(Main Photo Credit: NHL.com)

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