LA Kings at Anaheim Ducks projected lineups, odds, notes

The LA Kings visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday in the first of back-to-back games for Los Angeles.

Projected Lineups

LA Kings (30-18-7)

The Kings did not take line rushes on Thursday, but here is how they lined up against Buffalo on Tuesday:

Anaheim Ducks (17-32-6)

The Ducks’ most recent game was also against the Sabres. Here’s how they lined up:

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 51.2 51.8 51.6 52.6 8.1 0.904 0.985
Anaheim Ducks 43.6 40.0 41.6 39.2 7.2 0.906 0.978

This is a pretty lopsided matchup at 5-on-5.

Special Teams

Team PP% PK%
Los Angeles Kings 25.1 75.0
Anaheim Ducks 15.8 74.0

Don’t look now, but the LA Kings have the fourth-best power play in the NHL.

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

As expected, the LA Kings are heavy favorites in this one, with BetRivers offering the best price at -244. FanDuel has the Ducks at +225. The total on the game is 6.5, with BetRivers’ -122 being the best price on the Over; a few books have the Under at +105.

Over the last 25 games, no team has been worse than the Anaheim Ducks at 5-on-5 CF%, xGF%, SCF%, and HDCF%. They’re on a three-game losing streak and show no signs of coming out of it. If you don’t want to lay the -244 on the money line, you can bet the Kings to win in regulation at -155 at BetRivers.

News & Notes

  • This will be the first game for LA Kings’ defenseman Mikey Anderson since signing his eight-year deal.
  • The Kings’ penalty kill still isn’t very good (26th in the NHL), but the good news is they’ll be going up against the league’s worst power play in Anaheim.
  • A pair of LA forwards are back on the ice, but their status for this weekend’s games is uncertain. Gabriel Vilardi is the most likely of the two to return to action either Friday or Saturday. Per LA Kings Insider Zach Dooley, Vilardi took place in some power play drills. Carl Grundstrom, on the other hand, is still in a non-contact jersey and doesn’t appear to be an option in either game this weekend.
  • The Ducks are in the competitive race for Connor Bedard. Anaheim sits in 30th place, two points up on Columbus and three on Chicago.
  • Trevor Zegras’ 33 even strength points would be second only to Kevin Fiala on the LA Kings. Despite the poor team around him, the third-year forward is having a strong season.
  • John Gibson is expected to get the start for Anaheim. In 2022-23, he is 10-22-5 with a 4.05 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. He’s again finding his name in the rumor mill, but with his contract and play, it may not be likely that he gets traded.
  • For months the LA Kings were the only team in a playoff position with a negative goal differential. That can change tonight. They enter Friday with a -1 goal differential.
  • As we get a little closer to the end of the season, something to keep an eye on is Regulation Wins (RW). This will be a standings tie-breaker. Right now, the Kings have 22. Edmonton (28), Seattle (27), and Vegas (26) all have comfortable leads on the Kings, while Calgary (21) and Minnesota (20) are close by.

 

(Main Photo Credit: NHL.com)

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