LA Kings at Vegas Golden Knights projected lineups, odds, notes

The slim hopes of a division title are on the line for the LA Kings on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Projected Lineups

LA Kings (45-23-10)

Here’s how the Kings lined up in their loss to Edmonton on Tuesday:

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Kaliyev
Grundstrom – Kupari – MacEwen

Gavrikov – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Bjornfot – Walker

Copley
Korpisalo

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) April 5, 2023

The goaltender rotation appears back, so I’d expect Joonas Korpisalo in tonight. We’ll see if there are any other changes for Thursday.

Vegas Golden Knights (48-22-8)

Vegas fell to Nashville in overtime on Tuesday; here’s how they skated:

Google translate:

Barbashev—Eichel—Marchessault
Smith—Karlsson—Roy
Dorofeyev—Stephenson—Kessel
Howden—Blueger—Kolesar

Martinez—Pietrangelo
Hutton—Hague
McNabb—Whitecloud

Quick https://t.co/Be5xe5jbjT

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) April 4, 2023

5-on-5

Here’s how the two teams match up at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick

Stop traffic. The LA Kings are up to a .910 5-on-5 save percentage for the season. It is incredible how far they’ve come between the pipes.

Special Teams

The LA power play has come under some heat, but the issues are very recent. Over the past ten games, their power play is 27.6% (good for fifth in the NHL. However, the power play over the last five games is just 8.3% (27th in the NHL). Injuries to key players Gabriel Vilardi and Kevin Fiala haven’t helped, but I don’t think a five-game struggle is worth being concerned about.

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 11 am ET/8 am PT may have changed since the writing of this article.

The Kings enter Thursday as slight underdogs, with BetRivers’ +110 being the best price. The Golden Knights are -120 at a handful of books. The total on the game is six at most spots, with -110 being the best price on the Over at a few shops, and the Under -106 is the best at BetRivers. Currently, FanDuel lists the total at 6.5, with the Over at +112 and the Under listed as -138.

Vegas’ metrics at 5-on-5 over the past 25 games have not been good (46% CF%, 48% xGF% per Natural Stat Trick), but given the severity of the injuries to LA, I think this is priced about where it should be.

News & Notes

• The LA Kings called up Jordan Spence on an emergency basis on Wednesday. With injuries to defensemen Mikey Anderson and Alex Edler, there’s a chance Spence will find his way into the lineup on Thursday. Tobias Bjornfot played on the third pair with Sean Walker on Tuesday.
• While both teams have clinched, the Pacific Division is still up for grabs. Vegas currently leads with 104 points, but Edmonton picked up two points in Anaheim on Wednesday to pull within one at 103. Los Angeles has slipped a bit late and is now four points back of Vegas and three behind Edmonton with 100.
• The Kings have struggled to create offense over the past five games. The top two lines have come under some scrutiny as the Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield, and Adrian Kempe line has combined for just three points while Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore, and Viktor Arvidsson have combined for the same. It’s only five games, but the team will need those lines clicking if they want to reclaim home ice heading into playoffs.
• Longtime Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick played in Nashville on Tuesday, so I wouldn’t expect to see him in net against LA. In his eight starts with Vegas, Quick is 5-2-1 with a 3.43 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit is likely to get the nod on Thursday.
• Things are tight-lipped around injuries as it is in the NHL, particularly in Los Angeles; don’t expect that to be any different as we approach playoff time. As of this writing, we do not have an update on Kevin Fiala, Mikey Anderson, or Gabriel Vilardi.

(Main Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)