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The Edmonton Oilers (21-11-2) visit the Los Angeles Kings (19-10-5) Saturday in NHL action. Puck drop from LA’s Crypto.com Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Oilers vs. Kings odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: First meeting of season. Edmonton won 3-1 last regular season and 4-1 in their playoff series.
Just 1 point separates these Pacific Division rivals, who both begin a back-to-back this weekend following the league’s extended holiday break.
This marquee Western Conference clash positions 2 clubs who traveled in divergent directions before the vacation.
The Oilers have won 8 of their past 9 games, most recently toppling the Ottawa Senators 3-1 Sunday. Contrarily, Los Angeles has lost 4 of its past 6 outings, including 2 straight defeats, most recently 3-1 to the Washington Capitals Sunday.
A refreshed Connor McDavid–Leon Draisaitl pair would scare any opponent, but are the Kings in a position to change their momentum?
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Oilers at Kings odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NHL odds. Lines last updated at 9:20 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Oilers -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Kings +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Oilers -1.5 (+185) | Kings +1.5 (-225)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
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Oilers at Kings projected goalies
Stuart Skinner (13-8-2, 2.85 GAA, .895 SV%) vs. Darcy Kuemper (8-2-5, 2.40 GAA, .911 SV%)
Friday reports confirmed the Edmonton native will tend the goal, with Calvin Packard likely suiting up Sunday to give him a breather. Skinner has allowed 2 or fewer goals in 8 of his past 10 games and has won 5 of his 7 December assignments. Packard will continue to test this arrangement, though, having ranked tied for 6th with a 2.38 GAA. Skinner went 3-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and .937 SV% in 4 regular-season starts against the Kings last year.
The Kings’ starter is unconfirmed, but Kuemper has played in 6 of LA’s last 7 games, slotting him (at least temporarily) over backup David Rittich in neutral conditions.
LA should be fine regardless of who starts: Both netminders rank top-15 in GAA (Kuemper T-8, Rittich 13) and have helped prop up LA’s season with their stonewall tendencies. Kuemper is 4-0-2 with a 1.99 GAA and .924 SV% in December. He allowed 7 goals on 37 shots in his only meeting with Edmonton last season while with the Washington Capitals.
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Oilers at Kings picks and predictions
Prediction
Kings 3, Oilers 2
Moneyline
LA is 10-2-1 at home this year, and the Kings’ goaltending duo should do enough to contain Edmonton’s attack.
As of Friday night rankings on Moneypuck, the Kings lead the NHL in xGoals% (57.15), while Edmonton ranks 4th (54.11).
The trading team predicts the Kings’ recent woes to resurface as regular-season action resumes, but Adrian Kempe is shooting at a career-best 17.2% accuracy and remains capable of carrying his forecheck to match McDavid-Draisaitl and Co.
Take the KINGS +115.
Puck line/Against the spread
The BetMGM traders and bettors have leaned heavily on the Oilers to win but the Kings to keep it close, based on the lack of Edmonton ML value and the typically negatively juiced underdog puck line.
Honestly, the MGM offerings for the 3 main categories do not entice this bettor, especially since the ATS lines follow an uninspiring script.
PASS.
Over/Under
Though both clubs are crushing the xG% category, we’ll buck that trend — maybe acting too naively on the market’s generous offer.
The goaltending has been solid-to-awesome on both sides, and the defenses should be rested coming off the long break.
You can get nominal plus-odds value at some books for an Under 5.5, but we’d prefer to pay a little more for that extra insurance and take the UNDER 6 (-120).
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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