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The Minnesota Wild (18-4-4) take on the LA Kings (15-8-3) Saturday evening. Puck drop from Crypto.com Arena is set for 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Wild vs. Kings odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: Kings lead 1-0
Minnesota is runnin’ Wild after its fifth straight victory Friday. The Wild tamed the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 as -197 road favorites. RW Kirill Kaprizov scored his 17th goal of the season, and C Marco Rossi put a couple in the net to give him 9 on the year. The Wild are playing good hockey, and coupled with Winnipeg’s slide, the Wild now lead the Central Division.
The Kings are rollin’ as well, winners of 4 straight after a 3-2 comeback win over the Dallas Stars Wednesday. They got down 2-0 after a period and scored the final 3 goals of the game with LW Warren Foegele scoring the winner early in the third.
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Wild 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 1:45 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Wild +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Kings -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Wild +1.5 (-185) | Kings -1.5 (+150)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Wild at Kings projected goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury (5-0-1, 2.64 GAA, .905 SV%) vs. David Rittich (10-6-0, 2.45 GAA, .891 SV%)
The Flower makes his first start since Nov. 29, when he beat the Chicago Blackhawks and stopped 21 of 23 fired his way. He has won 5 straight starts and allowed 12 goals combined in the process. The Kings roughed him up in 2 starts last season, both losses, to a tune of a 7.02 GAA and .756 SV%.
Rittich has been really good. If you take away a 7-goal outing against San Jose Nov. 25, he allowed 11 goals in his last 8 starts. Aside from that 7-goal clunker, he has not allowed more than 2 goals in any start since October.
Wild at Kings picks and predictions
Prediction
Kings 3, Wild 2
Moneyline
If Minnesota wasn’t on a back-to-back with its backup in net, it would be favored, or this would at least be a -110 pick ’em. I think this goes to overtime, and the Kings outlast it.
Though I don’t love the price, the KINGS -160 are the play.
Puck line/Against the spread
I’m going with KIRILL KAPRIZOV UNDER 3.5 SHOTS (-115) here. The Kings are a heavy, defense-oriented team that held him to 1 SOG in the first meeting this season. He will be a focus again Saturday.
Over/Under
The juice went onto the Under as this was being published. And that’s where I was leaning. The Wild are 4-6 O/U in their last 10, and the Kings are 2-7-1. Both goalies are playing really well, and I don’t see either of them surrendering the 4 goals required to cash an Over.
Take the UNDER 5.5 (-115).
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