The Los Angeles Kings can pull into a tie with the Chicago Blackhawks in the best-of-seven Western Conference final on Thursday night with a home victory in Game 4 of the series.
And they don't have to deal with defenceman Duncan Keith, who was suspended for a game after high-sticking Jeff Carter in Game 3. They also know Chicago has lost five of its past seven road games while the Kings have not lost at Staples Centre in these playoffs yet.
The Kings cut the Blackhawks' series lead to 2-1 on Tuesday night with a 3-1 home win as a -114 favorite on the NHL betting lines at the sportsbooks. Slava Voynov scored the winning goal and added an assist for Los Angeles in that Game 3 victory.
The Blackhawks will try to spoil to the party on Thursday; they are 36-7-5 this season, while the Kings are 27-16-5. Chicago is 18-26-4 on the totals; Los Angeles is 19-18-11.
View Chicago vs Los Angeles Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
If you're going with the Kings in this one, they were listed as moneyline favorites of -120 at Sportsbook early today for Thursday's contest. The over-under was at 4.5 earlier at Sportsbook.
Power Rankings:
It's a hockey betting matchup between the No. 5-rated Kings and the No. 1-ranked Blackhawks, according to the latest NHL power poll here at Odds Shark.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Los Angeles' No. 9-ranked offense (2.8 goals per game) against a Blackhawks defense that ranks No. 1 at 2.1 goals per game allowed. The Kings Sportsbook has clicked at a 19.9% rate while the Blackhawks have a 87.2% rate on the penalty kill.
In their last action, Chicago was a 3-1 loser on the road against the Kings. Bettors on Los Angeles at -114 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (4) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well.
Chicago Blackhawks Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
Before playing Edmonton are 5-5
After playing Los Angeles are 6-4
After a loss are 7-3
Los Angeles Kings Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
Before playing Dallas are 5-5
After playing Chicago are 5-5
After a win are 5-5
A few Blackhawks at Kings trends to consider:
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chicago's last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 8 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Chicago is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles' last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles' last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles' last 8 games when playing at home against Chicago
Next up:
Chicago home to Los Angeles, Saturday, June 8
