The Los Angeles Kings take on the Minnesota Wild for the sixth time this season on Friday night. The Kings shut out the Wild 4-0 last week and have won six games in a row, but the Wild are on a four-game winning streak and have beaten the Kings in three of the five meetings this year.
- Date/Time: February 26, 8 p.m. ET
- Arena: Xcel Energy Center
- TV Coverage: FSN
- Sportsbook Odds: Wild -154 | O/U 5.5 (Line History)
- Kings vs Wild Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The game opened with the Wild as favorites at -154 and the line has shifted into the -165 to -170 range depending on the sportsbook. The total opened at 5.5 and has stayed at that number with the UNDER the favorite in the -115 to -125 range.
Los Angeles News & Notes
Amid a season when they are supposed to be developing and rebuilding for the future, the Kings find themselves on a six-game winning streak. The resurgence is led in part by a pair of veteran forwards having great starts to their seasons.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown have 21 and 17 points respectively in 18 games, with Brown putting up 11 goals in that span. The pair are on pace for career seasons and have sizable leads in the team scoring race.
Overall offensive pressure is still a work-in-progress for the young team as only two clubs have fewer high-danger chances and only one team has fewer overall chances this season.
The goaltending has also been a bright spot, particularly Cal Petersen, who before this year had just 19 games played. Petersen has split duties with longtime starter Jonathan Quick and has posted a 4-4-1 record with a stellar .931 save percentage.
Minnesota News & Notes
It has been a tough start to the season for the Wild as COVID-19 protocol has forced multiple postponements and caused several players to miss games. Only seven players on the team have played in all 16 games.
The underlying numbers have been fantastic for the Wild, who are generating offense at a high rate while not giving up much defensively. The Wild rank seventh in the league in both goals for percentage and overall scoring chances at even strength and they rank second in high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5.
The Wild have been getting it done by committee, however, as only three players have more than nine points. Rookie winger Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 15 points.
One of the more prominent players to miss games in COVID-19 protocol has been starting goalie Cam Talbot. Talbot has played in just five games this season but returned this week and may get his first start in a few weeks in this game.
Betting Pick: Wild -170
The Kings are on a nice little streak, but the Wild are simply the better team on paper and when you dig a little deeper. And the Wild are on a pretty nice streak themselves – not to mention they’ve played well against the Kings this season.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the Kings’ last 5 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of the Wild’s last 9 games.
- The Kings are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road.
