Los Angeles vs Pittsburgh: The Kings to take points from Penguins

Pittsburgh have beaten Los Angeles in California only once in the last five head-to-head meetings. Will the Penguins be able to pick up a win on such a tough road trip now? We predict that the Kings will once again be closer to success!

Los Angeles have accustomed us to dwelling among the NHL outsiders in recent years, but now they are showing very even decent results. Yes, their regular-season debut was a failure, as they lost six times in their opening seven games, but they've managed to rectify the situation since. After the Christmas break, the Kings are looking particularly good as they managed five wins in their last five games. With such a solid run, the California club has risen to seventh place in the Western Conference standings, giving them a good shot at making the playoffs.

Pittsburgh are a regular playoff participant in all recent years, so it was somewhat surprising that the Penguins had a very weak start to the current regular season. The main thing is that the Pennsylvanians themselves understood that their difficulties were only temporary. They started the season without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. In addition, the Canadian returned to the team after an injury, and the day before the Russian made his debut, he made a double and an assist in the game with San Jose. The result was a 4-1 win over the Sharks, and the Black and Yellow have won a total of 11 times in the last 12 meetings. A strong run helped them climb to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are currently sitting in seventh place in their respective conference standings, suggesting they are at a comparable level while also being in good form, having won four of their last five games. In that case, special attention should be paid to the statistics of the head-to-head encounters, which speaks in favour of the Kings, who have beaten the Penguins at home in four of the last five tussles. As a result, a bet on Los Angeles not losing in regulation time for 1.78 seems to be good.

Phillip Danault is a newcomer to Los Angeles, who joined the team in the offseason, but immediately became one of the leaders of the Kings. The Canadian is a staple in the second line of the Californian club and has very nice personal statistics. He has already scored 19 points (7 goals + 12 assists) in 34 games played, which is one of the best results among the Black and whites. Moreover, in the last two games, the 28-year-old hockey player scored goals, which confirms his excellent shape, so Phillip Danault Total Over 0.5 points for 2.00 seems to be the best option for our prediction.

As we already noted, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh approach the encounter in good shape. Moreover, they are not direct rivals for the tournament places, located in different conferences. These factors suggest that the Kings and Penguins should have an entertaining and productive encounter. The statistics also suggest this. The Californians have scored 15 goals (3.75 goals per game average) in the last four meetings, while the Pennsylvanians have made 25 goals (5.00 goals per game average) in the five previous games. A bet on Total Over 5.5 pucks for 1.83 might be worth considering in such a situation.