Avalanche Own Kings
The Colorado Avalanche are rolling to the top seed in the Western Conference but they are being pushed by the Florida Panthers for the most points in the NHL. For the Los Angeles Kings, some recent losses have them fighting to remain in third place in the Pacific Division.
The Kings have won their last five games when playing the previous day, with the last three contests all requiring overtime.
Colorado (+350) has the best odds to win the Stanley Cup championship while the Kings come in at +5000.
Let’s check the latest NHL lines, stats, injury reports, and NHL odds for Kings vs Avalanche. We’ve plenty of NHL picks and predictions.
Kings Fighting to Remain in Playoff Position
With the hard-charging Vegas Golden Knights breathing down their necks and the Los Angeles Kings playing for the first time since it was announced that perennial All-Star defenseman Drew Doughty (wrist surgery) would miss the remainder of the season, the Kings were approaching must-win territory when traveling to play the Chicago Blackhawks.
Defenseman Drew Doughty underwent successful wrist surgery today & will not return this season.
He is expected to make a full recovery for next season. pic.twitter.com/vNtgSZ1fS9
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 11, 2022
Blake Lizotte, who didn’t have a goal in his previous 10 games, scored twice as the Kings snapped a three-game losing streak. Jordan Spence, a 21-year-old defenseman, had his second NHL goal as the Kings moved three points ahead of Vegas, although the Golden Knights have a game in hand and have more regulation wins so Los Angeles has some work to do.
It will be a challenge for a defense that not only is missing Doughty, the team leader in ice time but is also without Mikey Anderson, who is fourth on the team in time on ice.
Defenseman Sean Durzi leads the team in time on ice in the month of April with an average of 23:42. Doughty and Anderson haven’t played since March 7.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone under in four of the last six games for Los Angeles.
Avalanche Working OT to Stay Atop Standings
There was a time when the Colorado Avalanche were rolling by all challengers en route to their rise to the top of the NHL standings.
Recently, Colorado has had to fight for its results. Five of the last seven Avalanche games have been decided by a goal, with Colorado going 4-0-1 as it continues to have the most points in the NHL. The last two games went into overtime, with Colorado winning against Winnipeg and Edmonton.
Goals have been harder to come by with star forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri out of the lineup.
While Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have continued to produce, Colorado has been getting contributions from other less-heralded players.
In four games in April, Andre Burakovsky has a goal and four assists, Alex Newhook has four assists, Nicolas Aube-Kubel has scored twice and Darren Helm and J.T. Compher have a goal and an assist each. Nico Sturm, acquired around the trade deadline, has added a pair of assists.
Ten of Colorado’s last 14 games have gone under the NHL betting lines total.
Kings vs Avalanche Head-to-Head
Colorado has won the last eight games against Los Angeles, outscoring the Kings 30-7. Four of those wins have come at home while the last win by the Kings in Denver came on Feb. 15, 2020.
Something to consider for those who bet online: Colorado has been favored in the last 16 games in the series.
The Avalanche have won each of the last four games against the Kings by at least three goals while the last 13 games between the teams had six combined goals or less.
Kings vs Avalanche Game Information
- Game: Kings (39-26-10) vs Avalanche (52-14-6)
- Location: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
- Day/Time: Wednesday, April 13th, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Kings vs Avalanche Live stream: NHL.TV
Kings vs Avalanche Betting Lines
Kings vs Avalanche Prediction
Colorado leads the NHL in points percentage as well as goals per game when playing on home ice. The Kings have a better record on the road than at home.
Both teams have been asking some of their role players to provide larger contributions with injuries to some key players.
Los Angeles had to play in Chicago on Tuesday night while Colorado is well rested with its last game coming on Saturday.
With only four regulation losses at home, it is always a smart play to go with the Avalanche to win when playing on home ice.
