Kings Try To Wake Up Slumbering Offense
It wasn’t that long ago when the Kings were one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference and challenging for the lead in the Pacific Division. The Blackhawks were headed to one of the worst seasons in the proud history of the Original Six franchise. What a difference a week can make as the Kings have lost three games in a row while Chicago has won three straight.
Los Angeles gave up three goals in the third period in Saturday’s loss at Nashville. This is the first back-to-back games in January for Los Angeles with the Kings going 1-1-2 the previous four times when playing on the second day of a back-to-back.
Sam Lafferty had a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Saturday’s win at St. Louis. The Blackhawks are 0-3-1 when playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Forward Gabriel Vilardi, who has missed the last two games, is questionable for the Kings. Fellow forwards Carl Grundstrom, Arthur Kaliyev and Trevor Moore are all out.
Goalie Alex Stalock is questionable for Chicago while forward Jujhar Khaira and defenseman Jarred Tinordi are out.
According to the NHL playoff odds, The Kings (+3300) are 14th in the odds to win the Eastern Conference title while the Blackhawks (+100000) are well back.D
Let’s check the latest NHL news, stats, injury reports, and NHL lines for Kings vs Blackhawks. We’ve got plenty of NHL picks for you to consider.
Fading Kings
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Los Angeles Kings found a way to pick up points in 11 of 14 games. The Kings were 6-1 in one-goal games and 4-1 in contests that required overtime as they rose up the Pacific Division standings.
It’s been a different story recently with Los Angeles being outscored 14-5 during its current three-game losing streak. The Kings have just two even-strength goals in those three games.
It doesn’t help that three of the Kings’ top 11 scorers (Gabe Vilardi, Arthur Kaliyev and Trevor Moore) have most of those games.
In Saturday’s loss at Nashville, the Kings gave up two goals in the first 39 seconds and with the recent offensive struggles, the game was pretty much over almost before it started.
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in four of the Kings’ last five games.
On a Roll
If the Chicago Blackhawks don’t look out, they might play their way right out of the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.
It wasn’t long ago that Chicago was vying for the worst record in the NHL and with the much-ballyhooed Bedard the prize in the upcoming NHL draft, this is not the worst season to be languishing near the bottom of the standings.
However, Chicago has won six of its last seven games and that includes three victories in a row. Goalie Jaxson Stauber had 29 saves as he won his NHL debut for the Blackhawks.
Jaxson Stauber is the first Blackhawks goaltender to start and win his first game since 2018 👏 #BetweenThePipes pic.twitter.com/Fa44DEvAiA
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 22, 2023
The Blackhawks are tied for seventh in the NHL with an average of 3.86 goals over the last seven games.
The success has come despite drawing an NHL-low 11 power plays over that stretch and scoring just twice with the man advantage.
Nine different Blackhawks have at least two goals over those seven games with Max Domi and Philipp Kurashev leading the way with three goals each.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of Chicago’s last six games.
Kings vs Blackhawks Game Injuries
Kings vs Blackhawks Head-to-Head
Los Angeles has won three of the last four games in the series and that includes a win at Chicago.
The teams met twice in less than two weeks in November with each team recording 2-1 victories at home.
Five of the last eight games have been decided by one goal with each of the last three matchups finishing over the total.
The Kings have won four of the last six games played in Chicago.
Kings vs Blackhawks Game Information
- Game: Kings (25-17-6) vs Blackhawks (14-26-4)
- Location: United Center, Chicago
- Day/Time: Sunday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. ET
- Kings vs Blackhawks Live Stream: NHL TV
Kings vs Blackhawks Betting Lines
Kings vs Blackhawks Prediction
The Los Angeles Kings are 24 points ahead of Chicago in the Western Conference standings with the Kings currently holding down the first wild-card position and the Blackhawks having the second-fewest points among Western Conference teams.
Even though the Kings have dropped three games in a row and not looked too impressive in doing so, they are the road favorite and will look to get back on track at Chicago’s expense.
The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 68-51 in the first two games this season with the teams going a combined 1 of 11 on the power play. Expect Los Angeles to hit the ice with somebody to prove after a difficult start and frustrating finish in Saturday’s game against the Predators.
The Kings are 11-11-5 as the favorite but that is still a better run of success than the Blackhawks going 12-29-3 when listed by the sportsbook as the underdog.
The Kings have covered in 13 of 23 road games this season.
The Los Angeles Kings are listed at -230 in our Las Vegas odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Kings, you have a chance to win $69.70. Chicago is +190, offering a chance to win $190 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Los Angeles Kings a 34.48% chance to win, with the Chicago Blackhawks at 69.70%.
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