The Colorado Avalanche returned to their winning ways against Calgary two nights ago and look to knock off another top Pacific Division foe Tuesday night on the road against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Avalanche had a rough patch, going 1-3-1 against lower-tier teams, but shut out the Flames 3-0 on Sunday. Now they will have to get past the Kings, but if history is any indication, the Avs should prevail.
Who will win this battle of Western Conference top teams? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Avalanche vs. Kings.
Avalanche vs Kings odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Colorado Avalanche opened as -205 road moneyline favorites with the Los Angeles Kings at +170. It has since moved to -200/+165 with the total standing pat at its opening line of 6.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Avalanche vs Kings predictions
Predictions made on 3/15/2022 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Avalanche vs Kings game info
• Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022
• Puck drop: 10:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports West-Los Angeles, Altitude-Colorado
Avalanche vs Kings betting preview
Key injuries
Avalanche: Samuel Girard D (Out), Gabriel Landeskog F (Out), Bowen Byram D (Out).
Kings: Alex Elder D (Out), Sean Walker D (Out), Drew Doughty D (out), Mikey Anderson D (Out), Matt Roy D (Questionable), Tobias Bjornfot D (Questionable), Dustin Brown F (Out), Andreas Athanasiou F (Out), Viktor Arvidsson F (Out), Brendan Lemieux F (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Avalanche vs Kings head-to-head record
Avalanche: 5-0-0 SU, 21 goals for.
Kings: 0-5-0 SU, six goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Avalanche haven’t lost to the Kings since Jan. 22, 2021, and won five of those seven by two or more goals. Find more NHL betting trends for Avalanche vs. Kings.
Avalanche vs Kings picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Kings can’t seem to solve Colorado. In seven prior meetings, dating back to March 3, 2021, Los Angeles is winless against the Avalanche. The most recent defeat was a 4-1 road loss on January 22.
The Avs are making their way out of a rough stretch, losing to lower-tier teams the New Jersey Devils and the Arizona Coyotes, but got a big 3-0 shut out win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday, who top the Pacific Division, five points ahead of second-place Los Angeles.
Scoring has not been a problem for Colorado, and it shouldn’t be against the Kings. The team is missing leading goal scorer Gabriel Landeskog, who is out with a knee injury that will require surgery, but four other Avs, Nazem Kadri, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Nathan MacKinnon have each notched 20+ goals on the season.
The team is second, behind the Florida Panthers, in goals per game average at 3.83, and are also second in assists with 394.
Their defense, however, has suffered to big injuries, losing starting blueliners Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram to injury. They did acquire Anaheim's Josh Manson on Monday but it was uncertain whether he would be available to play on Tuesday.
Regardless, the Avs still have the 11th best goals against average in the NHL at 2.82. Netminder Darcy Kuemper is a big reason for that, posting a 2.47 GAA.
The Kings will need to produce a ton of offense to keep pace tonight but don’t have a player inside the Top 50 in points. Second-line center Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 25 goals, but he is the only player with 20 or more goals.
Even on the road, back the Avs to make it six straight against the Kings.
Prediction: Avalanche moneyline (-200)
Over/Under analysis
In the previous seven games these two teams have played, the scoring has been pretty one-sided, with the Avs outscoring the Kings 27-7. Despite that disparity in goals, the total has not gone Over 6 in any of those games.
In the Kings’ last five games, the total has gone Over 6 goals just once.
The Kings are now skating with a depleted defensive crew. All six of the team’s opening-night defensemen are currently injured. Alex Elder, Sean Walker, Drew Doughty, and Mikey Anderson are all ruled out and Matt Roy and Tobias Bjornfot are questionable going into Tuesday’s contest.
Remarkably, the team is seventh in goals against at 2.75. The goalie tandem of Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen both have GAAs of 2.69.
If the Over has any chance to be reached, the Kings are going to have to see some production from their top centers. Kempe has been held without a point in his last nine games while Anze Kopitar is pointless in his last five.
The Avs have scored 14 goals in their last five games and have only had one game where they posted four or more goals. Colorado did go Over in three of those games but it was their opponent that helped push it past the set total.
I like this one to stay Under.
Prediction: Under 6 (+100)
Best bet
When the Kings were healthy, they couldn’t keep up with the Avalanche. Of their seven previous meetings, all of which Colorado won, five of them were won by two or more goals.
Now that the Kings’ defense is decimated, it should be an even easier path for Colorado to cover the -1.5 number.
Colorado's firepower should keep either Quick or Petersen busy in net, and while they have respectable GAAs of 2.69, they are both susceptible to leaking oil in the crease.
Petersen gave up five goals last Saturday to a terrible San Jose Sharks team. Quick gave up five against the Bruins on Feb. 28 and was pulled for Petersen, who let two more pucks find the back of the net.
Their counterpart, Kuemper, had been shaky in four of his last five games, allowing four or more goals in three of those. He did, however, bounce back in the 3-0 shutout win over Calgary last time out,
Another cause for concern for the Kings is the emotional victory over the Panthers two nights ago. Do they have enough in the tank after a thrilling shootout win against the top team in the Atlantic Division, or will they come out flat against a recharged Colorado team and have to play catch up.
I believe Colorado will jump on the Kings early and never look back.
Pick: Avalanche -1.5 (+125)
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