Hockey is back but not for all Vegas Golden Knights as they take on the Los Angeles Kings in California on Tuesday night. Neither team has played within the last week and both sides are dealing with some important absences.
Will the losses of their starting goalie, two-thirds of their top line and head coach affect the Knights who had eight wins in 10 games before the break? Do the Kings have another winning streak in them? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Golden Knights vs. Kings.
Golden Knights vs Kings odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Vegas opened as -150 on the ML, got bet down to -135 before moving back to -150. The total sits at 5.5 and is trending towards 6. The first meeting this year, in early October, closed with the Knights at -160 with a much healthier team than they'll be fielding tonight.
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.
Golden Knights vs Kings predictions
Predictions made on 12/28/2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Golden Knights vs Kings game info
• Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
• Puck drop: 10:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports West, SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Golden Knights vs Kings betting preview
Injuries
Golden Knights: Robin Lehner G (Questionable), Max Pacioretty F (Questionable), Mark Stone F (Questionable), Alex Pietrangelo D (Questionable), Evgenii Dadonov F (Questionable), Alec Martinez D (Out), Jack Eichel F (Out), Nick Hague D (Probable), Brett Howden F (Questionable).
Kings: Andreas Athanasiou F (Out), Olli Maatta D (Out), Dustin Brown F (Questionable), Quinton Byfield F (Questionable), Alex Edler D (Out), Cal Petersen G (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Golden Knights vs Kings head-to-head record (since 2021)
Golden Knights: 7-4 SU, 37 goals for.
Kings: 4-7 SU, 28 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 7-1 in the last eight meetings in Los Angeles. Find more NHL betting trends for Golden Knights vs. Kings.
Golden Knights vs Kings picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Moneyline analysis
The NHL is ready to start up again but the same can’t be said for a plethora of Vegas personnel as the Knights' injury list has expanded more than our holiday waistlines. First off, head coach Peter DeBoer is on the COVID list where he joins forwards Evgenii Dadonov and Brett Howden and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and who are all highly questionable to see tonight’s game. Also doubtful are top-line wingers Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty as well as starting goalie Robin Lehner as all three players are dealing with injuries. If you’re keeping track, that’s roughly $36 million in salary that will possibly be sitting out tonight or about 40% of the team's entire cap hit.
Either way, Las Vegas still enters Tuesday’s contest as -150 road favorites against a team that has six wins in its last 16 games but the Kings played some good hockey before the break and had one of the more difficult schedules in hockey over that stretch.
In the Kings’ last six games, they took nine of a possible 12 points against the Capitals, Hurricanes, Panthers, Lightning, Wild and Stars and although they are dealing with COVID issues themselves, their laundry list is not anywhere near as significant as the Knights.
The Kings will be without some minor role players, most notably Quinton Byfield, but Drew Doughty will be back in the lineup and Jonathan Quick will be between the pipes which is a huge advantage for the Kings.
Statistically, Quick is a Top-10 goalie in most major categories but ranks as the No. 1 goalie in goals saved above expected/60, per Money Puck. Quick is coming off one of his worst games, a five-goal outing versus the Canes, but the American goalie had allowed one or fewer goals in four of his five games before that.
Vegas went into the break having won eight of its last 10 games but the Knights were playing anything but tight hockey over that stretch. The offense was scoring 4.1 goals per game but was also allowing 2.9 goals per match. The Knights have one of the worst penalty kills in the league which has been even worse in December.
Backup Laurent Brossoit has been inconsistent this season despite having slightly better numbers than Lehner. The Knights' No. 2 has allowed 10 goals over his last three starts and is coming off a four-goal, 15-save outing before the break versus the Lightning. L.A. has a very big advantage in net tonight.
Vegas has been relying heavily on its offense and with all the missing pieces, it’s tough to back them here in a spot against one of the stingiest teams in the Kings. These two teams met back at the beginning of the season with LA winning 6-2. The Kings launched 47 shots on net, went 2 for 3 on the power play and beat the Knights who had Pacioretty, Stone, Alec Martinez and Pietrangelo in the lineup.
With so many uncertainties coming out of the break, we’re taking the plus-money home dogs Tuesday night.
Prediction: Kings ML (+130)
Over/Under analysis
Tuesday’s battle is between the best Under team (LA at 9-20-1 O/U) and the best Over team (Vegas at 20-11-1 O/U). The Over is 4-1 in Brossoit’s last five starts and even with the Kings possessing a Bottom-10 offense, Vegas has hit the Over seven times against Bottom-10 offenses in December alone.
Special teams could play a big role tonight as well. The Knights have given up a generous 10 power-play goals over their last eight games while complimenting that with seven power-play goals of their own. Having a Top-10 power play and Bottom-5 penalty kill has been the motor for this team’s Over success.
Vegas also comes into the game thin on the blueline with the top pairing of Pietrangelo and Martinez on the shelf. The Knights already sit 25th in even-strength goals allowed and missing their two highest-paid defensemen won’t help the backend.
This total opened at 5.5 at -115 to the Over but now sits at -125 to the Over. Vegas has seen just four totals of 5.5 over its last 10 games and is 3-1 O/U during those contests. Since November 11, the Knights are 8-1 to the Over on totals of 5.5. Over the last 60 days, the Golden Knights are averaging 6.79 total goals per game which is the fourth-highest mark in hockey.
If this total hits 6, we’re staying away but with a handful of Over 5.5 -120s still available, we’re chasing the market movement here.
Prediction: Over 5.5 (-120)
Best bet
The market is still moving in favor of the Knights and we think that +130 is the highpoint for the Kings’ ML. Vegas is without four of its starting five players, its starting goalie and its head coach. They struggle on the penalty kill and with many offensive pieces out and facing a goalie in great form, the Knights might not be able to lean on their potent scoring.
Vegas was +140 home underdogs in the last meeting in October and the Knights were rolling out a much better team.
Restarts always scare us so we should tread lightly here, but we’ll take the plus money here in what is an unpredictable hockey landscape.
Pick: Kings ML (+130)
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