The Los Angeles Kings will wrap up their regular season tonight versus the Vancouver Canucks, who are playing for pride after being eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the week. L.A. played last night in Seattle and sat some key players so it’s unknown if the Pacific’s No. 3 team will dress its best tonight.
Can Vancouver find a win versus a playoff team playing for nothing? Can Cal Petersen and Los Angeles win the second game of a back-to-back for the seventh time in its last eight tries? Find out in our free NHL betting picks and predictions for Kings vs. Canucks.
Kings vs Canucks odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Vancouver opened as -120 home favorites on the moneyline but steamed heavily to -200 this morning. The total sits at 6 flat. This will be the third meeting of the season and the Canucks closed as -140 home favorites in the last meeting in Vancouver, a game they won 4-0.
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.
Kings vs Canucks predictions
Predictions made on 4/28/2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for the 2021-22 NHL season, here are two of the best bonuses* available:
A) New users can bet $20 and get $200 in free bets with Caesars! Sign Up Now
B) New users can get two risk-free bets up to $2,000 at PointsBet! Claim Now
*Eligible USA locations only
Kings vs Canucks game info
• Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
• Date: Thursday, April 28, 2022
• Puck drop: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports West, Sportsnet Pacific
Kings vs Canucks betting preview
Key injuries
Kings: Drew Doughty D (Out), Adrian Kempe F (Questionable), Alex Iafallo F (Questionable), Dustin Brown F (Questionable), Alexander Edler D (Questionable), Anze Kopitar F (Questionable).
Canucks: Bo Harvat F (Out), Thatcher Demko G (Questionable), Travis Dermott D (Questionable).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Kings vs Canucks head-to-head record since 2017-18
Kings: 3-7 SU, 22 goals for.
Canucks: 7-3 SU, 32 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 9-1-1 in the Canucks’ last 11 vs. the Pacific. Find more NHL betting trends for Kings vs. Canucks.
Kings vs Canucks 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 Vancouver Canucks failed to secure a spot in the playoffs this season but that hasn’t stopped the market from steaming them in tonight’s matchup with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings will face the Oilers in the first round of the postseason and come into tonight’s season finale having beat the Kraken last night but doing so with an AHL roster.
Todd McLellan rested Adrian Kempe, Alex Iafallo, Dustin Brown, Alexander Edler, and Anze Kopitar last night, and there isn’t much info if he will give the veterans another night off in the season finale tonight. This is likely the biggest reason why the moneyline has moved so much as the Kings have not sent their players back down as of 1 p.m. ET meaning tonight’s lineup could look an awful lot like last night's.
The Kings won 5-3 last night despite getting outshot 40 to 28. They erased an early 2-0 deficit and leaned on their stable of young players. This isn’t an awful lineup by any means and the line might have swung too far at -200 for the home side.
Cal Petersen will likely get the start for the Kings. He will be the backup in the postseason but the young goalie will want to finish the season on a high note after recording two awful starts (12 goals allowed) heading into tonight. Despite Petersen’s poor form, Los Angeles might have the advantage in net with the Canucks starting Spencer Martin.
Martin will be making his fifth start this season and eightth in the NHL. He is the Canucks’ No. 3 goalie and is playing thanks to injuries to Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak. Martin does have a 1.69 GAA this season but that number is due to regress as he is an AHL goalie. He has also seen a ton of rubber, facing 150 shots over his four starts this season.
The Kings have also been one of the better back-to-back teams in all of hockey and are 6-1 straight up in the second game of a B2B over their last seven. They’ll want to carry some momentum into the playoffs and expecting them to no-show is just wishful thinking if you’re a Vancouver backer.
Yes, the Canucks have been hot of late with a 7-2-2 record this month, but they are 1-3 SU over their last four games. Also, Los Angeles has an equal 7-4 SU record this month and is paying +170 tonight. Simply put, it's just too good to pass up.
If L.A. got it done with a second-unit team last night, we can’t bet against it tonight and we feel this line has swung too far. The Kings are riding a five-game winning streak and they aren’t going to lie down tonight. This line should be closer to Vancouver -135 or -140 so we will happily take the extra 50 points with a team that has shown they can win the second game of a back-to-back plenty of times.
Prediction: Kings moneyline (+170 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
The Kings had no issues finding the scoresheet last night, even with their big guns out of the lineup. They finished with four goals at even strength, had another one called back, and added an empty netter. They have been one of the better Under teams in hockey with a 34-43 O/U mark but tonight might be a great game to look for goals.
First off, Petersen has been a great Over goalie. The L.A. backup netminder has hit the Over in back-to-back starts, as he has allowed 12 goals across that stretch and has given up at least three goals in six of his last 10 games.
Secondly, special teams will play a major factor in tonight’s outcome. Vancouver has the hottest power play in the league this month with a 35.3% success rate. It's also coming off a game where it was shorthanded eight times versus the Kraken and gave up a single PP goal.
The Kings have scored with the man advantage in two of their last three games and their PK has given up three power-play goals to the Canucks over the two meetings this season.
Additionally, we aren’t sold on Martin’s sub-2.00 GAA. Before this season, the 26-year-old goalie last played in the NHL back in 2016-17 with the Avs where he had a 4.35 GAA across three starts. He owns a GAA closer to 3.00 than 2.50 over his last three seasons in the AHL, and has seen at least 32 shots in each of his starts this year.
The new-look Kings lost the expected-goal battle last night in Seattle despite picking up two points. A lot of that had to do with them giving up 40 shots and allowing nearly 3.00 xgoals at even strength. If they get loose defensively, this game could be a track meet as the Vancouver offense is hot and has scored at least three goals in 10 straight games.
We don’t care for either goalie, each team’s power play could see some action, and the new-look Kings gave up a ton of scoring opportunities last night versus a weak Kraken offense. Martin is due for a dud and Petersen has been struggling of late.
There haven’t been many totals of 6.0 lately and getting one here has us loving the Over at a reasonable -115.
Prediction: Over 6 (-115 at bet365)
Best bet
The last few games of the season are always a crapshoot. Coaches could give the bottom-six group more ice and getting quality shifts from the studs in a game that means nothing isn’t guaranteed. For those reasons, we’re fading Vancouver’s JT Miller, whose point total sits at 1.5.
Miller is having a career year and is sitting at 97 points. Pressing for 100 isn’t a layup with two games remaining. His production has slowed slightly and the forward has just three multi-point games over his last nine.
His -130 price for the Under 1.5 points implies a 56.5% probability yet we have this closer to 60% and a -155 or -155 price. 27 of his 78 games this season have been multi-point affairs (34%) which puts this line closer to -190.
If Steve Stamkos has a -175 price for his Under 1.5 points tonight, Miller should not be -130.
Pick: Miller Under 1.5 points (-130)
