The Los Angeles Kings (4-3-3) and San Jose Sharks (2-5-2) will close up the NHL's 16-game Frozen Frenzy Tuesday evening. Puck drop is set for 11:00 p.m. EDT at SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, Calif. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
The Kings are priced at -210 to win outright, with the over/under set at 6 (-110 O/U). The Kings are priced at +120 to cover the puck-line, while the Sharks are priced at -140 to cover the puck-line.
Let's get into my Kings vs. Sharks predictions and NHL picks.
Kings vs. Sharks Odds, Pick
| Kings Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +120 | 6 -110o / -110u | -210 |
| Sharks Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -140 | 6 -110o / -110u | +175 |
- Kings vs. Sharks Spread: -1.5 (+120), +1.5 (-140)
- Kings vs. Sharks Over/Under: 6 (-110o / -110u)
- Kings vs. Sharks Moneyline: Kings -210, Sharks +175
Kings vs. Sharks Preview
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are off to a respectable 4-3-3 start to the season, which is roughly in line with oddsmakers' preseason expectations. Six of their first ten matchups have required overtime, and Sunday's win over the Chicago Blackhawks was the first time this season they have won by two goals, and they still only did so because of an empty-netter.
Kings GM Rob Blake inherited a pretty well-constructed roster this offseason, which featured a ton of strong two-way defensive forwards and a fairly deep blue line. None of his offseason moves appeared likely to be overly effective, and none of the team's new additions have positively affected their results this season.
The Kings have consistently been one of the NHL's best teams from an analytical perspective over the last three years, largely due to their tremendous underlying defensive results. Their underlying defensive metrics are still solid this year, but their chance generation at the other end has been a concern.
The Kings' overall underlying profile suggests that they are playing fairly low-event hockey, and that has been reflected in the actual results, as their last five matchups have averaged just 5.6 combined goals. All five of their opponents in that span are expected to be fairly low-event teams this season, however, and the Sharks are a much different opponent in that regard.
Los Angeles's offensive upside has looked relatively muted this season, but it ranked 13th in goals per game last season and still has much of the same offensive core. Puck movement from the back end could be a concern in tougher matchups this season, but that issue may be less prevalent in tonight's matchup versus a very thin Sharks lineup.
San Jose Sharks
At 2-5-2, the Sharks have looked as expected in the early part of this season. Quality young offensive talents such as Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund and Will Smith will provide them the ability to steal some high-scoring matchups, but their lack of depth and arguably the league's worst blue line will prevent much overall team success.
GM Mike Grier signed several veteran defensemen this offseason, such as Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy, but none of them were effective at the NHL level last year. The Sharks have allowed 3.99 xGA/60 this season, the third-worst mark in the league, and 4.67 actual goals against per game.
Highly touted goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov has had a disappointing start to the season, posting an .855 save percentage and a 4.79 GAA.
He is in a very tough situation to attempt to develop at the NHL level, playing behind arguably the NHL's worst defensive side, which certainly does not help matters.
Kings vs. Sharks Prediction
The Kings have played a lot of low-event hockey of late, but their schedule has mainly been against opponents in which a low-scoring, tight-checking type of affair was much more likely than against the Sharks.
Los Angeles was a solid offensive team last season and holds some meaningful offensive upside on each of its top two lines.
The Sharks' combination of horrible defensive play and shaky goaltending has led to several notably high-scoring matchups this season, and I'm not sold that a matchup versus the Kings should warrant a total of six when most Sharks games have featured a total of 6.5.
At -125 or better, I see value in backing another high-scoring Sharks matchup Tuesday evening.
Pick: Over 6 Goals (-110, bet365 | Play 6 to -125)
