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Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Odds: NHL Pick

Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Odds: NHL Pick article feature image
5 min read
Credit:

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images. Pictured: Jack Eichel.

Starting soon
Odds Updating Soon
Matchup - 10/09 2:00am UTCSpreadTotalMoneyline
+1.5-142
o5.5-132
+170
-1.5+120
u5.5+110
-205

The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights meet in an NHL Pacific Division duel on Wednesday evening. Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., broadcasting live on TNT.

The Golden Knights are priced at +120 to cover the puck line, with the over/under set at 6 (-105o / -115u). The Golden Knights have ticked up to -210 to win outright, while the Kings are +175 to pull off the upset.

Let's get into my Kings vs. Golden Knights prediction, NHL pick, and odds.

Kings vs. Golden Knights Odds, Pick

Kings Logo
Wednesday, Oct 8
10 p.m. ET
TNT
Golden Knights Logo
Kings Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
+1.5
-140
6
-105o / -115u
+175
Golden Knights Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
-1.5
+120
6
-105o / -115u
-210
Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute NHL odds here.
bet365 Logo
  • Kings vs. Golden Knights Spread: Golden Knights -1.5 (+120 ), Kings +1.5 (-140)
  • Kings vs. Golden Knights Over/Under: 6 (-105o / -115u)
  • Kings vs. Golden Knights Moneyline: Kings +175, Golden Knights -210

Kings vs. Golden Knights Preview

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings will play the second leg of a back-to-back road trip on Wednesday, following a 4-1 loss at home on Tuesday against a Colorado Avalanche team expected to contend for the Stanley Cup this season. As the number-one goaltender, Darcy Kuemper started in last night's matchup. Offseason acquisition Anton Forsberg is likely to make his Kings debut in this challenging spot against a Knights side that posted a record of 29-9-3 on home ice last season.

In 30 appearances last season with the Ottawa Senators, Forsberg played to a save percentage of .901 and a +2.2 GSAx rating. He could prove to be a significant upgrade over former backup David Rittich, who struggled to a -11.4 GSAx rating last season in 34 appearances.

While Forsberg may prove to be a solid pickup from GM Ken Holland during his first offseason with the team, the rest of his moves appear to be much more debatable, and the team's defensive core may take a step backward this season.

Holland acquired veteran defenders Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin this offseason, who both held drastically below-average results during the 2024-25 season. With a -13.6 expected Goals Above Replacement rating last season, Ceci was among the NHL's worst full-time defenders, while Dumoulin also graded out as a below-average skater.

Compounding the potential dropoff is the fact that Jordan Spence was one of the NHL's best third-pairing defenders last season.

The Kings also lost high-quality shutdown defender Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency, who signed a seven-year deal with a seven-million-dollar AAV with the Rangers.

The one potential positive from Holland's defensive shake-up is that talented youngster Brandt Clarke will now have a full-time top-four role, though he is still blocked in by Drew Doughty in terms of receiving power-play usage.

In a tough matchup versus the Avalanche, the Kings' third pairing did struggle mightily in Tuesday's season opener.

The Kings allowed the lowest xGA/60 rating in the NHL last season, and a big part of their strong defensive play was the strong two-way play from the majority of their top forwards. While the Kings' forward corps may not have the same kind of offensive ceiling as division rivals such as the Knights and Oilers, their top nine is primarily composed of accountable defensive forwards such as Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, and Philipp Danault.

Corey Perry is the only noteworthy Kings skater currently on the IR.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Knights' front office has quickly developed a reputation for not fearing making big swings in aggressive pursuit of success. That trend continued this offseason, as they landed the biggest fish in free agency in signing Mitch Marner to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

Marner has played at close to a 100-point pace in each of the last three seasons, including a 75-assist, 102-point season last year with the Maple Leafs. Though he does not play a remotely physical game, Marner's excellent awareness and understanding of the game have helped him achieve elite defensive results.

While Marner will undoubtedly help the Knights in the regular season, whether he will be able to help the Knights author another deep playoff run is more debatable. In terms of goal differential, Marner has still fared quite well come playoff time, but he has not produced at the rate that is expected of an elite winger.

Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy appears to be skating Marner on Jack Eichel's wing in tonight's matchup as expected, with power forward Ivan Barbashev rounding out what could be one of the NHL's top trios this season.

Eichel recorded 94 points in 77 games last season with the Knights and further cemented himself as a top-ten center league-wide in the process. While Eichel is an excellent playmaker, he possesses an elite one-timer, strong touch at the net and the ability to beat goalies from mid-range with his wrister.

Only twice in Eichel's career has he hit the 30-goal plateau, but the general expectation is that Marner will help him further unlock his goal-scoring upside.

The Knights finished with the third-best goal differential in the NHL last season and ranked fifth in expected goal share. They feature an excellent defensive core led by a top four of Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Noah Hanifin, and Zack Whitecloud, which offers a great mix of physicality and play-driving ability.

Adin Hill is expected to get the start in Wednesday's matchup. Hill finished with a +14.5 GSAx rating and .906 save percentage in 50 games played last season, and should be well motivated by a potential spot on the Canadian Olympic roster entering this season.

Kings vs. Golden Knights Prediction and Pick

The Knights have an excellent chance to get their season started with a win on home ice in this matchup, where they played to a record of 29-9-3 last season. Forsberg is a better-than-average backup but does offer a significant dropoff compared to Kuemper. It also seems quite possible that the Kings will regress this season, and they did not look overly strong in last night's matchup, albeit versus an elite Avalanche side.

I'm high on the possibility that Eichel and Marner will form a highly effective tandem, and Barbashev should complement them quite well.

I see value in backing Eichel and Marner each to record a point at bet365's outlier price of -120. For bettors who are unable to get bet365's price, I would pivot to backing Eichel to score at any time at +185, as he should post a career-best goal output and prices in the +185 range may not be available for long.

Picks: Marner/Eichel 1 point each (bet365) / Eichel Anytime Goalscorer 

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