NHL Betting: Red Hot Kings host Avalanche on Saturday Night

In sportsbetting, you often hear people talk about the heart of a champion, which is a nugget that is usually pulled out when a team in defense of their crown starts to come out of a slump. The best example we can give to NHL betting fans  this season is the Los Angeles Kings, a team that looked down and out not so very long ago, especially playing in a division as cutthroat as the Pacific has been this season. The Kings were a team that looked to be in a lot of trouble as the month of January drew to a close. They had just gone through a stretch of games where they had lost 18 of 25, and were on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. All the talk then was about how tough it is to repeat as a champion, and how the Kings should just write the season off. Since then, they have won 10 of 13 games and are now clinging to the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They are going to have their work cut out for them, though, in the final 20 or so games of the season, as they are going to have to go against the Canucks, Flames, and Sharks for the 3 open spots in the playoffs from that division. They will play the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Saturday before taking to the road for 6 of their next 9 games.

The Penguins are in a similar situation as the Kings in that they are currently embroiled in a pretty tight race in their division. The difference here is that they have pretty much booked a ticket to the playoffs, as the top 4 teams in the Metropolitan Division have essentially opened up an unassailable gap on the other 4. There is still the business of jockeying for position in an effort to get a higher seeding come the postseason, and the Penguins will have a decent shot of getting a good one if they continue with their current form. They did lose their last outing versus Colorado, but had won 4 straight before that loss. It’ll be tough stretch for the next few games, as the Penguins will be take a West Coast swing against some very good opposition.

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These two met early in the season, and it was the Penguins who rolled to a comfortable 3-0 win on home ice. This meeting promises to be a little tougher, though, and I like the Kings to eke out the win.