That superb run the Pittsburgh Penguins (37-18-6, 84 points) had made to try and catch the Washington Capitals atop the Metropolitan Division seems to be sputtering a bit, as the Pens have dropped three straight, including a 5-3 setback in Washington on Sunday. The team has had a couple of days off as they make their way west for a Pacific swing, starting on Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Kings (22-35-6, 50 points). The Kings are in dead last in the Pacific Division, 26 points behind Vegas, and have won just three times in their last ten games, dropping two in a row. Can Pittsburgh get back to their winning ways against one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, or will the Penguins’ frustrations continue? Check out our sports betting preview of this Wednesday night matchup. Let’s see how the NHL odds will be for the Penguins vs Kings.
Penguins vs Kings 2020 NHL Game Preview & Betting Odds
- When: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 10:30 pm ET
- Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
- TV: NBC Sports
- Radio: WXDX 105.9 FM Pittsburgh / LA Kings Audio Network (iHeartRadio)
- Live Stream: NBCSports.com
- NHL Odds: Pittsburgh -190 / O/U 6
Why should you bet on Pittsburgh?
Ever since the Penguins came home to play the second half of their home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team has just not been right. In that game, they got shut out by a Maple Leafs team struggling with inconsistency, 4-0. Then they hosted Buffalo and got stomped, 5-2 on Saturday. They started their road swing the next night in Washington and gave up five more goals.
In that loss, Pittsburgh saw their brief grip on first place in the Metropolitan slip away. The Penguins had a lead until the third period, when Washington scored three times in the first 11 minutes. Pittsburgh outshot Washington, 36-23, but a lot of their shots were from distance. Patric Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby scored 26 seconds apart during the second period, and Evgeni Malkin just abused defenseman John Carlson on a move to score in the third, but the Penguins did not have an answer when Washington turned up the offense. Can they get things going against the Kings?
Why should you put your money on Los Angeles?
The Kings got this homestand off to the right kind of start, edging Florida last Thursday, 5-4. Since then, though, Staples Center has not offered much of a home ice advantage, as Colorado has come in and beaten Los Angeles, 2-1, and then Edmonton doubled the Kings up on sunday, 4-2.
In that loss to the Oilers, the Kings got a power-play goal from Anze Kopitar and an even-strength tally from Dustin Brown, but it was not enough. Connor McDavid returned from a quad injury to score a goal and register two assists for the Oilers. So while Calvin Petersen stopped 27 shots for Los Angeles, they just did not have enough defense to avoid odd-man rushes, and the Oilers took advantage. The Kings did make it interesting, drawing within 3-2 just 49 seconds into the third period, but they could not get the equalizer. If you like the Kings, then you see the Penguins taking a weak opponent lightly, but after their letdown late against Washington, you would like to think that Pittsburgh would come out with more motivation than that.
Penguins vs Kings Final Score Prediction
The Kings have a way of knocking off top teams while falling to teams closer to the middle of the pack. The Penguins have been making a sustained run at the Metropolitan lead for a while, and they finally have all of their key players back from injury. While the Penguins have dropped three in a row, they had a solid start against Washington and should be able to put together a more solid game against a team that is really struggling right now. I predict a final score of Pittsburgh 5, Los Angeles 2.
