Nashville Predators (18-15-6) at Los Angeles Kings (17-21-4)
NHL Hockey: Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 10:30 pm (Staples Center)
The Line: Los Angeles Kings +115 / Nashville Predators -135 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings meet in NHL action from the Staples Center on Saturday night.
The Nashville Predators will look to snap a three-game losing streak after a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in their last outing. Matt Duchene and Dante Fabbro scored 1:48 apart to stake the Preds an early 2-0 lead, but Dallas would cut into the deficit with the lone goal of the 2nd period and would tie the game at two in the opening minute of the 3rd period. Dallas struck again twice in a matter of 1:29 to go ahead 4-2, a lead that Dallas would carry all the way to the final horn. Pekka Rinne got the loss, falling to 13-8-3 on the year after allowing all 4 goals on 35 shots faced in the losing effort.
The Los Angeles Kings will look to build on a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in their last outing. Los Angeles stormed out of the gate, taking a 3-0 lead early in the 1st with Kyle Clifford, Alex Iafallo and Tyler Toffoli scoring in a span of 3:14 before Adrian Kempe buried a short-handed goal to make it 4-0 at the 1stintermission. Philadelphia pulled a goal back with the lone goal of the 2nd period before Martin Frk restored L.A.’s four-goal lead. The Flyers would pull a pair of goals back, but it was too little too late as Los Angeles held on for the win. Jonathan Quick got the win to improve to 11-15-2 on the year after stopping 32 of 35 shots faced in the winning effort.
Nashville is 1-5 in their last 6 games as a road favorite and 3-8 in their last 11 games against a team with a losing record while the over is 8-1-1 in their last 10 games overall. Los Angeles is 9-4 in their last 13 home games and 16-41 in their last 57 games following a win while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall. Nashville is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings between these two teams.
Call me crazy, but I’m not laying juice on the road with a Predators team that’s lost 3 straight and haven’t looked good at all over the last couple of months. I’ve ragged on the Kings, but L.A. plays much better at home and should be able to get a nice win here so I’ll take the plus money with the Kings in this one.
Chris’s Pick Los Angeles +115
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg