Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings Prediction 1/3/2026 Today’s NHL Picks
Chris Ruffolo
Dec 27, 2025; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) skates through the offensive zone against the Winnipeg Jets in the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
MATCHUP
Minnesota Wild
Los Angeles Kings
Team Records
25-10-8
17-14-9
Where
crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
When
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Time
09:00 PM EST
TV
ESPN+
The Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings meet Saturday in NHL action from the Crypto.com Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Wild vs. Los Angeles Kings prediction.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to add on to their 5-2 win over Anaheim last time out to sit at 25-10-7 this season. After this game, Minnesota will have a rematch against the Los Angeles Kings before taking on the Kraken on the road.
Wild Win 7 Of Last 10
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 48 points including 24 goals and a team-high 24 assists while Matt Boldy has 47 points including a team-high 25 goals and 22 assists. Marcus Johansson has 32 points with 12 goals and 20 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek has 31 points with 10 goals and 21 assists while Brock Faber has 21 points with 8 goals and 13 assists. Filip Gustavsson’s gone 14-8-4 with a 2.45 GAA and a .912 save percentage while Jesper Wallstedt is 11-2-3 with a 2.21 GAA and a .928 save percentage in goal for Minnesota this season.
Los Angeles Kings Recap
The Los Angeles Kings come into this game looking to rebound from a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning to sit at 16-14-9 this season. After this game, Los Angeles will take on the Minnesota Wild at home before taking on the San Jose Sharks at home as well.
Kings Drop 8 Of Last 10
Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 32 points including 13 goals and 19 assists while Quinton Byfield has 21 points with 5 goals and 16 assists this season. Kevin Fiala’s added 27 points with 14 goals and 13 assists while Corey Perry has 20 points with 8 goals and 12 assists and Brandt Clarke’s added 18 points with 5 goals and 13 assists this season. Anze Kopitar has 20 points with 6 goals and 14 assists while Joel Edmundsson’s had 14 points with 12 assists. Alex Laferriere also has 18 points with 10 goals and 8 assists. Darcy Kuemper’s gone 10-7-6 with a 2.27 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Anton Forsberg’s 6-6-3 with a 2.70 GAA and a .901 save percentage in goal for the Kings this season.
Minnesota Wild @ Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends: January 3, 2026
Why the Los Angeles Kings will win
The Kings have won four of their last five home games against the Wild.
The Wild have lost three of their last four road games on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Kings.
The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last five games on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Kings.
The Kings have covered the puck line in each of their last seven Saturday games against the Wild.
The Kings have won the third period in each of their last seven games as favorites following a home loss.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
The Wild have won nine of their last 10 games as underdogs.
The Kings have lost five of their last six games as favorites.
The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last nine games as underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in 10 of their last 12 home games.
The Kings have lost the second period in each of their last seven games when leading after the first period.
Total Goals Facts
Each of the Kings’ last six games against the Wild following a home loss have gone OVER the total goals line.
Each of the Wild’s last five road games have gone OVER the total goals line.
Seven of the last eight Saturday night games between teams from different divisions have gone OVER the total goals line.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last eight road games.
The ‘Under 0.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in five of the Kings’ last six games following a home loss.
Los Angeles Kings Player Prop Facts
Andrei Kuzmenko has scored a goal in four of his last five appearances in home games.
Drew Doughty has recorded at least one assist in seven of his last eight appearances with the Kings as favorites against the Wild.
Adrian Kempe ranks T2nd in the league for Game Winning Goals (5) this season.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
Vladimir Tarasenko has recorded at least one assist in each of his last four appearances with his team as an underdog against the Kings.
Matthew Boldy has scored at least one goal in four of the Wild’s last five games as road underdogs against Pacific Division opponents.
Quinn Hughes ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (27:19) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
The Los Angeles Kings rank 31st in the league for goals per game this season (2.59).
The Los Angeles Kings rank 31st in the league in power play percentage this season (15.70%).
The Minnesota Wild rank 2nd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.57).
The Minnesota Wild rank 1st in the league for Period 2 goals allowed per game this season (0.76).
Minnesota Wild vs. Los Angeles Kings Prediction
I’m on Minnesota here. I just think the Wild are the better team here and Los Angeles is a team I’ve made plenty of money fading at home this year. I think that the Wild get it done on the road and I think they sweep the back-to-back here. Give me the Wild.
