Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings Prediction 1/5/2026 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
Monday, January 5, 2026
Time
10:30 PM EST
TV
ESPN+
The Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings meet Monday 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 bounce back from a 5-4 shootout loss at the hands of the Kings last time out to sit at 25-10-8 this season. After this game, Minnesota will head on the road for a game against Seattle.
Wild Alternate Wins & Losses In Last 4 Games
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 49 points including 24 goals and a team-high 25 assists while Matt Boldy has 48 points including a team-high 26 goals and 22 assists. Marcus Johansson has 32 points with 12 goals and 20 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek has 32 points with 11 goals and 21 assists while Brock Faber has 23 points with 9 goals and 14 assists. Filip Gustavsson’s gone 14-8-4 with a 2.45 GAA and a .912 save percentage while Jesper Wallstedt is 11-2-4 with a 2.30 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 add on to their win over Minnesota last time out to sit at 17-14-9 this season. After this game, Los Angeles will take on the San Jose Sharks at home.
Kings Snap Two-Game Slide
Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 33 points including 14 goals and 19 assists while Quinton Byfield has 23 points with 6 goals and 17 assists this season. Kevin Fiala’s added 28 points with 14 goals and 14 assists while Corey Perry has 21 points with 9 goals and 12 assists and Brandt Clarke’s added 19 points with 5 goals and 14 assists this season. Anze Kopitar has 21 points with 6 goals and 15 assists while Joel Edmundsson’s had 14 points with 12 assists. Alex Laferriere also has 19 points with 10 goals and 9 assists. Darcy Kuemper’s gone 11-7-6 with a 2.33 GAA and a .911 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 5, 2026
Why the Los Angeles Kings will win
The Kings have won three of their last four games as underdogs against the Wild.
The Wild have lost three of their last five games as road favorites against Pacific Division opponents.
The Kings have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games as home underdogs against the Wild.
The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last five games as favorites following a shootout win.
The Kings have won the third period in 11 of their last 12 night games at Crypto.com Arena when leading after the second period.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
The Wild have won eight of their last nine games after coming off overtime.
The Kings have lost each of their last four home games following a win.
The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last nine home games after coming off overtime.
The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last six road games following a shootout loss.
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 nine games after coming off overtime have gone UNDER the total goals line.
Each of the Wild’s last six road games have gone OVER the total goals line.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last nine road games.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Kings’ last seven games following a home win.
Los Angeles Kings Player Prop Facts
Adrian Kempe has scored a goal in each of the Kings’ last four games against the Wild.
Anze Kopitar has recorded at least one assist in each of the Kings’ last five games as home underdogs against Central Division opponents.
Adrian Kempe has scored the first goal in three of the Kings’ last four games against the Wild.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
Kirill Kaprizov has scored a goal in four of the Wild’s last five games as road favorites.
Kirill Kaprizov has recorded at least one assist in six of the Wild’s last seven night games.
Matchup/League Facts
The Los Angeles Kings rank 3rd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.65).
The Los Angeles Kings rank 29th in the league for goals per game this season (2.63).
The Minnesota Wild rank 2nd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.60).
The Minnesota Wild rank 26th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (76.70%).
Minnesota Wild vs. Los Angeles Kings Prediction
I’m on Minnesota here. I get that the Kings just won the first meeting between these two teams a couple of days ago, but that was also a tricky spot for the Wild on the second half of a back-to-back, but now rested I think they get their revenge. The Wild have been the better team in recent weeks, and the Los Angeles Kings have still been a subpar team at home this season. All in all, I think Minnesota handles their business here so give me the Wild in this one.
