LA Kings (21-10-5) vs New Jersey Devils (24-12-3)
January 1, 2025 at 06:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: LA Kings +100 / New Jersey Devils -123 — Over/Under:
In this article, we will formulate a New Jersey Devils vs LA Kings Prediction for this NHL game on Tuesday, December 31st at the Crypto.Com Arena. To formulate this prediction, we will look at:
-The Devils’ recent form and recent player performance
-The Kings’ recent form and recent player performance
-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving New Jersey
-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving LA
-Recent betting trends in games played between New Jersey and LA
-A summary that ties it all together produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between the Devils and Kings.
Devils on Tired Legs
The Devils are going to be playing on tired legs after their game on New Year’s Eve against the Anaheim Ducks. Two games ago against the Carolina Hurricanes the Devils scored two goals but it wasn’t enough with the way the defense played. The defense gave up four goals in the last game and they can’t have the late collapse again in this game. The defense allowed way too many shots on goal and Jake Allen only saved 36 of the 40 of them. Paul Cotter and Andrej Palat scored the two goals for the Devils. The Devils offense only managed 23 shots on goal and that is going to need to be better. The Devils are averaging 3.33 goals while their defense is giving up 2.551 goals per game.
The offense is ranked 8th in the league while the defense is ranked 2nd. The stats overall for this team are strong and even before the last loss, they were playing pretty well. As a team, they have a save percentage of 90.1 percent which is 10th best in the league. Jesper Bratt has been the top player for the Devils scoring 14 goals and adding 33 assists.
Kings Look for Third Straight Win
The Kings have some confidence heading into this game and they have won two games in a row. Two games ago against the Edmonton Oilers they won 4-3 in overtime, and in the last game against the Philadelphia Flyers it took overtime, but they were able to secure the 5-4 victory. Anze Kopitar had a strong game scoring two goals. Even though they won, they are going to need the goaltending to be a whole lot better. David Rittch was in goal and he really struggled, saving 17 of the 21 shots that he faced.
The Kings on the season is averaging 3.14 goals while their defense is giving up 2.61 goals per game. The offense is ranked 13th in the league while the defense is ranked 4th. The defense has done a good job of limiting shots and they are giving up only 24.58 shots per game which is the best in all the NHL. Darcy Kuemper is expected to start in goal and he sits with a 9-2-5 record and has a save percentage of 91 percent. He has one shutout on the season.
New Jersey Devils vs LA Kings Prediction
The Devils are on tired legs and that is going to really hurt them here. The Kings offense is averaging 3.14 goals per game and their offense is going to get out to a fast start here. The Devils’ defense has been good overall his season, but they aren’t going to have the best game, it’s going to be the Kings that are going to end up cruising here. Look for the Kings to score at least two goals early and that will be the difference. Back the Kings on the money line to cash here.