What once seemed like an easy challenge is getting harder by the day. As the Los Angeles Kings stay hot, our quest to have Tonge’s Ticket outpace the Kings point percentage becomes harder and harder. After Monday’s game, the Kings hold a .529 point percentage. Tonge’s Ticket is now 17/36 for a .472 percentage.
Be honest, did anyone believe the Kings would be the hottest team in the league after their first dozen games? It seems as if the Kings have found their stride and returned to the form showed before the pause in play last season. With wins in five straight games, the Kings hold a playoff spot and are giving their fans optimism, especially considering reinforcements aren’t far away.
In our last edition, we mentioned the Blues missing two key players in Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko. Add Carl Gunnarson to that list, as the defender left Monday’s game with an injury and will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
On the LA side, we mentioned the veterans leading the way, and that’s exactly what they did on Monday. Dustin Brown’s two goals and Jonathan Quick’s shutout allowed the Kings to pick up a crucial two points.
While Anze Kopitar and Brown continue to remain red hot, the youth may be the key to extending the winning streak to six. Cal Petersen will get the nod in net, and his lone NHL shutout came against St. Louis. Sean Walker is back in the lineup, and Kings fans can breathe a sigh of relief now that him and Matt Roy are patrolling the blue line once again for Todd McLellan’s club. Furthermore, Blake Lizotte and Andreas Athanasiou are back from the COVID list and if they can return to the level of play they showed to start the year, the Kings run may not have an end in sight.
Let’s look at the best bets for Wednesday’s game between the Kings and Blues:
Kings money line
Normally, we use DraftKings odds for Tonge’s Ticket, but for this bet, look elsewhere. For some reason, the Kings are +138 and +130 underdogs on FanDuel and PointsBet respectively, while DraftKings has them at +116. Not sure what odds makers are looking at here. Sure, the Blues are probably a better team overall, but LA is the hottest team in the league and the Blues lost yet another veteran defender. If you can get odds around +130, the Kings are worth a bet to stay hot.
Gabe Vilardi to score
The highlight of the Kings’ youth on the NHL roster, Gabe Vilardi, is starting to show why he was a high draft pick and a top prospect. The young center has scored in back-to-back games and has points in four straight. While the Blues focus may be on shutting down the top line of Brown, Kopitar, and Alex Iafallo, Vilardi has show the impact he can have in a top six role. The Kings stay hot, and so will Vilardi. DraftKings has +390 odds on the younger lighting the lamp.
Torey Krug to register over 2.5 shots
During the off-season, St. Louis saw a big change to their roster, as former captain Alex Pietrangelo left for Vegas in free agency. To fill his roster spot, the Blues turned to former Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. Facing a depleted d-core, coach Craig Berube will pair Krug with Justin Faulk, who has five goals on the year, for Wednesday’s game. Prior to Monday, Krug had registered at least three shots in four straight games. With +120 odds, we think he returns to form and throws plenty of pucks on net.
Looking for more betting picks? Make sure you follow @HockeysBestBets for my daily picks from around the league. You can also follow my personal account at @AndyTonge1 for my insight on the Kings and much more. Good luck and happy betting!