The Penguins look to get back in the win column hosting the LA Kings. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here on Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL’s games. In today’s matchup, the Pittsburgh Penguins face-off against the Los Angeles Kings for the second time this season.
NHL Predictions Los Angeles vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Kings 0-1 Penguins
Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
How to Watch TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh; Sportsnet+
Sidney Crosby and the banged-up Penguins take on Anze Kopitar and the Kings in a cross-conference clash.
The Penguins Story
The Penguins come into this game having lost yesterday 2-1 against the New Jersey Devils. Although the Penguins lost, they showed a lot of fight against one of the NHL‘s best teams, continuing to show that this year‘s iteration of the Penguins may just be a playoff-calibre team. Now returning home to face the Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins have a great opportunity to build some momentum going into their Global Series games against the Nashville Predators next week in Sweden. In the final game before this trip, it seems rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov will be making his NHL debut. Murashov has been incredible at the AHL level this year and last. This year, he has a record of 5-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and 1.73 goals-against average with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Murashov also got top honours as the AHL’s goaltender of the month in October.
Playing against the Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins will need their best offensive weapons to show up, as the team is pretty banged up with injuries right now. With key injuries, such as Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, and Noel Acciari, to the lineup, players like captain Sidney Crosby are going to have to produce in this one in order to get the win against the Kings. Crosby’s lone assist on the Ryan Graves goal yesterday gave him his 20th point of the season, tying him with Evgeni Malkin for the team lead in points. Against a Kings team that is bottom-10 in both goals-for and goals-against in the league, the Penguins have a great opportunity to pick up two points here.
The Kings Story
The Los Angeles Kings have not had the start to the season that they were hoping for. Questionable moves in the offseason, such as the Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin acquisitions, as well as the general ageing of the older core of the Kings has led to a 6-5-4 start to the season. This currently has them on the outside looking in for the Western Conference playoff race.
A large part of the reason the Kings have struggled to start this season has been a lack of production from a lot of the team’s top players. Forward Anze Kopitar has just one goal and seven points through 11 games. Similarly, defenceman Brandt Clarke has produced just two goals and seven points in 15 games. The centre of the present and future for LA, Quinton Byfield, has just two goals and 12 points in 15 games. Goaltending hasn’t been much better for the team, expected starter Darcy Kuemper boasts a record of 4-3-3 to start the year, with a .900 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average. He’ll need to be sharp against one of the leagues highest scoring teams in the Penguins today.
NHL Prediction
While the Los Angeles Kings continue to struggle, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown a lot of fight over the last five games, even in the games that they’ve lost. A big issue for this Penguins team in recent years has been the ability to stay in games emotionally when things are looking tough, but they’ve shown resilience this year that previous iterations of the teams haven’t. Expect the Penguins to push hard and get the win in this game.
NHL Prediction: Penguins win 6-4
Prop Bet of the Night
While the Kings have struggled on both offence and defence, the Penguins have been the opposite. They’ve gotten good goaltending, solid defensive play, and a ton of offence to start the year. A popular prop bet of total goals over 8 with odds of +350 is a good bet here.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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The post NHL Predictions: November 9th Los Angeles Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.