by Rod Pearson
Thursday, Apr 20, 2023
Game Time: 10:00 pm ET, Friday, April 21, 2023
Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Where to Watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Moneyline: Oilers -140, Kings +120; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
Bet365: Moneyline: Oilers -150, Kings +130; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
BetMGM: Moneyline: Oilers -145, Kings +120; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
Season Record
Edmonton Oilers: 50-23-9 (2nd place, Pacific Division)
Los Angeles Kings: 47-25-10 (3rd place, Pacific Division)
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Recent Form
Edmonton Oilers: 9-0-1 last 10
Los Angeles Kings: 5-5-0 last 10
Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings Preview and Analysis
The Oilers are entering this game finishing the regular season with 109 points, a 50-23-9 record overall, and they were 27-11-3 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a win against the LA Kings in their last game, winning that one at home 4-2. Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Klim Kostin, and Derek Ryan each scored 1 goal in that game. Leon Draisaitl led the team in assists with 1 while Connor McDavid led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Stuart Skinner was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 24 shots with 22 saves and a .917 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 325 goals this season averaging 4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 260 goals against them allowing 3.2 goals per game.
The Kings are entering this game finishing the regular season with 104 points, a 47-25-10 record overall, and they were 26-11-4 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a loss against the Edmonton Oilers in their last game, losing that one on the road 4-2. Phillip Danault and Gabriel Vilardi each scored 1 goal in that game. Michael Anderson, Vladislav Gavrikov, Adrian Kempe, and Trevor Moore each led the team in assists with 1 while Adrian Kempe led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Joonas Korpisalo was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 36 shots with 33 saves and a .917 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 280 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 257 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game.
Oilers vs Kings Prediction
The current betting odds have the Oilers listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 3 of a 7-game series between the Kings and the Oilers for the 1st round of the NHL Western Conference playoffs. This series is all tied up 1-1 going into LA but the Oilers have clearly been the better team in both games despite losing game 1. The Kings have been a good home team all year and they are going to be looking for revenge from last year as this is a repeat of the 1st round for these two just a season ago, but the Oilers were really hot coming into the playoffs and they have been a great road team this season with their 27-11-3 road record. The Oilers need to win a road game now to regain the home advantage in this series and now that they have tied the series up with another great performance in game 2, they will be bringing their best effort in this game to take their 1st series lead and avoid being down once again. Connor McDavid has also been very quiet in these first 2 games of the series with only 1 point so far but he had over 150 points during the regular season and will be looking to step up in a big way here on the road to help give his team their 1st series lead. The best way to place a bet here is on the Oilers to win this game.
Oilers Kings Prediction: Our NHL Pick for Friday, April 21, 2023 (10:00 pm ET start time) is Oilers 4 Kings 3.
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NHL Betting Trends
Edmonton Oilers: 27-14 (+9.6 units) on the moneyline in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 20-7 (+7.8 units) on the moneyline after a division game. 20-6 OVER after 1 or more consecutive unders. 44-23 OVER off a home win.
Los Angeles Kings: 1-8 (-7.8 units) on the moneyline after 3 consecutive division games. 20-27 (-8.6 units) on the moneyline revenging a road loss versus opponent. 22-11 OVER after 1 or more consecutive unders. 13-4 OVER when tied in a playoff series.
Key Injuries
Edmonton Oilers: M. Janmark (C) Ques Fri - Lower Body. R. Murray (D) Early May - Back.
Los Angeles Kings: K. Fiala (LW) Out indefinitely - Lower Body.
Notable Quotes
“Both games, I thought we controlled the bulk of the play. In both games, we had a couple of minutes we’d like to have back.” - Jay Woodcroft after his team’s win against the Kings in their game on Wednesday, game 2 of this series.
“The first 20 (minutes), not good. The next 40 was pretty good. Actually, we played pretty good hockey and it seemed like the play was more slowed down. It was a good overall 40 minutes, but we’ve got to play 60.” - Philip Danault after their loss against the Oilers in their game on Wednesday, game 2 of this series.
Starting Lineups
Edmonton Oilers
LW Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan
C McDavid, Connor
RW Hyman, Zach
LD Nurse, Darnell
RD Ceci, Cody
G Skinner, Stuart
Los Angeles Kings
LW Byfield, Quinton
C Kopitar, Anze
RW Kempe, Adrian
LD Anderson, Michael
RD Doughty, Drew
G Korpisalo, Joonas
Statistical Leaders
Edmonton Oilers
Points: C. McDavid (153)
Goals: C. McDavid (64)
Assists: C. McDavid (89)
GAA: S. Skinner (2.75)
Los Angeles Kings
Points: A. Kopitar (74)
Goals: A. Kempe (41)
Assists: K. Fiala (49)
GAA: P. Copley (2.64)
Coaches:
Edmonton Oilers: Jay Woodcroft (2nd season)
Los Angeles Kings: Todd McLellan (4th season)
Rod Pearson
About the Author:
Rod Pearson has been a rabid sports fan his entire life. He grew up in Ontario, and was skilled in both hockey and baseball, and pitched in an elite baseball league for many years. In 2022, Rod decided to hang up his glove, so that he could write about the sports he loves -- but from a gambling perspective. Join Rod every day as he breaks down the games to find the best betting value.
