Despite a season full of distractions for the Vancouver Canucks, Kevin Lankinen has been a standout in net. We expect the Swedish netminder to lock down L.A. tonight.
NHL
Wednesday’s nightcap on TNT features the Vancouver Canucks taking on the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. NHL odds list Los Angeles as a -173 favorite, while the total is set at 5.5.
Vancouver has held opposing teams to three or fewer goals in 11 of its past 13 games, and I expect this trend to continue tonight, as detailed in my Canucks vs. Kings predictions.
Find out more in my NHL picks for February 26.
My Canucks pick
Kings team total Under 3.5 (-172 at Pinnacle)
My Canucks analysis
The Vancouver Canucks have certainly dealt with their own struggles recently. With that said, the defense has been one of the few redeeming qualities of this team.
Over the past two months, Vancouver ranks seventh in the league in xGA/60. It is suppressing high-danger scoring chances at a high rate, even if the offense is struggling to get things going.
Backing up this strong defensive play is goaltender Kevin Lankinen, who has thrived in his first season with the team. The Swedish netminder boasts a .907 SV% and 2.52 GAA through 35 appearances in the crease.
This success is likely to continue against the Los Angeles Kings, a team he is 2-0 against in his career with a .946 SV% and 1.35 GAA. Los Angeles scored two or fewer goals in each of those two outings.
It will also help Lankinen’s cause that the Kings have struggled over the past 60 days with offensive production. Over that stretch, they rank 20th in xGF/60.
Los Angeles has scored three or fewer goals in 13 of its past 19 games, and I expect that to continue tonight.
Los Angeles opened as a -177 favorite and has since moved to -173. I expect this line to keep dropping due to Lankinen’s strong play in net.
Meanwhile, the total opened at 5.5 and hasn’t moved. The juice is on the Under, and considering that both teams are strong defensively with good goaltenders, this number isn’t going to go up.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Odds courtesy of Pinnacle
Vancouver has held opponents to three or fewer goals in 11 of its past 13 games. Find more NHL betting trends for Canucks vs. Kings.
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Tony Sartori has written over 1,000 pieces of sports betting content across multiple different media outlets. He covers the NHL, UFC, PGA, NFL and MLB. Tony started part-time while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he went on to receive a B.A. in Economics and a certificate in Entrepreneurship in 2022. He continues to work full-time in the sports betting landscape.
Due to the variety of sports he covers, Tony is handicapping every day. If he had one piece of betting advice for a new sports bettor, it would be to strictly enforce bankroll management rules for yourself. If you set aside $10,000 for your betting bankroll, then you should generally only be betting between $100 – $500 per play.
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