The Los Angeles Kings host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
The pregame narrative: Los Angeles aims for its first home win since Jan. 4 as it takes on the reigning Cup champion Florida Panthers. With these two strong defensive teams, I’m backing a low-scoring game. I also have prop plays on Kevin Fiala and Sam Bennett.
Check out my Panthers vs. Kings picks for Jan. 22.
Panthers vs. Kings picks
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Best bet: Fiala over 2.5 shots (-130)
This was my best bet on Monday this week when the Kings faced the Penguins. Fiala delivered then, producing five shots in a 5-1 loss. And while the Panthers pose a bigger threat defensively than Pittsburgh, I’m still backing the Swiss native.
Fiala has cleared this mark in six straight games, including 15 shots over his last two games.
The Kings haven’t won at Crypto.com Arena in over two weeks so I expect them to come out firing in a big measuring stick game against the defending champs.
Key stat: Fiala is averaging five shots per game over his last six contests.
Quick picks
Under 5.5 goals (-109): Last season, these teams met twice and the under hit both times.
The Kings, once again, are one of the strongest defensive teams in the NHL:
- No. 3 in goals allowed/game (2.48)
- No. 1 in shots allowed/game (24.9)
- T6th in penalty kill (82.6%)
Both Panthers goalies have looked sharp recently. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded a 28-save win against the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday. His backup Spencer Knight, who posted a 34-save shutout on Jan. 18 and has won his past three starts, is expected to be in the crease Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper enters Wednesday’s contest with an impressive 2.10 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.
Bennett under 0.5 points (-148): Bennett snapped a 20-game goal drought in Anaheim Tuesday. Prior to that, Bennett had just one point in his past 14 games.
Since 2022, Bennett has recorded just one point in his five games versus the Kings.
Picks made at 4:20 p.m. ET on 01/22/2025.
