By Brady Trettenero in NHL Hockey
Published:
Two teams fighting for their playoff lives meet Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, as the Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-12) wrap up a Southern California back-to-back against the Los Angeles Kings (28-24-15). The Flyers beat the Ducks 3-2 in overtime last night in Anaheim and now make the short trip north on tired legs.
Philadelphia is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games in a push to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20. But the Kings have owned this matchup lately, winning three straight against the Flyers dating to last season while averaging 5.00 goals per game in those wins. That’s the highest mark against any opponent for LA since 2024-25.
Puck drop is set for 10:30 pm ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. My Flyers vs Kings prediction, picks and NHL odds are below.
The Flyers are playing well, no question. But this is the second half of a back-to-back in Southern California, and Philadelphia is just 4-5-1 in those situations this season, tied for ninth worst in the NHL. LA has won three straight in the head-to-head and scored five goals per game in those wins.
LA holds the edge in shots per game (27.60 to 25.19) and save percentage (.894 to .883). Darcy Kuemper has been the steadier netminder with a 2.64 GAA and .898 save percentage in 42 starts, while Samuel Ersson has struggled to a 3.30 GAA and .863 save percentage across 27 appearances. That gap in the crease is a big deal, especially against a tired team on the tail end of a back-to-back.
My Flyers vs Kings prediction is on the home side. The Kings need this one with just 18 regulation wins on the season, and the matchup history plus the fatigue factor favor LA.
Three props caught my eye when putting together my Flyers vs Kings picks for late-night hockey.
Byfield has cleared 1.5 shots on goal in 9 of his last 10 games, averaging 2.8 per contest in that stretch. The juice is steep, but a 90% hit rate over a 10-game window is hard to argue with. Philly allows 25.67 shots per game, so there will be opportunities for the 23-year-old center to fire away.
The newly crowned franchise points leader has gone over 1.5 shots in 5 of his last 6 games, averaging 3.17 per game in that span. At -105, this is practically a coin flip price for a trend hitting at an 83% rate. Kopitar has been hunting his shot more in recent weeks, and I expect that to continue against a Flyers team playing on tired legs.
Panarin has recorded an assist in 6 of his last 7 games since joining the Kings, averaging 1.0 per contest. The veteran winger has slotted seamlessly onto the top line with Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, and he’s been the primary playmaker on that unit. I’ll round out my Flyers vs Kings picks with Panarin’s assists over at -143.
Odds as of Mar. 19. Grab the Caesars Sportsbook promo code to bet on late-night hockey tonight.
LA’s -175 moneyline translates to roughly a 64% implied probability, while the Flyers’ best price is +150 at bet365. The puck line has Philly at +1.5 (-176) and the Kings at -1.5 (+154). The total sits at 5.5 with the over at -130 at DraftKings.
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Lead NHL & NCAAF Editor
Brady is the lead NHL and College Football editor at Sports Betting Dime, where he specializes in betting odds and data-driven analysis. Brady has over 10 years experience working in sports media, with work published by outlets such as ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports.
Updated: 1 hour ago
