Golden Knights vs Kings Prediction, Pick & Odds for Wednesday Night Hockey

• The Kings are a -144 moneyline favorite over the Golden Knights on Wednesday, Feb. 25th
• Vegas are underdogs despite leading Los Angeles by eight points in the Pacific Division
• See my Golden Knights vs Kings predictions below, plus prop pick and lineups

The NHL returns in earnest Wednesday night, with a battle between two Pacific Division foes that have no love lost for one another – the Golden Knights vs Kings.

Vegas (27-16-14, 20-37 ATS, first in Pacific, 68 pts) squares off against Los Angeles (23-19-14, 20-36 ATS, fifth in Pacific, 60 pts). This game marks the first contest as an LA King for superstar forward Artemi Panarin, who was dealt to Tinseltown before the Olympic trade freeze.

Action is set to get underway at 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, with TNT, HBO Max, and truTV providing coverage in the United States.

Golden Knights vs Kings Prediction

• Over 5.5 Goals (-102 at DraftKings)

My Golden Knights vs Kings prediction is pointing straight towards goals aplenty occurring in this heated rivalry. Remarkably, in 13 of the last 15 duels between these two in LA, at least six combined goals have been scored.

Per the NHL odds, our SBD formula has Vegas pulling off the upset 3.40-3.18, which points to over 5.5 goals being scored between the Golden Knights vs Kings, and dovetails with my prediction. The time off for most players, due to the Olympics, cuts both ways – perhaps the two teams will be sloppy, allowing more chances, or they’ll be rusty and won’t be able to score as much.

19 of Vegas’ last 25 games have featured the red light going off at least six combined times. Goalies haven’t been confirmed, but it’s expected to be Adin Hill (VGK) against Darcy Kuemper (LA).

The former has surrendered at least three markers in five of his last seven skirmishes. The latter has done that in eight of the last 13 times suiting up, with one instance allowing just two goals, because Kuemper left the game injured.

In the Stanley Cup Odds, the Golden Knights have the fourth-shortest odds at +1000, while the Kings are +3500.

VGK vs LAK Season Stats/Ranks

Vegas finds themselves in the upper half of the NHL in terms of scoring and are middling at preventing goals, with solid special teams. Apart from allowing the sixth fewest goals per game in the league, LA has really struggled putting the puck in the net, plus they have abysmal special teams units.

Golden Knights vs Kings Prop Pick

• Ivan Barbashev Anytime Goal Scorer (+249 at DraftKings)

For a prop bet, I’m going on a little bit of a limb with Ivan Barbashev to light the lamp. He’s tied for fifth on VGK with 16 goals, tickling the twine in four of his last five affairs. Unfortunately, the Olympic break got in the way of his hot streak, which saw him post two assists in his final contest against LA after scoring in the four previous outings.

What I love most is that you can snag Barbashev at odds longer than the top eleven players on the board, presenting tremendous value. That particularly holds true as he’s playing on the Knights’ top line and Vegas needing to make up for Jack Eichel’s (Olympics) absence in this one. If you want to get spicy and parlay over 5.5 goals being scored, plus Barbashev to snipe, that total pays out a cool +520.

Golden Knights vs Kings Odds

The Kings are currently -144 moneyline favorites and are laying 1.5 goals on the puck line at +186. The Golden Knights come back as a +120 underdog, while the total currently sits at 5.5 goals at FanDuel.

The implied win probability of LAK at -144 is 59.0%. You’d need to wager $144 on the favorites to win $100, while a $100 bet on the underdogs clears $120.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 12:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 25.

Golden Knights vs Kings Projected Lineups

Vegas Projected Lineup

Forwards

Ivan Barbashev – Tomas Hertl – Mark Stone

Mitch Marner – Reilly Smith – Pavel Dorofeyev

Brandon Saad – Kai Uchacz – Tanner Laczynski

Braeden Bowman – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar

Defense

Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore

Jeremy Lauzon – Rasmus Andersson

Ben Hutton – Kaedan Korczak

Goaltenders

Adin Hill

Akira Schmid

Injuries and Scratches: Alex Pietrangelo (hip), Jack Eichel (Olympics), Noah Hanifin (Olympics), William Karlsson (lower-body), Carter Hart (lower-body), Brett Howden (lower-body), Jonas Rondbjerg (undisclosed)

Los Angeles Projected Lineup

Forwards

Artemi Panarin – Alex Laferriere – Adrian Kempe

Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Trevor Moore

Warren Foegele – Alex Turcotte – Andrei Kuzmenko

Joel Armia – Samuel Helenius – Corey Perry

Defense

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke

Brian Dumoulin – Cody Ceci

Goaltenders

Darcy Kuemper

Anton Forsberg

Injuries and Scratches: Kevin Fiala (lower-body)