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- What: Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks
- Date: Thursday, February 29, 2024
- Location: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: BSW, ESPN+
The NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks are at home tonight, Thursday, February 29, and hosting the LA Kings in a Pacific Division battle. The Kings are in fourth place in the division, trailing the Canucks by 15 points. Vancouver has the best record in the Western Conference at 38-16-7. The Kings, who are a wild card team at this point, are 29-19-10.
Vancouver has played well on offense and defense this year. The team has a league-leading 221 goals on the year and their plus-51 goal differential is the top mark in the Western Conference. The Canucks are 20-5-3 at home this season and are 4-4-2 in their past 10 games.
The Kings are among the best defensive teams in the NHL in 2024, allowing 160 goals on the year while having a plus-18 goal differential. Los Angeles has an 18-9-4 road record, and the club is 6-4-0 in its 10 most recent contests.
Before we look at the betting breakdown for tonight’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, check out our betting picks to win the 2024 Stanley Cup and our tips for betting on the NHL.
Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks betting picks – February 29, 2024
 | Puck Line | Money Line | Total |
| Los Angeles Kings | +1.5 (-205) | +125 | Ov 6.0 (-112) |
| Vancouver Canucks | -1.5 (+173) | -145 | Un 6.0 (-108) |
LA Kings betting breakdown
The Kings had a good start to the 2024 season, but things have changed since the calendar flipped from 2023 to 2024. The club was 9-9-5 between January 2 and February 20, but they are 1-3 in their past four games, with eight goals in those outings.
Adrian Kempe, who had a career year in scoring in 2023, leads the team in points with 51. He is also tops on the team in assists with 32. Trevor Moore is the top goal scorer with 22. Kevin Fiala is the second-leading scorer on the club with 49 points. However, Kempe suffered an injury in the team’s 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, and he is not expected to play in tonight’s game.
Cam Talbot began the 2024 season as the Kings’ starting goaltender, but the club has relied on David Rittich since mid-January. The 31-year-old is 9-4-3 on the year with a 2.32 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Talbot is 16-14-5 with a 2.55 GAA and a .913 SV%.
The Kings are 12th in the NHL on the power play (22.3 percent) and first in penalty kill at 86.4 percent. The team averages 3.03 goals per game (19th in the NHL) and gives up an average of 2.67 goals per game, which is the third-fewest goals allowed per game in the league. The Kings take the third most shots per game (33.6) and surrender the fourth-fewest shots per game (28.3).
Vancouver Canucks betting breakdown
The Canucks were one of the best team’s in the league from the start of the 2024 NHL season through February 15. During that span, the Canucks only lost back-to-back games three times. However, the team is struggling as of late, going 1-4-1 in its past six games. That stretch included a 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
J.T. Miller, who had a career-high 99 points in 80 games in 2022, is leading the Canucks in points with 81. He is on pace for 109 points on the 2024 NHL season. Brock Boeser, who had a career-high 29 goals in his sophomore campaign in 2018 with Vancouver, leads the team in goals with 34. Meanwhile, Quinn Hughes is tops on the club in assists with 58. He had a career-high in helpers last year with 69. He should best that number in 2024.
Thatcher Demko has been the go-to goalie for Vancouver this year. The All-Star is 31-12-2 on the year with a 2.50 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
Vancouver scores the third-most goals per game this year at 3.62, and gives up the eighth fewest goals against at 2.75. The Canucks power play is clicking at 22.8 percent, which ranks them 10th in the NHL. The team’s penalty kill is 19th best at 79 percent. Vancouver averages 28.2 shots on goal per game, and the team allows 29.8 shots per game on their own net.
LA Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks betting trends
The Kings have been the betting underdog 18 times in 2024, and the team has picked up upset wins in nine of those games. The Canucks have been the betting favorite in 37 of their games this season, and the club has won 24 of those contests.
Los Angeles have averaged 2.5 goals per game in their past 10 outings and given up an average of 2.5 goals in those games. In their past 10 games, Vancouver have averaged 3.2 goals per game and surrendered an average of 3.3 goals per outing.
Tonight’s game between the Canucks and Kings is the first of four meetings between the clubs in 2024. Last year, the teams split their series 2-2. The teams did not score over five goals in any of those games.
Best bets for Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks
The Kings have struggled to score as of late, and the loss of Kempe in Edmonton will not help the team on that front when looking at tonight’s matchup against the Canucks. The betting pick is for the Canucks to beat the Kings tonight.
With both of these teams playing strong defense, the betting pick is for the Kings and Canucks to combine for under six goals.
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