by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Feb 17, 2023
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
Where to watch: ESPN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Kings -245, Ducks +205
FanDuel: Kings -265, Ducks +205
BetMGM: Kings -250, Ducks +190
Caesars: Kings -238, Ducks +196
Season record
Kings: 30-18-7
Ducks: 17-32-6
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Kings - Ducks preview, prediction and analysis
The Los Angeles Kings will be playing the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, February 17 in Anaheim, California.
The Los Angeles Kings won against the Buffalo Sabres last Monday, February 13 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California with a score of 5-2. The Los Angeles Kings currently rank 2nd in the Pacific Division.
Adrian Kempe scored his seventh goal in the past three games for the Los Angeles Kings.
"Obviously, he's on fire. I touched his stick a little bit to get some good luck," said Los Angeles forward Phillip Danault, who had three assists.
Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and two assists, and Pheonix Copley made 27 saves for the Kings (30-18-7), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
"We kind of came from nowhere there in the second, but somehow we figured it out and just kept going," Arvidsson said.
Kempe, who scored the final four goals in a 6-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, scored short-handed to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 9:20 of the second period.
Kempe is the third player in Kings history to score five straight goals, joining Tomas Sandstrom (Nov. 22-24, 1990) and Luc Robitaille (Feb. 4-6, 1992).
"Goal-scorer gets hot, and just hot stick, and it goes in," Arvidsson said. "I've been in those situations before, and it's nice to be in that kind of groove."
Arthur Kaliyev scored seven seconds into a power play to make it 2-0 at 12:35. He buried a slap shot from the right circle after Danault whiffed on a one-timer. Sean Walker extended the lead to 3-0 at 18:41 on a wrist shot from the right point through a screen. Matt Roy scored 33 seconds later with a one-timer from the left hash marks off a give-and-go with Kempe to make it 4-0.
Arvidsson pushed the lead to 5-0 at 5:14 of the third period. Danault tried to rim the puck around the boards, but the puck caromed off a stanchion and ended up at Anderson's left skate, where Arvidsson jammed it in on his backhand.
"Totally on purpose," Danault joked.
Said Arvidsson: "Good bounce for us. Our line has worked hard for those kind of bounces, and it's nice to get on the board."
The Los Angeles Kings have won five of their last 10 games.
The Anaheim Ducks lost against the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday, February 15 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California with a score of 7-3. The Anaheim Ducks currently rank 8th in the Pacific Division.
Cam Fowler scored two goals, Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal and an assist, and Lukas Dostal made 37 saves in his first NHL start since Dec. 23 for the Ducks (17-32-6), who have allowed 20 goals in a three-game losing streak.
"We're certainly going to be getting everybody's best," Shattenkirk said. "[Opponents] are going to probably feel like they can come in here, and these are two points that they have to have. We just have to make that job harder on them."
The Sabres outshot the Ducks 19-3 in the first period while taking a 2-0 lead.
The Ducks were getting outshot 23-4 when Shattenkirk scored his first goal of the season off a rush to cut it to 2-1 at 6:37 of the second period. He had not scored since March 31, 2022 (61 games).
"It was, personally, nice to get that one off my shoulders," Shattenkirk said.
Fowler tied it 2-2 at 7:48 when his wrist shot glanced off the inside edge of the post with Derek Grant providing a screen and made it 3-2 at 13:08 when he scored on a rebound.
"We started moving our feet a little bit, playing on our toes," Fowler said of the second period. "We sat back quite a bit in the first period and let them dictate the pace of the game, and that's not the recipe for success."
Buffalo scored the remaining five shots with a final score of 7-3.
"We came out in the second and obviously responded, but they answered back," Shattenkirk said. "That's something we have to be prepared for as well. Teams aren't going to just roll over and let us have that win once we go up by a goal."
The Anaheim Ducks have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Ducks can't stop a nosebleed right now. Might be an onslaught from Los Angeles. Kings 5, Ducks 1
The Los Angeles Kings won against the Buffalo Sabres last Monday, February 13 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California with a score of 5-2. The Los Angeles Kings currently rank 2nd in the Pacific Division.
Adrian Kempe scored his seventh goal in the past three games for the Los Angeles Kings.
"Obviously, he's on fire. I touched his stick a little bit to get some good luck," said Los Angeles forward Phillip Danault, who had three assists.
Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and two assists, and Pheonix Copley made 27 saves for the Kings (30-18-7), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
"We kind of came from nowhere there in the second, but somehow we figured it out and just kept going," Arvidsson said.
Kempe, who scored the final four goals in a 6-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, scored short-handed to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 9:20 of the second period.
Kempe is the third player in Kings history to score five straight goals, joining Tomas Sandstrom (Nov. 22-24, 1990) and Luc Robitaille (Feb. 4-6, 1992).
"Goal-scorer gets hot, and just hot stick, and it goes in," Arvidsson said. "I've been in those situations before, and it's nice to be in that kind of groove."
Arthur Kaliyev scored seven seconds into a power play to make it 2-0 at 12:35. He buried a slap shot from the right circle after Danault whiffed on a one-timer. Sean Walker extended the lead to 3-0 at 18:41 on a wrist shot from the right point through a screen. Matt Roy scored 33 seconds later with a one-timer from the left hash marks off a give-and-go with Kempe to make it 4-0.
Arvidsson pushed the lead to 5-0 at 5:14 of the third period. Danault tried to rim the puck around the boards, but the puck caromed off a stanchion and ended up at Anderson's left skate, where Arvidsson jammed it in on his backhand.
"Totally on purpose," Danault joked.
Said Arvidsson: "Good bounce for us. Our line has worked hard for those kind of bounces, and it's nice to get on the board."
The Los Angeles Kings have won five of their last 10 games.
The Anaheim Ducks lost against the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday, February 15 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California with a score of 7-3. The Anaheim Ducks currently rank 8th in the Pacific Division.
Cam Fowler scored two goals, Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal and an assist, and Lukas Dostal made 37 saves in his first NHL start since Dec. 23 for the Ducks (17-32-6), who have allowed 20 goals in a three-game losing streak.
"We're certainly going to be getting everybody's best," Shattenkirk said. "[Opponents] are going to probably feel like they can come in here, and these are two points that they have to have. We just have to make that job harder on them."
The Sabres outshot the Ducks 19-3 in the first period while taking a 2-0 lead.
The Ducks were getting outshot 23-4 when Shattenkirk scored his first goal of the season off a rush to cut it to 2-1 at 6:37 of the second period. He had not scored since March 31, 2022 (61 games).
"It was, personally, nice to get that one off my shoulders," Shattenkirk said.
Fowler tied it 2-2 at 7:48 when his wrist shot glanced off the inside edge of the post with Derek Grant providing a screen and made it 3-2 at 13:08 when he scored on a rebound.
"We started moving our feet a little bit, playing on our toes," Fowler said of the second period. "We sat back quite a bit in the first period and let them dictate the pace of the game, and that's not the recipe for success."
Buffalo scored the remaining five shots with a final score of 7-3.
"We came out in the second and obviously responded, but they answered back," Shattenkirk said. "That's something we have to be prepared for as well. Teams aren't going to just roll over and let us have that win once we go up by a goal."
The Anaheim Ducks have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Ducks can't stop a nosebleed right now. Might be an onslaught from Los Angeles. Kings 5, Ducks 1
Betting trends
Kings are 14-10 after a non-conference game this season.
Kings are 8-6 off a home win this season.
Ducks are 6-27 on Friday the last 3 seasons.
Projected lines
Kings:
Quinton Byfield -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Blake Lizotte -- Alex Iafallo
Jaret Anderson-Dolan -- Rasmus Kupari -- Arthur Kaliyev
Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty
Sean Durzi -- Matt Roy
Alexander Edler -- Sean Walker
Pheonix Copley
Quinton Byfield -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Blake Lizotte -- Alex Iafallo
Jaret Anderson-Dolan -- Rasmus Kupari -- Arthur Kaliyev
Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty
Sean Durzi -- Matt Roy
Alexander Edler -- Sean Walker
Pheonix Copley
Ducks:
Derek Grant -- Trevor Zegras -- Ryan Strome
Adam Henrique -- Mason McTavish - Frank Vatrano
Max Jones -- Isac Lundestrom -- Jakob Silfverberg
Max Comtois -- Jayson Megna -- Sam Carrick
Cam Fowler -- Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit -- John Klingberg
Nathan Beaulieu -- Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson
Derek Grant -- Trevor Zegras -- Ryan Strome
Adam Henrique -- Mason McTavish - Frank Vatrano
Max Jones -- Isac Lundestrom -- Jakob Silfverberg
Max Comtois -- Jayson Megna -- Sam Carrick
Cam Fowler -- Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit -- John Klingberg
Nathan Beaulieu -- Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
