Los Angeles Kings vs New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils return home in a spot that suits them, even after their recent two-game skid snapped a four-game winning streak, while the Los Angeles Kings just halted their own funk with a needed road win but remain only barely above water over their last handful of games. With Kevin Fiala, Andrei Kuzmenko and Joel Armia all sidelined, the Kings’ wing depth is thinned and puts even more offensive burden on Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield, which is not ideal against a Devils team that can roll Hughes, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt down the middle and on special teams. New Jersey’s blue line is missing Brett Pesce and some depth wingers in Zack MacEwen and Stefan Noesen, but they still ice a strong puck-moving core with Luke Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec, and they have already seen Hughes post multi-point nights against this Kings group in Newark earlier in the decade, underscoring how his speed and playmaking stress LA’s heavier back end. With both clubs hovering around the playoff bubble, this feels like a “must-have” home game for the Devils, and between their slightly better recent underlying scoring form, last change in a rink where they’ve already ended a Kings winning streak before, and LA’s injury-driven reliance on a short list of finishers, the edge leans to New Jersey at -143 even if the price isn’t a steal. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/03/2026 15:40

With the total sitting at 5.5, this shapes up as the kind of tight-checking, playoff-tinged matchup that often lands on the lower side of the number, especially given how both the Kings and Devils are scoring in the mid-2s per game while allowing just under or a bit over three. Los Angeles continues to play a relatively low-event, structurally sound game underpinned by Mikey Anderson, Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke on the back end, and the injuries to Fiala and Kuzmenko cap their ability to turn offensive zone time into finishing, which has already shown up in several one-goal and overtime results lately. New Jersey’s offense has more pop with Hughes, Bratt, Hischier and Timo Meier, but their recent surge in wins coincided with better goaltending from Jacob Markstrom and steadier defensive play, and even in their losses to Detroit and Calgary they largely controlled long stretches without the score exploding. Layer in the travel fatigue for LA on this Eastern swing, the urgency of the playoff race forcing both coaches to lean into matchup hockey and special teams detail, and the fact that the Devils have previously handled the Kings in Newark without turning the game into track meet, and the Under 5.5 at -101 has a solid blend of probability and price, earning a B+ grade. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/03/2026 15:40

The puckline is where the Kings become more attractive, as their combination of defensive structure, goaltending that generally keeps them in games, and a style that emphasizes controlled pace has produced a long run of one-goal and overtime decisions, even against more explosive opponents than this version of the Devils. New Jersey’s recent form spike was driven in part by Hughes and Hischier driving the attack and Markstrom stabilizing the crease, but their current injuries on the wings and blue line, including Pesce and Noesen, chip away at the kind of depth that usually fuels multi-goal home wins, and they’ve already shown in prior meetings with LA that they can win without running away on the scoreboard. On the other side, even with Fiala and Kuzmenko out, the Kings can still throw out Kempe, Byfield, Kopitar and Artemi Panarin across their top six, and that offensive talent combined with a blue line featuring Doughty and Anderson makes it difficult for opponents to separate by more than a goal unless special teams completely unravel. Given our lean to a relatively low-scoring contest and the broader playoff context that should keep both benches rolling their best matchups rather than opening things up, backing Los Angeles at +1.5 on the puckline at -204 gets a B- grade: the juice is heavy, but it aligns with how these teams typically play. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/03/2026 15:40