Rangers vs Kings

Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers limp into Los Angeles having gone 2-8 over their last 10, while the Kings are somehow in even worse current form with a four-game skid and a 3-7 stretch that has dragged them into the middle of a crowded Pacific logjam.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) The injury report tilts slightly toward LA despite the names involved: New York is missing both Igor Shesterkin (IR) and Adam Fox (LTIR), stripping out its franchise goalie and elite puck-moving backbone, whereas the Kings are down captain Anze Kopitar and key winger Trevor Moore on injured reserve plus Corey Perry out, which hurts their top six and power play but doesn’t gut their defensive structure.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/47531689/new-york-rangers-place-igor-shesterkin-adam-fox-ir?utm_source=openai)) Last spring in this building, Kevin Fiala scored twice and Darcy Kuemper turned away 22 shots in a 3-1 Kings win over New York, with J.T. Miller providing the Rangers’ lone goal, underscoring how LA’s system and goaltending can suffocate the Blueshirts’ rush-based offense at Crypto.com Arena.([africa.espn.com](https://africa.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401688737?utm_source=openai)) With both teams hovering around the playoff cut line rather than in secure spots, urgency should be high, but the Kings’ superior defensive profile (2.71 goals against per game, 4th in the league) versus a Rangers side allowing 3.10 per night and now relying on depth goaltending makes Los Angeles the more reliable side in a matchup where their remaining core of Fiala, Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield can lean on home-ice last change.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) I’m backing the Los Angeles Kings moneyline at -188 as a moderate-confidence, low-value play (Grade: B-), given the combination of structural edge and injury-ravaged opposition but worrisome current form on both sides. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 20/01/2026 09:49

Recent scoring trends for these teams point in different directions, with the Rangers involved in a string of high-event losses (including 8-4 and 10-2 embarrassments during a 2-8 slide) while the Kings keep landing on tight 2-1 and 3-2 scorelines in their current four-game skid, reflecting an offense that has dried up but a defensive shell that still keeps games close.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) The injuries matter at both ends of the ice: Shesterkin’s absence and Fox’s stint on LTIR damage New York’s breakout and penalty kill, but Kopitar, Moore and Perry being out removes a big chunk of LA’s playmaking and net-front presence, which has already helped drag the Kings’ power play down to 15.9 percent (29th in the league).([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/47531689/new-york-rangers-place-igor-shesterkin-adam-fox-ir?utm_source=openai)) When these teams met here last March, the result was a controlled 3-1 Kings win with Kuemper and Shesterkin trading saves in a relatively low-event game, suggesting stylistic familiarity that tends to suppress scoring rather than open things up.([africa.espn.com](https://africa.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401688737?utm_source=openai)) Season-long numbers back a lean to the low side: New York averages 2.66 goals for and 3.10 against per game, while Los Angeles sits at 2.54 for and 2.71 against, giving us combined scoring that typically lands below tonight’s 6-goal total in non-empty-net situations, especially with the Kings’ offense missing multiple top-six pieces.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) I’m playing Under 6 at -125, expecting LA’s conservative structure and depleted forward corps to keep this in the 3-2 or 3-1 range more often than not, but the Rangers’ recent volatility and goaltending uncertainty keep this as a solid-but-not-elite B-grade position. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 20/01/2026 09:49

Los Angeles has turned almost every night into a coin flip lately, with their last four losses and many of their recent games ending by a single goal thanks to a defensive-first approach and a sputtering offense that ranks near the bottom of the league in power-play efficiency, while the Rangers’ 2-8 slide has featured more blowups but also several games where they’ve hung around against better opposition before fading late.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) The Kings’ current injury stack — Kopitar and Moore on IR plus Perry out — makes it harder for them to generate the kind of multi-line push that regularly creates two- and three-goal separation, especially with Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala now carrying so much of the offensive burden.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/injuries/_/name/la)) New York’s own absences (Shesterkin and Fox) raise the blowout risk on bad nights, but they still roll out top-end skill in Panarin and Mika Zibanejad along with secondary scorers like Alexis Lafrenière and J.T. Miller, and even in last March’s 3-1 loss here they were within a goal until late in the third period before an insurance marker from Fiala put the game away.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/roster/_/name/nyr/sort/weight/new-york-rangers)) Given that both teams’ season-long goal differentials are built more on tight games — with LA allowing just 2.71 goals per game and New York scoring a modest 2.66 — and the Kings’ recent inability to pull away even from struggling opponents, taking the extra 1.5 goals with the underdog lines up with the likely low-event script.([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/_/name/nyr/new-york-rangers)) I’m grabbing New York Rangers +1.5 at -154 as a thinner-edge C+ play, leaning on LA’s habit of playing one-goal grinders and its banged-up forward group to keep a desperate Rangers side within a single tally more often than not despite their own warts. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 20/01/2026 09:49