The San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings disappointed last season. The Sharks had made 10 consecutive postseason before failing to qualify last year. The Kings finished two points shy of the final Wild Card spot in the West after winning the Stanley Cup the previous year. Both teams will also be without key contributors heading into this matchup. But it still figures to be one hell of a contest as one of the hottest rivalries in the Pacific Division.
Rivalry night cannot be any better in the NHL. Check out the complete previews for the Rangers vs. Blackhawks and Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs.
[sc:NHLArticles ]San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings Preview
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
When: Wednesday, October 7, 10:30 PM ET
Line: San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings – view all NHL lines
Betting on the San Jose Sharks
A fresh start begins with a new coach in Peter DeBoer, who was fired last year in his fourth year with New Jersey. The last time DeBoer was fired from a coaching job (2011 with Florida), he brought his next team, the Devils, to the Stanley Cup final.
[sc:NHL240 ]DeBoer will have to be crafty in his regular season debut as San Jose’s coach. He’ll be without the services of forward Raffi Torres, who was suspended for 41 games due to an illegal hit to the head of Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg in the final preseason game. But the Sharks should still be solid though with the trio of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Joel Ward.
Pavelski led the Sharks with 37 goals and 70 points as the team captain last season. He had plenty of help from Thornton who had a team-high 49 assists. Ward was a solid contributor skating alongside Alex Ovechkin with Washington last season. He’ll look to improve on his 19 goals and 34 points from last season as he gets more involved in the offense with the Sharks.
The Sharks will start a new goaltender between the pipes in offseason haul Martin Jones, who played behind Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick last season. Jones posted a solid 1.99 GAA in 34 games as the Kings’ backup goalie the past two seasons. He’ll have some support in the blue line with free agent acquisition Paul Martin. Having Martin should help the Sharks improve on their disappointing penalty kill (78.5 percent), which ranked 25th in the league last season.
The total has gone under in four of Jones’ last five games at Staples Center.
Betting on the Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings lost Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards after their alleged drug-related offenses, but they weren’t of much use last season tallying just a combined 33 points. Defenseman Slava Voynov is also no longer a King after a domestic abuse conviction shipped him back to Russia.
Despite the losses in personnel, the Kings remain solid with some key players returning. Jeff Carter, Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar return to power Los Angeles’ forward line after tallying 28, 27 and 16 goals respectively last season. They’ll have some support in new addition Milan Lucic , who has been a solid contributor for Boston in his eight games with his former team.
The Kings should benefit greatly with Tyler Toffoli skating up front. Toffoli has five goals and three assists in his past nine games against the Sharks. Star defenseman Drew Doughty has also been solid against Los Angeles’ Pacific Division rival, totalling 19 points and a plus-minus of eight in 38 career games against the Sharks.
Los Angeles could be a headache to score on with Jonathan Quick as its primary netminder. Quick has gone 7-2 with a 1.74 GAA in his last nine games against San Jose. He should be pretty determined to make up for an uninspiring performance against the Sharks in last year’s season opener. Quick allowed four goals on 27 shots in a 4-0 loss against San Jose in last year’s season opener.
Quick has won four of his last five games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Kings are eager to show that last year was only a fluke. Los Angeles starts fast as it blows out the Sharks 4-1. Create a betting account now and back your favorite hockey teams.
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