Now that the NHL trade deadline has came and went, teams are hunkered down with their current rosters heading for the postseason push. Vegas is assuredly heading into the playoffs as they sit atop the Western Conference and are just a point back from the President’s Trophy. The Kings have some work to do however as they are in 10th in the West and 2 points out of the second Wild Card spot. LA definitely needs the 2/26 NHL free pick more which is why oddsmakers have made them -110 split favorites Monday night.
Golden Knights at Kings, 10:30 ET.. Golden Knights: 16-2-1 in divisional games this season (incl. 2-0-0 vs LA; .868 pts pct in divisional games in best such mark in NHL pic.twitter.com/Q7ZEkqeYlY
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) February 26, 2018
Can Vegas Continue Their Recent Success As They Go On the Road?
The Golden Knights have continued their season-long strong play lately, winning five of their last seven games. Each of those contests was in the comfort of the T-Mobile Arena however, where the Knights are 24-5-2 on the season. For the 2/26 NHL free pick Vegas goes on the road where they are still a respectable 17-11-1 on the year. Even so, will their be some rink rust for a team going on the road for the first time in 18 days – even if it is just an hour and 20 minutes to Los Angeles?
If the Golden Knights do need inspiration for tonight’s contest they need to look no further than the last time the two teams met. Vegas scored a 3-2 OT victory on December 28th, after which Kings D Drew Doughty proclaimed, “they just frustrate you with their forecheck…there’s no way they’re going to be better than us at the end of the season.” The Golden Knights blew off the comments at the time, but the teams are about to get really familiar with each other as they meet again tomorrow night in Vegas. With the Knights already capturing a 4-2 win on November 19th as well, their hockey the next two nights can do a lot of talking.
Kings Want To End Their Home Skid
LA stayed afloat in the race for the postseason with a recent 4-3 road trip but they’ve since dropped two straight on their own ice. The Kings are just 14-11-3 at the Staples Center this season but they’ll be a different team than the ones that the Golden Knights beat at the end of December. LA has acquired D Dion Phaneuf and F Tobias Rieder in trades over the last two weeks and activated F Jeff Carter from the injury list on Saturday.
As always with Kings games, the pressure is going to be on G Jonathan Quick in the 2/26 NHL free pick. Quick has been in net for both LA losses to Vegas this season, getting yanked in the middle of the 1st period on November 19th after allowing 3 goals on just 9 shots. The LA goaltender is just 2-5 over his last 7 starts while Golden Knights G Marc-Andre Fleury has gone 5-1 over his last 6.
2/26 NHL Free Pick Betting
Los Angeles definitely needs this game if they want to stay in the hunt for a postseason berth but they’re not the only team that’s going to look a little different in the 2/26 NHL free pick. Vegas boosted their physical presence with the acquisition of Ryan Reaves in a 3-way trade on Friday and he’s expected to make his debut tonight. There’s some obvious value with the Western Conference leading Golden Knights being a split -110 favorite. With the way Quick has struggled in net and the comments from Dowdy after the last meeting that’s enough incentive to back Vegas in this contest.
Free Pick: Vegas Golden Knights -110
