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Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings Picks and Predictions – Saturday December 27, 2025
The Anaheim Ducks head up I-5 on Saturday night to face the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena, with puck drop set for 9:00 PM ET on ESPN+. It’s the second half of the season approaching fast, and both teams badly need a reset after limping into the holiday break.
Anaheim is 21-14-2 and sitting ahead of Los Angeles in the Pacific picture, but the Ducks didn’t exactly skate into the break feeling great either. They dropped five of their last seven, and their power play has gone quiet at the wrong time. The Kings are 15-12-9 and stuck in a low-scoring rut, going 1-4-2 in their last seven and failing to score more than two goals in any of those games.
Oddsmakers still lean Kings at home, but this is one of those matchups where form, special teams, and goalie confirmation matter more than the logo.
Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor updated NHL odds leading into puck drop. Keep checking the latest NHL odds for movement tied to lineup news and starting goalies.
| Team | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | +120 | +1.5 (-218) | O 6.5 (+110) |
| Los Angeles Kings | -142 | -1.5 (+180) | U 6.5 (-130) |
Anaheim Ducks Betting Form
Anaheim’s recent slide is pretty easy to diagnose from a betting lens. The Ducks have been creating enough chances to stay competitive, but their power play has stalled, going 0-for-12 over the last four games. When that happens, tight games stop breaking your way. You end up needing 5-on-5 finishing to be sharp every night, and that’s hard to sustain across a choppy stretch.
The positive is that the Ducks still have top-end scoring punch, and Leo Carlsson has been the kind of driver who can flip a matchup with one shift. If Anaheim’s power play wakes up even a little, the plus-money moneyline starts to make more sense, because it forces Los Angeles to chase offense, which has not been their strength lately.
If you want to track the Ducks’ recent results and production trends, start with Anaheim Ducks stats and results. Availability matters here, so monitor the Anaheim Ducks injury report before puck drop.
Los Angeles Kings Betting Form
Los Angeles is stuck in a stretch where the effort looks fine, but the finishing is missing. The Kings went 1-4-2 in their last seven before the break, and the bigger red flag is that they never scored more than two goals in any of those games. That creates a brutal betting setup: even when they control chunks of play, they still need perfect special teams or elite goaltending to win because they’re operating with a thin margin.
Kevin Fiala finding the net helps, and the Kings have enough skill to snap out of it quickly, but the pattern has been consistent. Too many one-and-done offensive-zone sequences, not enough rebound chaos, and not enough conversion on the handful of premium looks they do create.
The home angle matters too. Los Angeles is back in its own building after the break, and you usually see a little more jump in the first period. Still, I don’t want to overrate “fresh legs” when the underlying issue is scoring. For a broader snapshot of how the Kings have played and how their results have landed market-wise, check Los Angeles Kings schedule and stats. Also keep tabs on the Los Angeles Kings injury report before you bet, because one lineup change can reshape how they build lines and power-play units.
Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings Matchup Breakdown
This matchup is a style clash between Anaheim’s ability to create offense in waves and Los Angeles’ preference for lower-event hockey. The total being shaded to the under makes sense with how the Kings have been scoring, but Anaheim’s defensive consistency has been shaky enough that one early breakdown can force this into a different script.
The special-teams battle is the hinge point. Anaheim’s power play has gone cold, but Los Angeles has struggled to generate consistent offense at 5-on-5. That means whoever wins the special-teams minutes probably wins the game. If the Ducks’ power play finally clicks, it’s not just a goal. It changes how Los Angeles defends and how aggressive they can be with their forecheck.
Goaltending is the other key variable, and it’s not something I’m guessing on. Anaheim is trending toward Lukas Dostal, and Los Angeles is trending toward Anton Forsberg, but if either team pivots to a different starter, it can move both the side and the total. If you’re still building your process around goalie-driven swings, this NHL betting guide is a good reference point for when to wait, when to bet early, and how to think about totals when the crease is unsettled.
Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions and Best Bets
My lean is Anaheim moneyline (+120). I don’t love backing a team that just went through a sloppy stretch, but the price matters, and the matchup lines up with how Los Angeles has been losing. If the Kings are going to keep living at two goals or fewer, you’re asking them to win a lot of one-goal games. That’s not a comfortable way to lay -142, especially against a Ducks team with more pure scoring upside.
On the puck line, Ducks +1.5 is the “safer” angle, but the juice is heavy. If you’re paying that price, you really need this game to be the Kings’ exact script: tight, slow, and low-event. I’m not sure Anaheim cooperates with that, even if their power play is still finding itself.
The total is tricky. The Kings’ recent scoring drought screams under, and the market is charging you for it at -130. If both goalies are confirmed and Los Angeles rolls out a conservative game plan, under 6.5 is logical. But Anaheim can turn a low-event game into a 4-2 final quickly if the Kings’ defensive structure slips for a few minutes. I lean under slightly, but my stronger opinion is the plus-money side.
Best Bet: Anaheim Ducks moneyline (+120).
NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
If you’re betting NHL regularly, you’re going to run into nights where the board is all goaltending uncertainty and weird rest spots. That’s when it helps to compare multiple opinions and pricing angles in one place. Checking today’s NHL picks is a practical way to see how different handicappers are approaching the same slate.
Long-term performance matters too, especially in hockey where short-term variance can make anyone look sharp for two weeks. The top sports handicappers page makes it easier to filter by track record, and the handicapper leaderboard gives you the transparency piece that’s missing from most pick content.
If you prefer higher volume during busy stretches, premium NHL picks can be a better fit than forcing action into every game yourself. And if you’re mixing nightly betting with futures thinking, the Stanley Cup betting guide is useful for evaluating which teams are actually trending in a sustainable way. For more daily matchup coverage across the league, the NHL previews hub keeps the schedule organized.
