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The Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings run it back on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with puck drop set for 10:30 PM on ESPN+. They just played Saturday in the same building, and it turned into a 5-4 Kings win in a shootout. If you watched that one, you probably came away thinking the rematch either tightens up fast or gets weird again.
Minnesota is 25-11-8, third in the conference and third in the division. Los Angeles is 17-14-9, sitting eighth in the conference and fifth in the division. The Wild look like the better team over the long haul, but the Kings are the team that needs points more urgently. And this is one of those near pick’em prices where urgency and home matchups actually show up in how the game is managed.
Los Angeles is a slight favorite at -111, with Minnesota at -108. That’s a market saying “coin flip,” so you’re not just picking a winner. You’re deciding which version of this matchup shows up, and whether the price matches it.
Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor for late movement and updated NHL odds as goalie and lineup news comes in. You can track the latest NHL odds at latest NHL odds.
| Team | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Wild | -108 | N/A | O 5.5 (N/A) |
| Los Angeles Kings | -111 | N/A | U 5.5 (-104) |
Minnesota Wild Betting Form
Minnesota’s record is strong, but what I like from a betting standpoint is how they keep games playable even when they aren’t at their sharpest. Saturday is the perfect example. They trailed multiple times, looked a little loose defensively, and still dragged it to overtime. That’s not just “nice resilience.” It changes how you approach puck lines and live betting because Minnesota stays in the fight long enough to cash a plus number more often than not.
The Wild have enough top-end scoring to win games that don’t go perfectly. Kirill Kaprizov (24 goals, 25 assists) and Matt Boldy (26 goals) give them a real finishing ceiling, and they’re not dependent on one line to do it. Brock Faber popping up with production in this matchup matters too, because it suggests Minnesota can create from the blue line when LA’s coverage collapses low. For a broader snapshot of how Minnesota is trending and what their profile looks like game to game, check Minnesota Wild stats and results.
Availability matters here, so monitor the Minnesota Wild injury report before puck drop. Even one missing defender changes how aggressive their exits look, and it can swing totals and team totals more than most bettors want to admit.
Los Angeles Kings Betting Form
The Kings are in a different kind of spot. They needed Saturday’s win badly, and you could feel it. They’d won only three of their last 11 coming in, and they finally got a game where their offense didn’t feel like it had to be perfect to score. Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe drove the best chances, and LA got enough secondary contribution to keep pace when Minnesota kept answering back.
From a betting angle, LA is still a matchup team. When they’re playing their game at home, they slow entries, protect the middle, and force you to earn everything. The issue is consistency for a full 60. When the Kings get sloppy with puck management or start chasing offense, their games open up fast, and that’s where they turn a controlled script into a coin flip. If you want to dig into how they’ve performed lately and how their splits look, Los Angeles Kings schedule and stats is the cleanest place to start.
Keep an eye on the Los Angeles Kings injury report as well. Trevor Moore being listed as questionable is not a throwaway note. LA’s depth scoring is already fragile, and losing a piece like that narrows their margin quickly, especially if this game is tight late and you need one extra shift to tilt it.
Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings Matchup Breakdown
The big question is whether this rematch plays like Saturday. I don’t think it’s automatic. Same opponent two games in three days usually means both benches adjust, especially defensively. Cleaner breakouts, fewer freebies in the slot, and a more cautious first period. If the goalies are stable and the whistles aren’t constant, I’d expect fewer true track-meet stretches.
Minnesota’s edge is that they can score without needing chaos. They have creators who can win one-on-ones, and they can also wait you out and capitalize on a mistake. Los Angeles’ edge is home deployment. If the Kings can get the right matchups against Kaprizov and Boldy and keep Minnesota from attacking with speed through the middle, the game can tilt into that lower-event pocket LA prefers.
Special teams are the lever here. LA got a power-play goal Saturday, and if the Kings can keep generating man-advantage time, it helps offset Minnesota’s five-on-five depth. On the flip side, if the game is mostly five-on-five and stays disciplined, I slightly prefer Minnesota because they’re less dependent on one specific game script to produce offense.
If you want a sharper framework for betting these short-price rematches, especially how goalie uncertainty and special teams volatility impact totals, the NHL betting guide is a useful read.
Minnesota Wild vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions and Best Bets
I lean Minnesota moneyline (-108). It’s not a loud call, because the price is telling you this is basically even, but Minnesota has been the more reliable team all season and has more ways to win. In a near pick’em, I’d rather take the side that doesn’t need everything to be clean and controlled to get to three or four goals.
The case for LA is clear, though. Home ice, last change, and the urgency factor. If the Kings play a disciplined, structured game and don’t hand Minnesota easy transition looks, they can absolutely win this. I just don’t love laying a small home price with a team that’s been inconsistent lately, especially when Saturday’s win still included a lot of messy defensive moments.
On the total, my lean is Under 5.5 at -104. Rematches often tighten up early, and both teams have every reason to clean up the high-danger breakdowns that turned Saturday into a shootout finish. It’s still not a bet I’m going to force if the goaltending news turns ugly, but in a vacuum, Under fits the expected adjustment game.
If a puck line market is posted later with a reasonable price, I’d be more interested in Minnesota plus the goal and a half than I would be laying -1.5 with LA in this matchup. That’s just me. The Kings can win, but they don’t separate cleanly enough right now to make me chase margin.
Best Bet: Minnesota Wild moneyline (-108).
NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
If you’re betting NHL regularly, you want volume and accountability, not just a single “best bet” take. ScoresAndStats makes it easy to scan today’s NHL picks and compare how different handicappers are attacking the board, especially on nights where the market is tight and you’re trying to avoid forcing action.
The transparency is the selling point. You can track long-term performance and see who’s actually producing, then filter by style depending on whether you prefer sides, totals, or situational spots. Start with the handicapper leaderboard, then drill into profiles on the top sports handicappers page to find cappers whose process fits how you bet.
If you want more aggressive coverage and larger daily cards, you can buy expert picks and follow premium NHL plays. For more matchup context across the slate, the NHL previews hub keeps everything organized day to day. And if you’re thinking bigger picture while teams like Minnesota are playing at a contender level, the Stanley Cup betting guide is a good way to frame futures value before the market fully catches up.
