(2-3  +1.37 units)

Kings/Flames:

The Los Angeles Kings will be looking to try and win game two of a back to back as they come into Vancouver to complete the Western Canada Tour. So far, they have looked the most impressive on offense, splitting the first two games in Alberta.

A lot of early season line settings are going to be based off last season’s results, and as we all know, the Kings finished last in the West last season. Also, factor in a back to back situation, and we have ourselves a heavy favorite home Canucks team that is also coming off three entire days of rest.

Let me tell you why the line is not entirely reflective of the actual situation, regardless of who wins tonight. First off, back to backs are not really much of a factor when the teams are only coming into their third game of the season. The flight between Calgary and Vancouver is hardly an hour, and the Kings seem to be very enthusiastic about the season so far.

Second, Los Angeles may not be on a downward trend as much as we think. The Kings are well past their glory days, and are trying to fight to avoid a full on rebuild. Honestly, with the addition of Head Coach Todd Mclellan, this may be a rebound season to some extent. All that aside, their anticipated season success doesn’t have much relevance to today’s current matchup in particular, but it certainly does have an influence on the line.

In reality, the Canucks have not figured anything out yet, and have admitted to a need to shuffle lines coming into this evening’s game. The Kings are warm from yesterday’s game, and will make defense a priority if they get a confident lead once again like they did against Edmonton and Calgary.

In essence, people (including sportsbooks) are taking the first week in conjunction to last year’s results a little too seriously right now. The Canucks may be 0-2, but it will take a few more losses for it to be deemed a “slow start”. They could very well lose another one tonight without batting an eye in a future rebound, while everyone is banking on the Kings being tired on a back to back. While the Kings are older than most teams, they are also more experienced than most teams, so look for the determination to translate to competence with composure. This game is much closer of a matchup than the odds suggest.

Kings moneyline +144  1*