NHL Best Bets, Score Predictions for Monday Mar. 29

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

NHL Daily Free Picks & Predictions

VegasInsider.com NHL expert Matt Blunt provides his score predictions and best bets for one NHL game on Monday, Mar. 29, 2021.

Los Angeles Kings vs. Vegas Golden Knights

• Money-Line Odds: Los Angeles +175; Vegas -210
• Total (Over-Under): 5.5

Score Prediction: Los Angeles 3 Vegas 2

Best Bet: Kings ML

The Golden Knights were able to pull off a nice 3-2 comeback win over Colorado on Saturday afternoon to maintain sole possession of 1st place in the West Division for at least another day, as they are now 3-3 SU against Colorado so far this year.

Should the expected happen were we get those two teams in a seven-game playoff series in a few months, chances are it will be must-watch competition between two teams that are legit Stanley Cup threats.

But fading the Knights off such an impressive performance is something I'm more than willing to do here, especially if Vegas goes the expected route of giving G Robin Lehner the start here.

Lehner is still trying to work his way back into that top form that saw the Knights trade for him last year, but don't let the fact that Vegas is 5-2 SU in his seven starts this season (3-0 SU last three) distract you from that .898 save percentage Lehner's still carrying around on his resume this year.

Now, two of his best efforts in the save percentage department have come in his last two starts, and one of those was even against this same Kings team (4-2 win for the Knights).

But, I'm never a big fan of giving a team too many looks at the same netminder who's trying to find his best form again, and should this be Lehner's start, it will be the second time in 10 days that he'll be up against the Kings.

Even with him missing significant time this year, the fact that Lehner has only started in games against Anaheim, Arizona, L.A., and St. Louis this year does give off the sense that Vegas may not completely trust him as their last line of defense.

In a spot where the effort on both ends of the ice may not equate to what we saw from the Knights on Saturday, fading the Knights as -200ish chalk tonight makes plenty of sense.

Even if they go back with Fleury yet again (it would be surprising), there has still got to be a point where all these starts Fleury has gotten this year will likely catch up to him, and while any Kings ML play would feel less comfortable in that instance, I've got no problem living with the results either way in that instance.

For one, the Kings record may look ugly overall (13-19 SU), but they also started out the year 3-9 SU up until a 4-3 shootout loss to San Jose on February 9th. Since that time, the Kings have played .500 hockey (10-10 SU), and have only lost 3+ games in a row once.

They come into this one having lost both in San Jose last week, but the fact that they've been off since March 24th can't exactly hurt too much here, nor does the idea that the last time they saw Vegas, they beat them (with Fleury in net).

Furthermore, since the start of last year, L.A. has always been a bit of a thorn in the side of the Knights, as the two teams have split eight total meetings in that span, with LA being a significant underdog in all eight of those games.

With history like that I've got no problem taking a shot with the Kings as a big underdog in this potentially negative spot for the Knights. Grabbing the +1.5 may be the route those more risk averse may want to take, but unless L.A. is covered in rust, I expect them to be in this game until the end. At the big plus price, I'll look for L.A. to find a way to pull out the victory.

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