NHL Hockey Betting - Los Angeles Kings

NHL Betting 2007-08 – Los Angeles Kings
Manager: Marc Crawford
Arena: Staples Center
Last Season: 27-41-14, 68 pts ( 4th Pacific, 14th Western Conference)
2008 Prediction: 13th Western Conference

Preseason Odds to win Stanley Cup: +8000

With a bevy of fantastic young talent, and a solid group of veterans entering their prime, experts are pimping the Kings as if they’re the Penguins of last year. Before you go rolling the red carpet (and your NHL betting bucks) out for this team, let’s take a look at their goaltending.

Jason LaBarbera was a stud in the AHL but the leap to the NHL level is a big one and LaBarbera won’t have the luxury of baby steps. Luckily he plays in front of a strong offense with the young trio of Cammalleri-Kopitar-Frolov leading the charge.

The defense has a strong presence in Tom Preissing who was plus-40 in Ottawa and will anchor the blue-line. Brad Stuart has a mountain of expectation on his shoulders, but Burke could motivate a sloth to run the one-hundred meter dash if he had to.

To keep things short about these Kings, they are  a year or two away from being serious contenders. They may make some noise, but the goaltending situation is iffy at best and the their blue-line lacks significant depth – be wary with your hockey betting dollars. They will finish well out of the playoff race, but will give fans something to hope for in 2008-09.

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Official Website: www.lakings.com