{"id":435646,"date":"2023-12-28T10:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=435646"},"modified":"2023-12-28T08:57:49","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T13:57:49","slug":"nhl-predictions-dec-28-kings-vs-golden-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/12\/28\/nhl-predictions-dec-28-kings-vs-golden-knights\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec 28 w\/ Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today\u2019s featured game is the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> vs Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>. Be sure to check out more NHL predictions in the coming days.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Canadiens 0-0 Hurricanes<\/h4>\n

TV:<\/strong> Bally Sports South; TSN2; RDS<\/p>\n

Our first game of NHL predictions has the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> hosting the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> in an Eastern Conference matchup. Cayden Primeau<\/a> is the confirmed starter for the Habs in their first game back from the break. Montreal ended the last five-game stretch with three victories. They’ve got plenty of young players team like scoring leader Nick Suzuki<\/a>. Players Cole Caufield<\/a> have also been growin under head coach Martin St. Louis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Antti Raanta<\/a><\/span> is the projected starter, but always check social media<\/a> before locking in a fantasy starter. Carolina is on the back-end of back-to-back games and got a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators<\/a>. Sebastian Aho<\/a> racked up a goal and three assists in last night’s victory. The Hurricanes have been inconsistent at times this season, but have a talented group.<\/p>\n

Carolina is on a mission to get back into the race in the Metropolitan Division and will get the home victory.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Hurricanes win 4-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers vs Vancouver Canucks<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Flyers 1-0 Canucks<\/h4>\n

TV:<\/strong> NBC Sports Philadelphia; Sportsnet Pacific; ESPN+<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> look to sweep the season series against the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>. Carter Hart<\/a> made 26 saves in the 2-0 shutout win on October 17. The Flyers have been thriving in year two of the John Tortorella regime and the young players have been responding to him. Travis Konecny<\/a><\/span> leads the team in goals with 16 while Travis Sanheim<\/a> has 20 assists to lead in that category. However, Philadelphia did lose two straight heading into the holiday intermission.<\/p>\n

Thatcher Demko<\/a> is expected to get the nod in goal for the Canucks, who have wins in three of the last five games. Vancouver has the top-scoring in offence in the NHL and big guns like leading-scorer Brock Boeser<\/a> with 24 goals. Elias Pettersson<\/a> and Quinn Hughes<\/a> also carry a ton of the water on the offensive end.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia does have the ninth-best defence in the league, but Vancouver ends 2023 with a victory.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Canucks win 3-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks vs Edmonton Oilers<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Sharks 1-0 Oilers<\/h4>\n

TV:<\/strong> NBC Sports California; Sportsnet West; ESPN+<\/p>\n

The San Jose Sharks<\/a> take on the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> in a Pacific Division matchup. Kaapo Kahkonen<\/a><\/span> is the confirmed starter for San Jose, which beat Edmonton earlier in the season. The Sharks have lost six straight, but the Oilers know their division rivals aren’t pushovers.<\/p>\n

Stuart Skinner<\/a> is the confirmed starter in goal for Edmonton, which ended the break with two victories in a row. Connor McDavid<\/a> is starting to get back among the league leaders in points, but Zach Hyman<\/a> leads in goals with 19.<\/p>\n

Edmonton has been stringing wins together, but it remembers that early-season loss.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Oilers win 5-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Kings 1-1 Golden Knights<\/h4>\n

TV:<\/strong> Bally Sports West; Scripps; ESPN+<\/p>\n

Our final and featured game of NHL predictions has the Kings and Golden Knights squaring off in the final meeting of the season. Los Angeles returned from the break with a 5-1 win over San Jose. Adrian Kempe<\/a> scored twice for the Kings, who have won four of the last five games. This team is dangerous on the road with a 13-1-1 mark. Cam Talbot<\/a> likely gets the start with David Rittich<\/a> getting the call the night before.<\/p>\n

Vegas looked lethargic in a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.<\/a> Jiri Patera<\/a> is expected to get the start with Logan Thompson<\/a> getting the call the night before. The Golden Knights are losers of four straight games and have fallen behind Vancouver for first in the division. Jonathan Marchessault<\/a><\/span> has 17 goals to lead Vegas so far this season.<\/p>\n

Both teams are coming off back-to-backs, but the Kings have been aces on the road.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Kings win 4-3.<\/em><\/p>\n

Main photo by: Stephen R. Sylvanie – USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n

Ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":136676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4524,4547,24,4548,807],"tags":[6010,6017,6028,6016,6082,6060,6014,6019],"class_list":["post-435646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl-predictions","category-hockey","category-kings","category-nhl","category-vegas-golden-knights","tag-carolina-hurricanes-predictions","tag-edmonton-oilers-predictions","tag-los-angeles-kings-predictions","tag-montreal-canadiens-predictions","tag-philadelphia-flyers-predictions","tag-san-jose-sharks-predictions","tag-vancouver-canucks-predictions","tag-vegas-golden-knights-predictions"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}