Nobody really expected the Los Angeles Kings to compete with the Colorado Avalanche heading into a first-round matchup between the second Wild Card and Presidents’ Trophy winners. Well, as it turns out, Game 1 wasn’t a blowout as things came out closely in a 2-1 final. Will the Kings hang around tonight as well, or will the Avs look like their typical selves and dominate?

Here’s a Kings vs. Avalanche Game 2 prediction and pick for Tuesday’s NHL Playoffs action on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Kings vs. Avalanche Game 2 prediction, preview

No team in hockey was better than the Avalanche this season, who put forth one of the best campaigns in NHL history. While they faded down the stretch some, they looked like the class of the league practically through New Year’s and ended the regular-season schedule with a goal differential of +99, 40 strikes better than the next-closest team. That’s why it felt like a matchup against the Kings, who squeaked into the postseason and finished with a -22 differential, would lead to an easy four-game sweep.

A quick series is still in the cards, but it may not be a cakewalk for Colorado.

The Avs’ offense scored at an NHL-best rate of 3.63 goals per game this season while riding a star trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas. Through the first half of Game 1, they were stifled. Colorado didn’t find the back of the net until the 15:29 mark in the second period and only logged a pair of goals on the night.

As it turns out, it’s difficult to score on Los Angeles. The Kings’ defensive identity has stood out in recent years and they ranked eighth with 2.90 goals allowed per game during the regular season, also sitting 11th in shots allowed at 27.2 per outing. They did just enough to slow a high-octane offense down to start the series, also out-hitting the Avs 49-35. Darcy Kuemper stopped 30-of-32 shots on goal (though one more puck was disallowed) against the NHL’s top offense, but he underdogs once again fell victim to their lack of attacking ability.

With only 2.68 goals per game, the Kings fell 29th in regular-season scoring and even the acquisition of Artemi Panarin couldn’t spark much more production from the unit. It’s been a consistent trend for L.A. throughout the campaign, but playing 47 one-goal games wasn’t exactly a strategy for success. Adrian Kempe’s 73 points paced the roster, but no other player reached even 50 on the full year. Can playing things closely keep them competitive against this Avs group?

Kings vs. Avalanche Game 2 pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Avalanche as -285 favorites to win at home on the Moneyline tonight, while the Kings come in with +230 odds on the road. The game total sits at 5.5 combined goals.

Betting splits show 91% of straight wagers on Colorado to win, 77% of bets on the Avs to cover the -1.5 puck line, and 64% on the total’s over.

Finding room to work against this Los Angeles defense is admittedly tough, and even Colorado struggled with that in game one. The Avalanche were held to two or fewer goals just 14 times in 82 regular-season games, so this should give you some idea of how good the Kings are. Darcy Kuemper — who was the primary netminder during the Avs’ Stanley Cup run in 2022 — was really good to start this series and has a track record of success, even despite his statistical down year.

Still, it’s only a matter of time before the favorites crack the code of the blue line. The Avalanche scored more goals this season than any other team and were dominant in, well, just about every phase of the sport beyond the power play. The Kings simply don’t have the firepower to compete with that. Watch for Colorado to cover tonight.

Best bet: COL Avalanche -1.5 (-108)