Los Angeles Kings vs New Jersey Devils Picks, Prediction, Odds, and Line Movement for Saturday October 24 2026

Los Angeles reaches New Jersey for a 3:30 p.m. Eastern start Saturday with its offense under considerable pressure to improve. The Kings have struggled to create goals consistently and are missing important forwards, while the Devils have been winning more often and recently beat Anaheim 4-1.

New Jersey also played Thursday, so the home side does not have a clean rest advantage. The better question is whether the Devils can produce enough offensive separation to cover a one-and-a-half-goal puck line rather than simply win outright.

The Kings entered the weekend with a losing record and an attack averaging only around 2.4 goals per game. Injuries to Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte have reduced their depth, while Quinton Byfield’s upper-body status presents another concern.

Those losses remove options in the middle of the lineup and can make a team overly dependent on isolated shifts from its remaining scorers. Los Angeles has still shown it can trouble teams through structured neutral-zone play, but generating several sustained scoring sequences has been difficult.

New Jersey has been more productive at home and should have greater flexibility in matching its forwards against the Kings’ depleted lines. The Devils beat Colorado 4-3 earlier in the week and handled Anaheim 4-1 on Thursday, results that underscore their ability to score against very different opponent styles.

The concern is fatigue and goalie management after the Ducks game. New Jersey needs to avoid a sleepy first period that would let Los Angeles establish a conservative pace and spend long stretches protecting a lead.

The matchup should revolve around New Jersey’s ability to control entries and force the Kings’ defenders into repeated retrievals. Los Angeles would prefer to protect the middle, give away limited space along the boards and generate quick chances when a Devil defenseman activates too aggressively.

If the hosts successfully stretch the Kings laterally, however, the visitors may struggle to stay connected. New Jersey can improve its chances of creating a two-goal margin by getting scoring chances from more than its top line.

Darcy Kuemper and Jake Allen were among the advance goalie projections, but Thursday’s New Jersey assignment could change the home choice. Both clubs have defensive injuries, with Seamus Casey unavailable for New Jersey and Jakub Dvorak out for Los Angeles.

The Devils need their replacements to move the puck cleanly enough that the Kings cannot set up a prolonged forecheck. Los Angeles’s already modest attack would face an even steeper challenge if it has to defend an early multi-goal deficit.

An earlier market comparison listed the Kings at +138 and New Jersey at -166, making the standard Devils moneyline too expensive for a -150 betting limit. FanDuel quoted a separate New Jersey -1.5 puck line at +144, which is a fundamentally different bet. A 3-2 Devils win would not cash it. The more aggressive selection depends on an expectation that New Jersey can turn sustained attacking pressure into a second goal of separation, perhaps during an empty-net situation.

Los Angeles can keep the game close if Kuemper steals early chances and the Kings win enough defensive-zone faceoffs to slow New Jersey. The stronger path, though, belongs to the home side.

With the Kings’ forward depth diminished, the Devils should be able to control more of the dangerous five-on-five possessions and expose an exhausted defensive pair during the final period. A 4-2 New Jersey victory is the prediction, matching the puck-line requirement rather than relying merely on an outright result.

Game timing adds another wrinkle. A mid-afternoon puck drop can leave little room for a sluggish start, especially for a club that played Thursday and is trying to settle its goalie rotation. New Jersey should aim to establish zone time immediately rather than let Los Angeles dictate slow, low-event hockey.

If the Devils put enough pucks behind the visiting defenders in the first period, the Kings’ depleted forward group could struggle to spend sufficient time attacking to keep the margin within one goal.

Best Bet: New Jersey Devils -1.5 puck line (+144). New Jersey’s puck line demands a more aggressive forecast than the basic home victory, but Los Angeles’s injuries and limited scoring support make a multi-goal Devils result defensible. The Kings can slow the first period and frustrate the hosts, yet their depleted forward depth may eventually produce too few counterattacking chances. New Jersey should have the better opportunity to apply continuous pressure, especially at home with the last change. Prediction: New Jersey 4, Los Angeles 2. The Devils may need an empty-net goal, and a one-goal final would not cash the stated puck-line wager.