Who is favoured, Vegas Golden Knights or Los Angeles Kings?

Los Angeles Kings, at 50.9% in PuckCast's preseason forecast. That is a rating-based forecast; the full model read, with goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of puck drop.

What is a preseason forecast?

A win probability from each team's regressed preseason rating and home ice, the same ratings behind the 2026-27 projected standings. Those ratings are calibrated at the season level, for standings and playoff odds; this single-game percentage is a plain rating formula and has not been graded on its own yet. It is deliberately unsure about any single game, and the confidence grade says how far it leans.

When does the real prediction publish?

Inside the seven-day window before the game. The model re-scores it on every refresh until puck drop, with the confirmed starting goalies, and this page shows that read instead of the forecast.

Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings, Thu, Apr 8: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Thu, Apr 8, 10:00 PM ET

Vegas Golden KnightsVGK

96 proj. pts · 58.1% playoffs

Adin Hill · 0.871 SV%

Cvs10:00 PM ET

Los Angeles KingsLAK

A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works

The read

Preseason ratings · last season’s record

VGK controlled play at 5v5 last season, 54.7% of the expected goals to 51.7%; LAK's power play ran at 17.1% against a VGK kill at 82.2%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Darcy Kuemper (LAK) saved -22.9 goals above expected to Adin Hill's -23.2, on save percentages of 0.891 and 0.871.

None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Los Angeles Kings over Vegas Golden Knights is where it starts, not where it ends.

In goal

goalie board

No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.

VGK

Adin Hill

SV%: 0.871
GSAx: -23.2
GAA: 3.04
Record: 10-9-6

27 games, 2025-26

LAK

Darcy Kuemper

SV%: 0.891
GSAx: -22.9
GAA: 2.78
Record: 19-14-15

50 games, 2025-26

VGK	Metric	LAK
54.7%	xGF% (5v5)	51.7%
53.5%	Shot share	50.5%
3.3	Goals for / game	2.6
2.9	Goals against / game	2.9
24.7%	Power play	17.1%
82.2%	Penalty kill	75.3%
51.3%	Faceoffs	49.8%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Vegas Golden Knights

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Mitch Marner	R	25	63	87
Jack Eichel	C	27	55	82
Mark Stone	R	17	34	51
Shea Theodore	D	8	34	42

Los Angeles Kings

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Artemi Panarin	L	25	47	72

Last season, head to head

ledger

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-02-25	VGK @ LAK	VGK	VGK 6–4 LAK	Correct
2026-02-05	LAK @ VGK	VGK	LAK 1–4 VGK	Correct
2026-01-14	VGK @ LAK	VGK	VGK 3–2 LAK	Correct
2025-10-08	LAK @ VGK	VGK	LAK 7–6 VGK	Missed

Season outlook

projected standings

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Vegas Golden Knights	96	58.1%
Los Angeles Kings	90	44.3%