The LA Kings and the Colorado Avalanche meet Wednesday in their NHL regular-season opener at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Puck drop is set for 10 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let's analyze NHL odds around the Kings vs. Avalanche odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
2025-26 season series: Avalanche won 3-0; Colorado won first-round playoff series 4-0
The Kings begin life without F Anze Kopitar, as the Slovenian star announced his retirement from the NHL, losing 452 goals and 1,316 points across 1,521 career NHL games, all with the Kings from 2006-26. The team added veteran Fs Erik Haula, Scott Laughton, Corey Perry and Mats Zuccarello to try to fill those gigantic boots. And, don't forget, the Kings acquired F Artemi Panarin from the New
York Rangers at the deadline last season, too.
As far as the Avalanche are concerned, they didn't make a lot of moves, although there were some notable transactions. F Valeri Nichushkin was moved to Columbus, while F Ross Colton was shipped to Nashville along with F Jack Drury. F Jaden Schwartz was the most notable addition, while F Fedor Svechkov was added, and D Cale Makar was inked to a gigantic extension.
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Kings at Avalanche odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:27 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Kings +164 (bet $100 to win $164) | Avalanche -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Kings +1.5 (-160) | Avalanche -1.5 (+134)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +106 | U: -130)
Kings at Avalanche projected goalies
Darcy Kuemper (19-14-15, 2.78 GAA, .891 SV%, 3 SO in 2025-26 regular season) vs. Scott Wedgewood (31-6-6, 2.02 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO in regular season)
Kuemper is expected to face the Avalanche, the team he played for during the 2021-22 season. He won 37 games that season, and that is still his career high. He met the Avalanche just once in the regular season in 2025, stopping just 19 of 23 shots in a 4-1 loss in L.A. Oct. 7.
Wedgewood won a career-high 31 games last season in his first full season with the Avalanche, and his .921 SV% was also a career best for a full season, as were his 4 SO. He met Kuemper and the Kings just once in the regular season, in that Oct. 7 win, and he allowed just a single goal on 25 shots.
Kings at Avalanche picks and predictions
Prediction
Avalanche 4, Kings 2
Moneyline
The Avalanche (-200) will set you back 2 times your potential return, which is too expensive for a standalone wager, even if you use a boost or promo. If you were to use Colorado as part of a multi-leg parlay, that might be OK, but AVOID for a standalone play.
Puck line/Against the spread
The AVALANCHE -1.5 (+134) are worth a roll of the dice in Denver against the new-look Kings. Last season, the Avalanche won all 3 regular-season games by at least 2 goals, with an average margin of victory of 2.7 goals per game (GPG). So, if you like Colorado, you should like it to get the job done on the puck line, too.
Over/Under
UNDER 6.5 (-130) is the lean, but roll with a half-unit play at best.
The Under was 1-1-1 in 3 regular-season matchups, while going 2-2 in the postseason, so there isn't a lot to glean there. However, Wedgewood posted a 2.02 GAA last season, and a 2.04 GAA mark at home, so we'll lean low mainly because of his solid play.
Best prop bet
Kings F ADRIAN KEMPE - 3+ SHOTS ON GOAL (-135) is a decent play in this opener. He posted 226 shots on goal (SOG) through 81 games last season, and he had 10 SOG in 3 regular-season meetings in 2025-26. Let's go high on shots, and it doesn't matter if he scores or not, as long as the shots are on net.
Betting odds calculator
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on X at @danieledobish. Follow SportsbookWire on X at SportsBookWire and on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: LA Kings at Colorado Avalanche odds, picks and predictions
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