Two teams looking to get above .500 in March will face each other on Friday night when the Los Angeles Kings travel to Chicago, Illinois, to face the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 PM ET and will air on NBC Sports Chicago and Bally Sports West.

The Los Angeles Kings have alternated wins and losses over their last six games following a 1-3 road loss against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. 

The Kings have struggled to score goals over their last five games, averaging 2 goals per game during that stretch. However, that isn’t anything new for Los Angeles as they have been a below-average team offensively this season, ranking 18^th in scoring with an average of 3.08 goals per game with their success this season being tied to their defensive play and goalies as they are allowing the 4^th fewest goals per game in the league with an average of 2.67 goals allowed per game. 

The Kings have allowed 2.16 goals per game this month and will look to continue their stellar defensive play when they face one of the worst teams in the league on the road in the Chicago Blackhawk for the first time in over a year on Friday night.

The only bright spot for the Blackhawks this season has been Connor Bedard living up to his lofty expectations entering the season as he leads the team in goals, assists, and points with 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points, and that is with missing 15 games with a broken jaw. 

The Blackhawks remain one of the worst teams in the league this season. However, they are on a winning streak for the first time since December and only the 2^nd time this year they have won multiple games in a row following wins at home against the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 7-4 and the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 7-2. However, both wins came against two of the worst teams in the NHL this season, and despite scoring seven goals in consecutive games, the Blackhawks still remain one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, averaging the fewest goals per game with an average of 2.2 goals per game. 

Chicago will face Los Angeles for the first time since January 2023 and will look to continue to demonstrate an improved scoring team when they face one of the best defensive teams in the NHL on Friday night when they host the Kings.

JustBet has the Los Angeles Kings listed as -256 moneyline favorites on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Los Angeles and Chicago will face each other for the first time in over a year on Friday night in a series dominated most recently by the Kings, having won four of the last five meetings. However, the games have been low-scoring and closely contested over the previous few matchups, with the last three games being decided by a goal and Los Angeles winning two of the three contests.

Los Angeles is the better and better team defensively, while Chicago, despite having scored seven goals in back-to-back games, remains the lowest-scoring team in the league with an average of 2.2 goals per game. Over the last three games in the series, one goal has decided the matchup, while Los Angeles has won two of the previous three contests. I look for those trends to continue in this meeting, so I am taking the puck line for the Chicago Blackhawks at +1.5 when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.