Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings NHL Predictions

2026-01-03 • Crypto.com Arena

Los Angeles Kings 5 - 4 Minnesota Wild (SO)

📊 Pre-Game Predictions

Win Probability

LAK: 60.6%

MIN: 39.4%

Expected Goals

LAK: 3.32

MIN: 2.90

Total Goals

Median: 5.9

Over 5.5: 56%

Over 6.5: 45%

🥅 Goalie Matchup

LAK

Darcy Kuemper - 10-7-6 | 0.913 SV% | 2.27 GAA

MIN

Jesper Wallstedt - 11-2-3 | 0.928 SV% | 2.21 GAA

Stat	LAK	MIN
Season SV%	0.913	0.928
Last 5 SV%	—	—
SV% vs Opponent	—	—
GAA	2.27	2.21

Last 5 / vs opponent shown when available in goalie stats. Confirmed goalie row used when available; otherwise current projected starter is shown.

Goalie Game Metrics

Team	Goalie	SA	Saves	GA	SV%	xGA	HD Faced	GSAx
LAK	Darcy Kuemper	31	26	5	83.9%	4.73	2	-0.27
MIN	Jesper Wallstedt	43	37	6	86.0%	6.86	7	0.86

SA uses shots on goal plus goals. xGA, high-danger faced, and GSAx use modeled scoring attempts against. GSAx is xGA minus goals against.

Head-to-Head History

Model accuracy in this matchup: 78% • LAK at home vs MIN: 4-1

Date	Score	Winner	Model Pick
2026-01-05	LAK 4 - 2 MIN	LAK	LAK
2026-01-03	LAK 5 - 4 MIN	LAK	LAK
2025-10-13	MIN 4 - 3 LAK	MIN	MIN
2025-03-17	MIN 3 - 1 LAK	MIN	LAK
2024-12-07	LAK 4 - 1 MIN	LAK	LAK

Shot Quality by Period

Period	Team	Shots	High Danger	xG
1	LAK	18	2	1.27
1	MIN	12	0	0.64
2	LAK	15	1	1.05
2	MIN	19	0	1.37
3	LAK	18	1	1.57
3	MIN	17	1	1.21
4	LAK	10	1	1.04
4	MIN	3	0	0.36
5	LAK	4	2	1.92
5	MIN	4	1	1.15

Shots are modeled attempts: shots on goal, goals, and missed shots. Blocked shots are excluded. High danger is xG >= 0.20.

🎯 Shot Chart

📈 Post-Game Analysis

Prediction Result

✅ Correct

Confidence: 60.6%

Total Goals

Actual: 9.0

Expected: 6.2

Score Breakdown

Los Angeles Kings 5 - 4 Minnesota Wild

Expected: 3.3 - 2.9