A crazy and turbulent run this fall for veteran goalie Pheonix Copley with the Los Angeles Kings (14-10-9) makes for an expedient return to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning (18-12-3) on the road in the Sunshine State in the back end of back-to-back games on Thursday night (Dec. 18) late this week at Benchmark International Arena.
Head coach Jim Hiller hasn't made the official announcement yet this afternoon that Copley will start this evening. But it's unlikely that the Kings will return to Anton Forsberg to start in between the Kings for another night after he made the start last night against the Panthers on the road in Florida on Dec. 17.
Tonight's matchup against the Lightning in Tampa in the Sunshine State in Florida is the final game in a short three-game road trip late this week in the East. None of these games have been a breeze for the Kings in the West.
Here are the betting odds and spread information for the matchup between the Kings and Lightning in the final game in a short three-game road trip this week in the East at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL, on Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. PT.
Betting odds for the matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning
Money line: Kings +168, Lightning -205
Spread: Kings +1.5 (-160)
Over/under: 5.5 (Over -106, Under -114)
In the second game consecutively in the Sunshine State in Florida, the Kings are underdogs on the road against the Lightning in Tampa in the betting line in the pregame betting spread and the money line (per FanDuel sportsbook). The over/under is set at 5.5 goals.
Projected rosters for the Los Angeles Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Kings
Forwards
Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Armia – Turcotte – Moore
Kuzmenko – Helenius – Perry
Defensemen
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Goalies
Copley
Forsberg
*Indicates a healthy scratch
Lightning
Forwards
Hagel – Cirelli – Kucherov
Guentzel – Point – Bjorkstrand
Holmberg – Gourde – Girgensons
Douglas – Paul – Sabourin
Defensemen
Moser – Raddysh
D’Astous – Crozier
Carlile – Santini
Goalies
Vasilevskiy
Johansson
Futures betting odds for the Los Angeles Kings for the 2025-26 season
To make the playoffs: -380
To win the Pacific Division: +650
To win the Stanley Cup: +2700
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.