The amount of preparation, practice and pregame work that goes into a single NHL game can go a long way in helping a team execute their plan on the ice. The ability to make these efforts in advance is significantly compromised when a team participates in a series of consecutive games.

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks meet in a game where both are in different halves of back-to-back sets. The Sharks are coming off an OT win at Utah on Monday night, while the Kings travel home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday after Tuesday’s game.

The Kings are considered heavy favorites, perhaps because of that back-to-back history.

ESPN has saved the last three years of betting odds so we can take a look at how two consecutive teams have performed. Considering that preparation is a key component of how NHL teams approach games, it might not surprise you that there is a trend when it comes to the team that is in the second leg of a back-to-back game.

Overall, over the last three seasons, the favorite has won 904 of 1,439 games when away from home – or 62.82%. But in such situations where the underdog is eliminated at home from a game played the day before, the success rate of the away favorites increases to 72.22% (130 out of 180 games). ESPN’s historical data does not contain spread information, but we can still draw some conclusions. Overall, the away favorites won by two or more goals in 40.93% of these 1,439 games; If the home underdog completes a consecutive set, this percentage increases to 50.56%.

The fact that they have a tired team, like the Sharks will be on Tuesday, also helps boost the goal total. Over the past three seasons, the over/under totals in games with a home underdog have been over 47.12% 47.12% of the time. But exclusively in games in which the home underdog is playing for the second time in as many days, the over was reached 57.22% of the time.

Preparation and recovery between games has had a significant impact on results in recent times, particularly for teams in the second half of consecutive games. When an away team plays an underdog at home during a short break, the result tends to be in their favor – the win rate increases significantly and the winning margin often increases. Regardless of whether it is the drain on team energy or the frequent use of backup goalkeepers in exactly these situations, goal totals tend to increase.

Selected games

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals

7:30 p.m., Capital One Arena

• ranger (-1.5, +165), -145 money line

• Capitals (+1.5, -200), +125 moneyline

• Overall 5.5: (Over -135, Under +115)

From the world of a single Sharks win to the world of a regular Rangers loss. New York visits the up-and-coming Capitals (5-2-0) in the featured early contest.

Logan Thompson is in line for Washington assuming they continue their strict rotation, while Igor Shesterkin is expected to be in action for the first time since last Thursday after finishing Saturday’s game.

The Capitals are home underdogs, a label combination that has the lowest win total of the four (home/away, favorite/underdog) so far this season at just 13.1%, but the home dogs have done well with the spread of 26 56 times this season (46.4%).

Of all the props I like Tom Wilson for shots (over 2.5, +107) Since there are positive odds, the threshold is not that high (Alex Ovechkin gets 3.5) and the Rangers are top 10 for shots allowed to opponents’ top 6 forwards.

Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks

10 p.m., SAP Center

• Kings (-1.5, -110), -275 moneyline

• Sharks (+1.5, -110), +225 moneyline

• Overall 5.5: (Over -135, Under +115)

Given the above discussion, a Kings money line looks very good and, with one 5.5 overall it may be on offer parries with the over for plus odds (+121).

In the props department, the Sharks are allowing the fourth-most shots against opposing top-six forwards so far this season. Kevin Fiala should be able to delete that Over 2.5 shots at goal (-130). For player points, Mikael Granlund was involved in 13 of the Sharks’ 23 total goals, so you could argue that if they score, the odds of him scoring a point are better than 50-50 (Over 0.5 points, -230). However, the books know this too, so you have to play to get a decent return. Consider supporting Fabian Zetterlund for a goal (Over 0.5 goals, +240)since he has two of them on Monday.

Both teams are also at the bottom of the league when it comes to penalties, with both allowing 10 power play goals each in the young season. Jake Walman (Over 0.5 total goals, +650) And Brandt Clarke (Over 0.5 power play points, +375) could provide good plays from the blue line. Walman returned as quarterback for the Sharks on Monday after ceding time there to Jack Thompson (who was a healthy scratch).

Betting trends

On Monday, the Sharks earned their first win of the season by rallying from a 4-1 deficit with five minutes left in the third period to defeat the Utah Hockey Club in overtime. Is there anything for dynamics in a case like this? We certainly don’t have a large enough sample to consider the first wins of the season as any kind of trend, but how about expanding the back-to-back discussion to examine how previous results may impact the second leg?

Using our data from the last three seasons from ESPN, there have been 391 times that a team has played its second straight game at home. Of these 391, the team in question won the first leg 197 times and lost 194 times.

Now the results of the second leg: If a team playing at home can get a win the day before, they have a record of 100-97. If the home team suffers a defeat in the second leg, the record will be 75-119.

This is not unexpected; Teams that win, win and teams that lose, lose. But what if we break down the expectations even further?

If the home team of the second leg is also an underdog and won the previous day, the record is 23-52 or a win rate of 30.7%. If the underdog team suffers a loss to play consecutive home games, the record is 27-78, or a win rate of 25.7%.

That means the Sharks’ chances have improved because they won on Monday, but only slightly.