The Los Angeles Kings inked defenseman Mikey Anderson to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.125 million, the club announced Wednesday.

Anderson was a pending restricted free agent, and his current deal carries an AAV of $1 million.

The 23-year-old has been playing on L.A.'s top pairing alongside Drew Doughty. Anderson has become a reliable shutdown defender and has also collected two goals and 11 assists while averaging 21:49 of ice time in 55 games this season.

He's in his third full season with the Kings, who drafted him 103rd overall in 2017. His older brother, Joey, is a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Although there's a fairly juicy six-game slate on the docket for Wednesday night, many of those contests feature teams among the very worst in the league.

Rather than just picking games straight up, we'll get creative in how we attack the worst of the worst.

Let's get right to it.

Blackhawks (+240) @ Maple Leafs (-260)

The Toronto Maple Leafs laid somewhat of an egg Saturday night, dropping a home game against the league's lowest seed - the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They've had several days to chew on that dud of a performance, and I expect them to respond against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

All of the stars are aligning for a convincing Maple Leafs victory. They're playing host to a Blackhawks side that ranks 31st or 32nd in almost every key five-on-five metric over the last 10 games. Chicago is struggling mightily to generate chances and is giving up a ton of opportunities at the other end.

To make matters worse, the Blackhawks have Petr Mrazek between the pipes this evening. He owns a putrid .885 save percentage on the season and won only five games over 23 appearances.

He'll be in tough against a Toronto team that ranked first in high-danger chance generation over the past 10 games despite missing its best player in Auston Matthews for half of those contests. Matthews will return to the lineup against Chicago.

Backing the Leafs to win this game in regulation, or on the puck line, is attractive, but there isn't a ton of meat on that bone. Instead, we'll be playing them to win the first period.

Toronto is tied for eighth in first-period goals this season and is the much better team across the board. The Blackhawks sit dead last in first-period goals, have one of the league's worst goalies between the pipes, and are in the latter half of a road back-to-back.

The Leafs should have no problem getting the early jump - and seeing it through.

Bet: Leafs first period -0.5 (-120)

Sabres (-200) @ Ducks (+170)

The Buffalo Sabres have dropped four consecutive games in regulation and now sit five points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Luckily, they're drawing the perfect opponent as they try to claw their way back up the standings.

While the Anaheim Ducks have won five of their last 10 games, they've controlled only 41.92% of the expected goal share at five-on-five during their "hot" streak. They've also conceded more goals in that game state than any other team in the league.

The Sabres possess one of the league's most threatening even-strength offenses - they rank sixth in scoring efficiency at five-on-five - and have more than enough talent to overwhelm the Ducks.

Anaheim is likely going to need a fantastic start from John Gibson to have any shot of hanging around in this game. That's not exactly likely to happen. Gibson has the raw talent to steal games, but his overall body of work has quietly been poor for several years now.

In fact, Gibson ranks sixth from last in goals saved above expected (minus-10.2). Even though the Ducks have tasked him with a difficult workload, he's still performed well under expectation.

This is a great spot for Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin and Co. to make some noise and get the Sabres back in the win column.

Bet: Sabres in regulation (-130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Another day, another 2-1 effort for our shot props. Dougie Hamilton and Noah Dobson pulled through for us Tuesday, while Jordan Kyrou came up a couple short at home.

We'll look to keep the train moving in the right direction with three more plays for Wednesday's slate.

William Nylander over 3.5 shots (-120)

Nylander is on a nice little shooting run. The ultra-talented winger has recorded at least four shots in 13 of the last 20 games - good for 65%.

There's every reason to believe he can continue his success Wednesday against the Blackhawks.

For starters, the matchup is quite enticing. Chicago is a poor defensive team that spends a lot of time absorbing pressure in its own zone. It's a nice positional spot for Nylander as well, as only six teams have allowed more shots per game to right-wingers this season.

Nylander does his best work on home ice, with his hit rate 8% higher in Toronto. He also expects to welcome Auston Matthews back to his line in this game.

Nylander's shot generation numbers are noticeably higher with Matthews on his line than with someone like Alexander Kerfoot. The latter is more of a pass-first player, but the Leafs don't tilt the ice anywhere close to the same level as they do with Matthews in his place.

Coming off a disappointing showing against the Blue Jackets, Toronto will no doubt come out with purpose and spend a lot of time on the front foot in this one. Nylander should have ample opportunity to go over his shot total.

Nikita Kucherov over 3.5 shots (+105)

Kucherov - like many offensive players - is a more consistent shooter at home. Even so, I believe he's worth backing on the road against the Coyotes.

Arizona isn't a good defensive team at five-on-five, and, perhaps more importantly, it takes a lot of penalties. No club has spent more time shorthanded this season. The same can be said if we isolate the Coyotes' last 10 games.

Kucherov takes a lot of shots on the power play. With the Lighting having played Tuesday, those easy offensive special-team opportunities may be necessary to get the job done. Kucherov should get plenty of those against this undisciplined Coyotes side.

Kucherov has played against Arizona once this season. He attempted 11 shots and hit the target five times during the meeting. I expect another productive outing this time around.

Tage Thompson over 3.5 shots (-125)

The Ducks continue to bleed shots each and every night. Although Anaheim won five of the last 10 games, it conceded more shots and attempts than anybody in the league during that time.

As has been the case all season, the Ducks have struggled most against the center position. No NHL team has allowed more shots per game to centers, and it's not even close. Anaheim has given up 14.66 shots to centers, while the team behind it sits at 12.75.

Thompson is a puck-dominant center who isn't shy about pulling the trigger when the chance presents itself. He should control the middle of the ice against this horrendous Ducks team and send more than his fair share of rubber John Gibson's way.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Another day, another 2-1 effort for our shot props. Dougie Hamilton and Noah Dobson pulled through for us Tuesday, while Jordan Kyrou came up a couple short at home.

We'll look to keep the train moving in the right direction with three more plays for Wednesday's slate.

William Nylander over 3.5 shots (-120)

Nylander is on a nice little shooting run. The ultra-talented winger has recorded at least four shots in 13 of the last 20 games - good for 65%.

There's every reason to believe he can continue his success Wednesday against the Blackhawks.

For starters, the matchup is quite enticing. Chicago is a poor defensive team that spends a lot of time absorbing pressure in its own zone. It's a nice positional spot for Nylander as well, as only six teams have allowed more shots per game to right-wingers this season.

Nylander does his best work on home ice, with his hit rate 8% higher in Toronto. He also expects to welcome Auston Matthews back to his line in this game.

Nylander's shot generation numbers are noticeably higher with Matthews on his line than with someone like Alexander Kerfoot. The latter is more of a pass-first player, but the Leafs don't tilt the ice anywhere close to the same level as they do with Matthews in his place.

Coming off a disappointing showing against the Blue Jackets, Toronto will no doubt come out with purpose and spend a lot of time on the front foot in this one. Nylander should have ample opportunity to go over his shot total.

Nikita Kucherov over 3.5 shots (+105)

Kucherov - like many offensive players - is a more consistent shooter at home. Even so, I believe he's worth backing on the road against the Coyotes.

Arizona isn't a good defensive team at five-on-five, and, perhaps more importantly, it takes a lot of penalties. No club has spent more time shorthanded this season. The same can be said if we isolate the Coyotes' last 10 games.

Kucherov takes a lot of shots on the power play. With the Lighting having played Tuesday, those easy offensive special-team opportunities may be necessary to get the job done. Kucherov should get plenty of those against this undisciplined Coyotes side.

Kucherov has played against Arizona once this season. He attempted 11 shots and hit the target five times during the meeting. I expect another productive outing this time around.

Tage Thompson over 3.5 shots (-125)

The Ducks continue to bleed shots each and every night. Although Anaheim won five of the last 10 games, it conceded more shots and attempts than anybody in the league during that time.

As has been the case all season, the Ducks have struggled most against the center position. No NHL team has allowed more shots per game to centers, and it's not even close. Anaheim has given up 14.66 shots to centers, while the team behind it sits at 12.75.

Thompson is a puck-dominant center who isn't shy about pulling the trigger when the chance presents itself. He should control the middle of the ice against this horrendous Ducks team and send more than his fair share of rubber John Gibson's way.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a healthy Auston Matthews for Wednesday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Matthews is back after missing a handful of contests with a sprained knee, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed, according to TSN's Mark Masters. The superstar center sustained the injury on Jan. 25.

The Leafs went 2-3-0 in his absence, splitting a home-and-home back-to-back with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and Saturday after losing 5-2 to the Boston Bruins, beating the Washington Capitals 5-1, and absorbing a 6-2 defeat to the Ottawa Senators.

Following Wednesday's clash with the basement-dwelling Blackhawks, the Leafs will host the Montreal Canadiens - who also occupy last place in their division - on Saturday before traveling to Chicago for another meeting with the Blackhawks on Sunday.

Matthews produced 25 goals and 28 assists in his 47 previous games this season. He won the Hart Trophy, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award last season after racking up 60 tallies and 46 helpers in 73 contests.

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar isn't pleased with his team's schedule.

The Avs are set to play in three straight back-to-backs. In the second half of each back-to-back, Colorado will be at a severe disadvantage, facing an opponent coming off an off day.

"I hate it," Bednar said following Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "Every back-to-back, the team is waiting on us, resting. I find it odd that's the best schedule we can come up with."

Here's a look at the Avs' current schedule:

Bednar is particularly irked that the second half of all three back-to-backs comes against a team the Avs are battling in the standings.

"I have no problem with playing back-to-backs," he said. "I don't like playing a rested team every time on a back-to-back, especially against three teams we're fighting with."

The defending Stanley Cup champions have been ravaged by injuries this season, yet they still sit third in the Central Division with 61 points. Their spot in the standings is far from firm, though. A regulation loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, coupled with a Calgary Flames win on Thursday, would push Colorado out of the playoffs.

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