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With the Los Angeles Kings suffering their third straight loss this weekend, they continue to slip within the Pacific Division.
Despite outshooting the Colorado Avalanche 41-23 on Saturday, the Kings still came up short, marking their fifth loss over the last seven games. The Kings had come out flying in the first period, outshooting the Avalanche 18-4, despite the game remaining scoreless. Then early in the second period, two goals from Denis Malgin and Alex Newhook quickly put the Kings in a hole out of nowhere. Los Angeles did keep pressing though and after once again outplaying the Avalanche through the majority of another frame, goals from Adrian Kempe and Viktor Arvidsson tied the game at 2-2 through 40 minutes, with Los Angeles leading 32-11 in shots. In the third period though, the Avalanche once again went back ahead by two early in the frame and while a quick reply cut the lead in half, the Kings couldn’t recover and fell 4-3.
Despite the loss, it was a step in the right direction for the Kings, outplaying Colorado for the majority of the game. The injuries are also a factor, and the losses of Kevin Fiala, Gabriel Vilardi and Mikey Anderson have been felt.
However, the Kings are very much at risk of slipping to a wild card spot. The Seattle Kraken picked up their fourth win in a row over the weekend and now sit just two points back of the Kings with a game in hand (and their next game comes tonight against the Arizona Coyotes). Plus, the Kraken would hold the tiebreaker advantage based on regulation wins, if the teams ended up tied in points.
That said, you do have to wonder how much of a negative it would really be if the Kings were to slip down to the first wildcard spot. Los Angeles is already guaranteed not to get home ice advantage in the first round, and there’s still no certainty as to who they’d play in either position. They could still face any of the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars or even Minnesota Wild, and it’s debatable as to whether there are any ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ options. Based on the way they played against the Avalanche compared to their lack of success against Edmonton, that possible wild card matchup against Colorado might actually be favourable, rather than holding the third spot in the Pacific and going up against the Oilers.
The Kings will play their final home game of the regular season tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, before ending off with a road game against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. With so much still up in the air as to who they'll face in the first round, hopefully the Kings can at least build some momentum.
QuizMaker
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Kings end road trip with back-to-back wins, clinch playoff spot
Kings come up short in another key showdown against Oilers
Looking at different playoff scenarios for the Kings after recent slide 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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