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LA Kings have softer schedule than Golden Knights down the stretch |
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Since the Los Angeles Kings last won a Stanley Cup eight years ago, playoff success hasn’t been on their agenda.
They haven’t qualified for the postseason in five of the last seven seasons. In the other two seasons, they were eliminated in the first round. The Kings were 1-8 in those playoff games.
That’s why Kings fans are uneasy about their three-point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights with less than two weeks left in the season. The Kings have played well enough to make the playoffs for most of this season.
But they aren’t playing well enough right now.
The Kings are 2-4 in their last six games. They have to hear the Golden Knights coming after them, like a lion running down prey. The Golden Knights lost a critical game to the Edmonton Oilers and yet are still 7-2-1 in their last 10. Statistically, Vegas is better than Los Angeles today.
Rivals are rooting for the Kings to hold off the Golden Knights. That’s not a lack of respect for the Kings. It’s about a belief that Vegas is a much, much better team than its record suggests. Western Conference teams would rather not deal with the Golden Knights. They were one of the preseason picks to win it all.
With their team finally getting healthy, the Golden Knights look formidable with an offense led by Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Jack Eichel.
Meanwhile, the Kings recently announced that injured defenseman Drew Doughty is done for the season.
The Kings’ three-point lead also isn’t as strong as it first appears because the Golden Knights have six games left while LA has only five.
Maybe you are thinking the Golden Knights will track down the two wild card teams before they bring down the Kings who are in third place in the Pacific Division.
Better think again.
The Western Conference wild cards are Nashville and Dallas, both from the Central Division. Those two teams are four points ahead of Vegas.
But there is a plus for the Kings in this nip-and-tuck fight for third place in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights have a much more challenging schedule. The Golden Knights must play three teams (Washington, Dallas and St. Louis) that are in the playoffs and three that are not (New Jersey, San Jose and Chicago).
The Kings’ five remaining games include two against Anaheim, plus single games against Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver. That’s a much easier path to the playoffs.
Vancouver is 18th in the NHL standings. Anaheim sits 22nd, while Chicago is 27th and Seattle is 30th.
If a team can’t beat those opponents in must-win NHL games, it probably doesn’t deserve to be in the playoffs.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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