Kings Remaining Schedule

Clif

Clif

TEAM LGK
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Ahead of today?s game, going 30-20 gets the Kings to 95. Who knows if that?ll be good enough for the playoffs, but it gives them a good shot. How achievable is it though?

There are no safe games for any team let alone one on the bubble, but I think there?s a group of games that can be fairly described as ?winnable.? Then there?s a second tier of games against other bubble teams. Lastly there?s a decent number of games against ?contenders.? Here?s how it?s looking (not breaking down the contender group individually - those are just tough games):

?Winnable? - 16
SEA (4)
NYI (1)
PHI (2)
AZ (2)
CBJ (2)
BUFF (1)
CHI (3)
NJ (1)

Bubble - 14
DET (2)
ANH (3)
BOS (2)
DAL (1)
WPG (1)
VAN (1)
SJ (4)

?Contenders? - 20

Some of the teams are arguable, and AZ is a tough matchup for this team no matter what season. I also don?t see EDM or CGY as contenders but I put them in that group simply because I see them as extra challenging games. And hell, probably every fan base puts the Kings in their own ?winnable? tier. I would.

Still, I don?t hate what I see left on the schedule. How many of those 20 hardest games can they win and how many of the other 30 will they lose?
 
those division games are going to be even more important now. With 5 pts separating 3rd from 7th in the pacific, its going to be a real nail biter. Edmonton is going to live and die on their offense, so its going to be tough predicting where they wind up, but i think they are definitely in the hunt for a playoff spot. I think Calgary probably never drops out of the 3-4 spot. Anaheim is a team i keep looking at and wondering how they have managed to stay where they are, but from the looks of it, they arent really going to let up. It's not going to be easy to get a wild card spot.

Right now, i think it's pretty likely the Kings miss the playoffs, but i think that says more about the strength of the west's middle tier of teams than the Kings failings, which is a nice surprise. I think they finish outside, with a respectable record, goal differential, and a point total that might have seen them get in in a different season. With that said, i've been firmly in the camp that thought they could attain the playoffs this season, so im still pulling for that to happen.
 
You never really know how a team's gonna come out. We suck vs Arizona and we beat teams like vegas, and minny. It's like if the Kings see that their next opponent is doing well in the standings, they try hard to match that skill level, but bad teams bring out the worst in LA. They don't want to rise above the suck. My analytics have the playoffs cutting off at 97 points. So if LA can increase their winning pct just a tad bit, they can make it in.
 
Helvetica said:
those division games are going to be even more important now. With 5 pts separating 3rd from 7th in the pacific, its going to be a real nail biter. Edmonton is going to live and die on their offense, so its going to be tough predicting where they wind up, but i think they are definitely in the hunt for a playoff spot. I think Calgary probably never drops out of the 3-4 spot. Anaheim is a team i keep looking at and wondering how they have managed to stay where they are, but from the looks of it, they arent really going to let up. It's not going to be easy to get a wild card spot.

Right now, i think it's pretty likely the Kings miss the playoffs, but i think that says more about the strength of the west's middle tier of teams than the Kings failings, which is a nice surprise. I think they finish outside, with a respectable record, goal differential, and a point total that might have seen them get in in a different season. With that said, i've been firmly in the camp that thought they could attain the playoffs this season, so im still pulling for that to happen.
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I have a real similar take. I don’t expect them to make it this season, though I do put that more on the Kings due to their lack of scoring. Still, I’m not ruling them out.

Apparently Edmonton only had 2 shots today in the 3rd period and OT in their loss to NYI. Incredible. Maybe they’ll self-destruct further. But yeah, I don’t see Calgary dropping either and I expected the wheels to fall off in Anaheim by now but it just hasn’t happened. They’re a real head-scratcher. All I can think is that team looks like they’re having a whole lotta fun.
 
Parity. The Kings can bear any team on any given night. They have proven that. The question is will they win enough games they should lose and not lose games they should win. They really haven’t pulled of but maybe one game they should have lost and have lost a few they played well enough to win (Jets, Caps at home, for example).

I see the Kings on the outside as well but think they are capable to pick up a wild card spot. All year the Kings have played a very good team game and have had the ability to roll 4 lines. They are looking very good at the C position.

FWIW: I have never bought into the EDM hype. Sure McDavid and that Draisatl guy are good but from top to bottom I haven’t been impressed.
 
The last road trip (2-1-1), all versus "contenders" showed the Kings can certainly hold their own against that group.
 
An interesting bit from LAKI today:

As I watch my Miami Dolphins slowly work their way out of a playoff spot, I find myself with a glancing eye on the NHL’s current playoff standings as well. Though the games played column is vastly spread out, with teams ranging from 27 to 34 in that department, I see the LA Kings currently sitting in the second wild-card position on January 2. Through all of the adversity, with two defensemen out long-term, with Drew Doughty playing just 14 of his team’s 33 games, the Kings sit at four games over .500, having played the NHL’s fourth-toughest schedule to date by winning percentage. Per Tankathon, the Kings have the sixth-easiest schedule remaining, though with still more than half of the 82 games remaining, that number is likely to change.

What it shows is that the Kings have handled a relatively difficult portion of their schedule well. Over their last 11 games, their opponents have a 188-101-32 record, with the Kings winning seven of those games, and picking up at least one point from eight. A strong month of December, which sets up the opportunity for a more consistent stretch to begin 2022.
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That playoff spot feels like it's ripe for the taking, and the Kings look to be in control here. Keep hope alive.
 
We got in thanks to Ryan Clowe's stick on the ice in 2012. Anything can happen!
 
Predators coming up. That should be a good one. They're playing some good hockey right now and they're good on the road. Should be a good test for the boys.
 
Maybe all this imploding in Edmonton will finally make everyone here realize Tippett is not the answer to everything? Probably not, but I can dream.
 
Illegal_Stick said:
Maybe all this imploding in Edmonton will finally make everyone here realize Tippett is not the answer to everything? Probably not, but I can dream.
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i think the better way to look at it is that every team is significantly more complex than just the coach, or just the players, or the GM, or whatever flavor of the month that fans want to pin the failings of a team on. Tippett is a good coach, but he's not god.
 
Clif said:
I expected the wheels to fall off in Anaheim by now but it just hasn?t happened. They?re a real head-scratcher. All I can think is that team looks like they?re having a whole lotta fun.
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Gibson
 
Nyssa42 said:
We got in thanks to Ryan Clowe's stick on the ice in 2012. Anything can happen!
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That was quite a moment. Like something out of "Slap Shot".

I think most people forget how close we were to missing the playoffs, in tenth place with five weeks to go. Then we get 27 points in 19 games and the rest is history.



And in another case of How in the Blue (****) Did the Refs Miss That?, here's the 'netting' game winner* in Detroit two years later:



Good times!

edit: *it actually tied the game...the Red Wings won in a shootout
 
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