A win on Monday night (April 14) helped the Los Angeles Kings and interim head coach DJ Smith clinch a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive year in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season down the stretch. A slow start to this regular season in this past few months saw the Kings get hampered in the standings in the West this past fall.
Who would the Los Angeles Kings not want to play this upcoming postseason in the West in the playoffs this spring?
The next couple of games in the West in the Pacific Division this upcoming week and this weekend will determine for the Kings who they will play this postseason in the playoffs.
Here are two teams the Kings and the fans should want to avoid playing this upcoming postseason in the playoffs this spring in April this month.
Edmonton Oilers
It couldn't be possible, right?
The idea that the Kings could play the Edmonton Oilers in the postseason in the playoffs for the last five consecutive years in the West in the Pacific Division is still a reality for Smith and the coaching staff this upcoming weekend at Crypto.com Arena on home ice.
The Kings are just a couple of points in the standings in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season down the stretch behind the Anaheim Ducks and the Oilers from Edmonton. Assuming the Kings can pass the Ducks in the standings in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season down the stretch, LA would face the Oilers in the first round of this upcoming postseason in the playoffs.
If the Kings win tonight's game vs. the Canucks in the back end of back-to-back games in the Pacific Division in the West early this week on Tuesday night, then there is a possibility that LA could host a game for the postseason in the playoffs on home ice this upcoming weekend on Saturday or Sunday.
In this past four matchups in the postseason in the playoffs between the Kings and Oilers, Edmonton has controlled the series between these two teams in the spring in the 2020s decades in the last few years. The Kings looked to have the Oilers on the ropes this past postseason in the first round of the playoffs, going up 2-0 in the series early vs. Edmonton.
Maybe, this time could be different if the Kings faced the Oilers in the first round for a fifth year in a row consecutively this upcoming postseason next week?
Colorado Avalanche
Assuming the Kings lose in the back end of back-to-back games in the West in the Pacific Division tonight vs. the Canucks on the road in Vancouver, and the Ducks and Utah Mammoth win in regulation, that would lock up LA in the second wild card spot in the standings in the West this regular season down the stretch.
If the Kings get the No. 2 wild card spot in the standings in the West this regular season this spring in mid-April, LA faces the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the postseason in the playoffs this upcoming weekend and next week early.
The Kings defeated the Seattle Kraken in the final frame in the third period on the scoreboard by a score of 5-3 on Monday night (April 13) in the Pacific Division early this week. As it stands right now, the Kings would face the Avalanche in the first round in the West this postseason in the playoffs this spring next week.
If the Kings can't jump in the standings in the West in the Pacific Division in this upcoming week in the next few days on the schedule before this upcoming weekend, LA will face the Presidents Trophy winner from this regular season. Colorado is having its best regular season in the history of the franchise for the Avalanche in this past few months.
The last two consecutive times the Kings and Avalanche met, LA only scored a couple of goals on the scoreboard and lost both games by multiple goals on the ice. Colorado has beaten the Kings on two straight trips to the conference finals in the early 2000s decade (2001 and 2002 postseasons over a couple of decades ago in the NHL).
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