As the playoff race heats up and teams jockeying for position, every point seems like gold in the National Hockey League. This is true for the Los Angeles Kings, who are battling for second place behind the Vegas Golden Knights and ahead of their arch-rivals, the Edmonton Oilers. Coming into the weekend, there are less than a handful of games remaining in the regular season, this is where the Kings need to cash in on those golden points. Or, the inevitable might happen, a first round meeting with the Oilers...again!
Kings fans know the history all too well as the Oilers have eliminated the Kings in the first round of the playoffs for the past three seasons. Those previous match-ups have ended up in some lopsided results.
In 18 playoff games, the Kings scored 50 goals to the Oilers 74 and lost 12 games to 6. Resting on the shoulders of team leaders Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers are poised to meet the Kings once again.
However, this LA Kings team appears to have a different vibe this year, and head coach Jim Hiller has dialed up the right culture and line combinations to make them competitive on a nightly basis. Lately, captain Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, and newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko have been contributing on the offense. While on the defensive side of things, both Darcy Kuemper & David Rittich have been solid in goal, and veteran Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson have been holding the opposition at the blue line.
With such high optimism circulating around Crypto.com Arena these days, and the chants of "Go Kings Go!” maybe it's time to embrace the first round of the playoffs? Back in 2014, the Kings were down 3 games to the San Jose Sharks and on the verge of being swept in the first round.
What took place next was a magical comeback win over San Jose and a journey that took the Kings to their second Stanley Cup. The momentum of that comeback pushed them through to the Finals and getting that push this year might be the right recipe for longtime teammates, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.
Whoever the Kings meet in the first round, the storylines, and the match-ups, this year's team is looking to remove a thorn in their side and advance to the second round. The final days in the regular season should be action-packed and filled with drama, as the Kings and Oilers meet twice heading down the stretch.