The Los Angeles Kings lost again to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs but remarkably, they might not be the worst team in terms of playoff performance in the NHL. That title might belong to the Minnesota Wild, who have made the playoffs eight times in the last 10 years and have not been able to get past the first round of the playoffs in any of those trips.
Right now, the LA Kings are probably grappling with what went wrong this year, as it looked like they were set up to finally get past the Edmonton Oilers. They had home ice advantage and capitalized on that with two wins to open the series.
Unfortunately, it went downhill from there as the Oilers would win the next four to know the Kings out.
Minnesota Wilds' playoff struggles have gone on much longer than the LA Kings
The Wild faced a similar outcome as they didn't necessarily have home ice but did have a 2-1 series lead after three games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
That would be the end of their success, and the Golden Knights would go on to win the next three to advance and will now be playing the Oilers in the second round. This has been the story for the Wild as their last three trips, including this season, they have had a 2-1 series lead in each one, and would lose the final three games of the series to get knocked out.
In total in all of their eight trips, the series hasn't been that close, even though they have held a series lead in four trips, but has only been one instance where the Wild have gotten to a Game 7.
For the Los Angeles Kings, there is undoubtedly work to be done this offseason because they need to find a way to get out of the first round. A fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs would be impressive but it has to include reaching the second round or they might eventually be challenging the Minnesota Wild in terms of playoff struggles.