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It's time for some scoreboard watching

March 27, 2018, 4:16 PM ET [22 Comments]
Adam Kirshenblatt
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
With five games left in the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings currently find themselves with the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. This is after a couple of big time wins against the Colorado Avalanche last Thursday and yesterday’s 3-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames to eliminate them from playoff contention.

The win is Colorado has the potential to be the biggest win of the year. With everyone in the lower half of the Western Conference playoffs so close together in points there is a high probability of the tie breaks coming into effect.

The first tie break in the NHL is who has more ROW (Regulation Overtime Wins). Right now, the Kings are beating the Avs 40-39 in that department. However, should that be a tie, the next tie break is the head-to-head series between the two teams.

Earlier this year the Kings beat the Avs in overtime 2-1 on Dec. 21 and with the victory last Thursday, it cemented them as the winners of the three game season series.

Straggling behind the Kings are the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars. The Stars have really faltered in March due to an inconsistent offense and the struggling health of Ben Bishop. They are currently six points out of the playoffs and require a herculean effort in order to get back in.

St. Louis is only a point back of the Avalanche and two points behind the LA Kings. As it is with the Avs, the Blues have a very similar record as the Kings so ties with points and ROW is a very likely scenario. In this case, Kings fans don’t want this to go to the second tie break because the 7-2 thrashing the Kings took from the Blues earlier this month was also the deciding game of the season series.

The third main team the Kings will be scoreboard watching will be the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks currently possess the third spot in the Pacific Division by a point over the Kings. However, should it come to a situation of a tie, the Kings have five more ROWs than the Ducks for them to win the first tie break. If the Duck miraculously close that gap within their last six games, then Friday night’s Freeway Faceoff finale will decide the season series.

To end the regular season, here are each of the Kings competition’s schedules.

Los Angeles Kings

March 29: vs. Arizona Coyotes
March 30: @ Anaheim Ducks
April 2: vs. Colorado Avalanche
April 5: vs. Minnesota Wild
April 7: vs. Dallas Stars

Anaheim Ducks

March 27: @ Vancouver Canucks
March 30: vs. Los Angeles Kings
April 1: vs. Colorado Avalanche
April 4: vs. Minnesota Wild
April 6: vs. Dallas Stars
April 7: @ Arizona Coyotes

Colorado Avalanche

March 28: vs. Philadelphia Flyers
March 30: vs. Chicago Blackhawks
April 1: @ Anaheim Ducks
April 2: @ Los Angeles Kings
April 5: @ San Jose Sharks
April 7: vs. St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues

March 27: vs. San Jose Sharks
March 30: @ Vegas Golden Knights
March 31: @ Arizona Coyotes
April 2: vs. Washington Capitals
April 4: vs. Chicago Blackhawks
April 6: @ Chicago Blackhawks
April 7: @ Colorado Avalanche

As you guys can see, the Blues have two games in hand over the Kings and one game over everyone else. However, they end the season by play three games in four nights two weekends in a row so fatigue will be a factor. The Capitals are currently in a battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins for top spot in the Metropolitan Division so depending on how that stands on April 2nd, will determine their interest in resting or playing their guys out west.

They also have a back-to-back with their long-time Central Division rival Chicago Blackhawks who will be looking to play spoiler as this will be the Hawks first time missing the playoffs in 10 years. The Golden Knights and the Sharks are pretty locked in their spots as first and second in the Pacific Division respectively so it will be interesting to see how they rest players to end the season.

Colorado may have the hardest schedule as they play every other night for the rest of the season. As well, with the exception of the Blackhawks, they are all playoff teams with three of them teams they are chasing or fending off.

The Kings and the Ducks schedules are fairly similar, both of their last five games face the same five teams. The Kings have a back-to-back situation against the Coyotes and Ducks where they travel on the second night. However, they also have two days off surrounding that back-to-back which should help them get through it.

Anaheim ends the season with a back-to-back at home against the Stars and then travelling to Arizona. Those two games may be the key to their season so this will likely be a team playing right down to the wire.

So the question I have for you guys are who do you think have the toughest schedule to end the season and who would you like to face in the first round should the Kings make it. If the playoffs started today, the Kings would be taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in a series I think the Kings could easily win if they play their playoff style of hockey we know they’re capable of.

The other options that the Kings could end up playing are the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators. I think Nashville is a team everybody wants to avoid right now as they have shown they are capable of being the best in the league. If the Kings end up with the Sharks, it will be a war, as it always is. The winner of that series will have survived more than “won” it.

Vegas is unpredictable and have a ton of speed and skill, but they’ve never been in a situation where they play the same team in a two week span. I think if they play anyone other than the Colorado Avalanche, they may have issues against a playoff tested team.

So let me know either in the comments or on Twitter (@Kirshenblatt).
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