As the Kings gear up for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in what should be a very challenging game, let's take a quick look ahead at the remaining schedule.
Tonight against the Penguins will be the final time the Kings are visited by an Eastern Conference opponent. After tonight they will make one New York swing which will include the Islanders, the Rangers, and the Devils.
Get ready, because other than that it is all Western Conference. Of the 17 remaining games after tonight, nine of those contests will be against the Pacific division. Also, six of these games will come against teams that the Kings are currently battling with for the final wild card slots (Vancouver 3, San Jose 1, Minnesota 1, Calgary 1).
They do have some things working in their favor, like double games against Edmonton and Colorado. Also they have match ups against Arizona and New Jersey, both of which are struggling teams out of the playoff picture.
Other than that it is going to be a very interesting road for the Kings. They play 11 of their final 17 games on the road. For a team with a 10-14-8 road record on the year that can't be comforting. The other factor that can't be comforting is that their Sagarin numbers, which has been the go to for strength of schedule for some time, aren't promising. They currently are ranked 26th in terms of their remaining schedule, meaning they have some upcoming matchups that haven't been kind to them this season.
With that being said, the Kings have dominated quite a number of road games this season only to fall short in the slightest of margins. They remain one of the more snake bitten road teams this year. If there was ever a time for that to turn around, now would be it.
The division games will more than likely decide the fate of the Kings. As much as the media want to call every game from here on out a "Must-win game" to manufacture a bit of drama, the Kings still have some time before that kicks in. The divisional games against Calgary, San Jose, and Vancouver are going to be the key.
Right now the safe numbers in the Western Conference looks to be about 95-96 points. At the Kings current pace they are smack dab on pace for just that. Even then, that 95 number may not be safe. Also factor in that the Kings are in some desperate need of tiebreak bolstering. Out of Minnesota, San Jose, Calgary, and Vancouver, the Kings have the fewest regulation/overtime wins. To be
truly safe the Kings would need to play just about .650 or above hockey down the stretch. Something along the lines of a 10-4-4 record would do the trick.
The last six games of the season are probably the most important games the Kings will play this year when you get right down to it:
Edmonton (H)
Colorado (H)
Vancouver (A)
Edmonton (A) (Back to back)
Calgary (A)
San Jose (H)
The remaining schedule can either make you very nervous or very reassured depending on how you look at it.
In many regards the Kings control their own destiny. They play so many divisional match-ups against teams also fighting to get in that if they win those games they are certain to make it. At the same time that is a scary thought if the Kings start to go on a downward slump during that period.
The other nervous notion is that the Kings will have to play Anaheim, Nashville, Chicago, NYI, and NYR, all of which are teams that currently reside in the top 10 of the league. Those are going to be very difficult points to pick up.
Again, maybe the take home point here is that the Kings CAN afford to lose some points and some games. They just have to be careful which ones they lose or drop points in. The divisional games are of utmost importance, and will be the true make or break games of the season. The Kings control their own destiny as of right now. Win and it is an easy in. Stumble just a little bit, and things can get murky.
A win against Pittsburgh would be a nice way to close out the last little stretch before things really kick into high gear Tuesday in Colorado.
Strap in folks, the stretch run is going to make for some nervous hockey games.
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