As if last night's loss at the hands of the Blackhawks wasn't enough, both Calgary and Vancouver achieved victory.
With just six games left on schedule for most teams, here is how the West currently looks.
Even though Darryl Sutter said the team is looking for a divisional berth and not a wild card berth, things are looking more and more challenging.
No matter how you slice it, last night's results hurt.
By both Sports Club Stats and Hockeystats.ca metrics, the Kings dropped about 20% in their chances last night. Calgary improved their overall chances by about the same.
LA Kings graph:
It is almost a rhetorical question, but what does this team have to do to get in? Win obviously. Therein lies the scary truth in what the last six games hold.
The Kings do in a manner of speaking control their own destiny. They control it with a stretch of six games that are all realistically very winnable contests.
Two games against Edmonton One game against each of San Jose, Colorado, Calgary, and Vancouver
The bolded teams are NOT playoff teams, and Calgary is on the fence like the Kings.
It is eerily fitting that the Kings probably need to win or get points in four of their remaining six games to get in. We said in an earlier post that 96 points was going to be the target for safety. With 88 points, in order for the Kings to get their they'd have to go 4-2-0. When you look at that schedule and the remaining points they need for a theoretical clinch, the black and white truth is there. If the Kings cannot squeeze out points in four of six games against five teams ranked 7-14 in the conference, they probably do not deserve to be in.
The other thing that last night's results did was put more and more weight on what may be the ultimate game of the season on Thursday, April 9, at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Kings and Flames will meet in the second to last game of the season. If you have plans for that night, cancel them. The fate of both teams may very well depend on the outcome of that game. It is a four point swing game in an unbelievably tight race between the two teams.
There is one other team in the mix that perhaps everyone has forgotten about in this mix. While the focus on Calgary has been pretty prevalent, the Winnipeg Jets are not out of the woods at all. Forget Calgary, the Jets may actually be the Kings best chance at getting in.
The Kings hold the ROW tiebreak over Winnipeg, and the Jets have a very difficult schedule down the stretch.
In their last six games, the Jets play the Rangers and Canucks at home, before going on a three game central trip that includes the Blues, Wild, and Avalanche. They finish up the year at home against the Calgary Flames.
With the Flames and Jets playing each other on the last day of the season it creates a very interesting scenario overall for the Kings. Again, it puts extra emphasis on getting a victory against the Flames on the second to last game of the season.
If we put our target of 96 up against both Calgary and Winnipeg and then look at schedules, there is still hope if you are an L.A. fan.
(Games in bold are teams behind in the standings or near. They should be considered winnable games)
90 points, Jets: Rangers, Blues, Wild, Avs, Flames
91 points, Flames: Blues, Oilers, Coyotes, Kings, Jets
88 points, Kings: Oilers, Avs, Oilers, Canucks, Flames, Sharks
If those results were to pan out in the most predictable of manners (Which they probably won't) that would leave the standings as:
Flames: 95-99(depending on Kings, Jets results) Kings: 96-98 (depending on Calgary result) Jets: 92-94 (depending on Calgary result)
So while nerves remain on edge amongst the Kings fanbase, they actually have a distinct advantage in schedule over the Jets. You could also argue they have an advantage in schedule over the Flames due to them having to play both teams they are fighting with for a final spot.
This is obviously not where the Kings wanted to be in the last portion of the season, but it is the reality. They still very much control their own destiny, but they need to bear down and get points in at least four of the final six games to get in.
Bust out the pepto, because this one is probably going to go down to the wire. Any falter against the Oilers or Avs in the upcoming matches could be a death knell.
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