A two-game win streak and all of the sudden the LA Kings control their playoff fate.
Right now, the Kings find themselves in the second Wild Card spot, sneaking ahead of the Winnipeg Jets because of the Regulation/OT Wins tiebreaker. And, according to Sports Club Stats, the Kings have a 74.1 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Farewell, Sharks. We hardly knew ye.
But that’s the just the tip of the madness.
Including tonight’s crucial game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Kings have four games remaining on their schedule. After tonight, they will face the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers on the road before returning home to take on the San Jose Sharks.
If the Kings manage to beat the Canucks in regulation and win their other three games, not only will the stay ahead of the Jets, but they would also pass the Flames and Canucks in the standings. That would give the Kings home-ice advantage in the first round against either the Canucks (likely) or the Flames (less likely). Of course if they lose all four of those games, well, um…
Can't believe with four games left the Kings could still have home ice in round 1 or not even make the playoffs.
— Lewis Kay (@lewkay) April 5, 2015
Activating BARF, CRY, BARF mode.
But crazy scenarios aside, what’s important now is the game against the Canucks.
The Kings have dominated the Canucks in the past two season, posting a 7-2-0 record and outscoring them 26-13 in those games.
Can the Kings keep up their dominance of the Canucks? Probably.
Regardless, for the first time since last June, this finally feels like a playoff game.