The Kings will square off with the Colorado Avalanche to open the first round of the playoffs this season.
Despite the Anaheim Ducks nearly coming up short against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, they hung on and won, and the Edmonton Oilers did as well, leaving the Los Angeles Kings as the second wild-card team who will face the Colorado Avalanche.
The opening game between the teams will be on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 PM PT on TNT.
Entering the final game of the season, LA was tied with Anaheim for the third seed and one point behind Edmonton for the second spot in the Pacific Division. Edmonton and Anaheim took care of business, defeating their opponents and playing their full squads to avoid dropping in the standings.
As a result of the Oilers and Ducks winning, the Kings will now face the Presidents' Trophy winners for the first time since 2002. The Avalanche won both meetings in the 2001 and 2002 playoff series, and this season swept the season series 3-0.
The Kings have struggled with Colorado in all of their matchups this season, losing by more than two goals in each game. In the three meetings, LA struggled to keep up with Colorado's high-powered offense, which amped it up and took the game.
Los Angeles is going to be viewed as the underdog in this contest, and it’s certainly going to be an uphill battle. But, if the Kings' defense can show up and make it tough like they've done in this final week with its impressive goaltending by Anton Forsberg and the offense gives production, it can be a competitive series, but it will be a lot to ask for the Kings to compete against the best offense in Hockey.
Game Recap
Now, let's go through how the Kings secured the final wild-card spot and their first-round playoff matchup.
The Kings closed their final regular-season game with a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
Even if LA had won, their playoff seeding would remain the same, since the Oilers and Ducks both defeated their opponents on Thursday.
The team played the entire game at full strength, recognizing that playoff seedings were at stake. Even then, LA came up short with its full squad out on ice, playing with no threat on offense all game long.
Both teams struggled to score in the opening period, and the game was very slow, showcasing little to no offense. LA outshot Calgary 10-2 in the first period, but couldn't get a goal up despite getting more opportunities.
It would all change in the second period. Calgary drew first blood at the 14:39 mark, scoring the power-play goal. Over a minute later, the Kings would respond, followed by a beautiful team-up led by Alex Laferriere and Trevor Moore, setting up Quinton Byfield to score his 24th goal of the season, a new career high.
The scoreboard remained tied after 40 minutes. An even period with both teams getting 10 shots on goal, but Calgary was turning the puck over, and the Kings couldn't capitalize on their mistakes.
We opened the third period with Calgary at the 13:52 mark, converting on the top glove snipe from the left side to retake the lead. All night long, the Kings were doing their best to get a shot up, but couldn't score.
At this point in the third period, the Kings' best decision would've been to rest its starters and get ready for Sunday, with the playoff matchups already set, but LA continued to play its full squad.
The final 40 seconds saw the Flames capitalize on the empty net goal to secure this victory at home, 3-1.
Key Stats
Quinton Byfield finished with one goal and one point, scoring the only goal for the Kings all night. It wasn't a productive offensive night for the Kings at all, despite playing its entire squad for nearly 60 minutes.
The Kings will travel to Colorado in the first round of the playoffs, with Game One being Sunday at 12:00 PM PT on TNT.
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