The Kings Schedule Is Interesting

The Los Angeles Kings have a lot to play for after recently firing their head coach, Jim Hiller, yesterday. Will this team turn it around? They have the easiest remaining schedule in the NHL, sitting last in remaining strength of schedule. 

With 60 games already in the books, the upcoming final weeks of the regular season pose a question: Can the Kings take advantage of their soft schedule? If they have a switch to flip, now is the best time to do it. 

The No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division is only five points ahead of the sixth seed, which is where Los Angeles sits right now, with a record of 24-22-14 and 62 points. Los Angeles' best option is to climb up to that fourth seed and overtake Edmonton and San Jose for the final playoff spot. 

With their recent skid coming out of the Olympic break, it's certain now that Los Angeles is far from having home-ice advantage in the first round, something they achieved last season. However, things can also go south despite having the easiest schedule remaining. Because following their brutal loss to the very shorthanded Vegas Golden Knights out of the Olympic Break and their blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers 8-1, easy games don't seem to matter for the Kings. 

With little margin for error, the difference between a solid playoff standing position at that fourth spot and totally missing the postseason for the entire summer will be decided from every game here on out. 

But, if the Kings want the result to happen, they will need to do something that they’re not nearly consistent at doing this year - beat below .500 teams. Los Angeles is 11-9-3 against teams under .500 this season, one game below .500 against teams that they're supposed to defeat.  

Despite Los Angeles'  strength of schedule, the Kings will face some stiff competition on the way to having the easiest remaining schedule.  There are a handful of teams in the Western Conference who can spoil their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. The Kraken, Mammoth, Oilers, and Nashville are all teams jockeying for playoff position. 

The two teams in that division sandwiching them, the third seed and fourth seed, Edmonton and Seattle, are the only tough tests they will face. Now, meanwhile, in the central division, they will play Utah and Nashville twice, two teams also fighting for a playoff spot. 

All five of those teams are bunched up in the Pacific and Central Divisions, so likely only two teams will get in, and four will remain out. The tiebreakers against Utah, Nashville, and Edmonton will play a critical role in deciding Los Angeles' fate. 

For example, despite still having one game remaining against Seattle, the Kings have already lost the season series to the Kraken, so their final meeting won't mean much. Controversially, thanks to their wins against the Oilers and the Mammoth earlier in the season, those two games against Utah, and one remaining game against Edmonton, will all be critical. 

The Oilers just blew out the Kings on Thursday, 8-1, to tie the season series 1-1. The final matchup will be on April 11 at home. Los Angeles beat Utah in their first matchup on Dec. 8, and will play them twice in a span of one week, beginning March 22 and March 28, with both matchups split between home and away. 

While the Kings lost to the Predators back on October 25th in a shootout, their next two meetings will be in a span of four days, on April 2 and April 6, both at Crypto.com Arena.  

It may sound like hyperbole, but this is why the Kings' entire season comes down to how they fare in those games against respected Western Conference teams. A proposition that feels ominous because on one hand, they have the easiest schedule remaining, but still struggle to beat below .500 teams and have those tough five Western Conference matchups that will most likely decide their outcome of reaching the playoffs.

But, despite their poor record, the Kings have shown the ability to beat contending teams in the league, including the Oilers, Vegas, and Dallas, but their inability to build on that success has been a problem. 

Regardless of the reality of their situation, the Kings are about to be presented with an opportunity to change their narrative and, in the process, restore their belief that they can actually make it to the postseason. 

While the Kings were never likely to make a deep run in the playoffs this year, if they got there, they could still give themselves the best odds by finding their groove right now. The very same teams they will have to leap in the standings are coming their way. 

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