After receiving the news today that Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl will miss the rest of the regular season due to injury, the door quietly opened for Los Angeles to climb up in the standings.
The Western Conference playoff race may have just taken a decisive turn—and the Los Angeles Kings are right in the middle of it.
With the Edmonton Oilers announcing that star forward Leon Draisaitl is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, the balance of power in the Pacific Division and the rest of the conference has suddenly shifted.
The standings in the division remain very close, and the Kings are in the middle of it. LA now has a clear opportunity to climb the standings at a critical moment in the season.
Here’s a look at the current playoff standings in the middle of the conference:
2. Vegas Golden Knights — 31-22-14, 76 points
3. Edmonton Oilers — 33-26-9, 75 points
4. Seattle Kraken — 31-26-9, 71 points
5. Los Angeles Kings — 28-24-15, 71 points
6. San Jose Sharks — 32-27-6, 70 points
Despite the Kings being in the mix of the postseason, a bad week would be all it would take for them to drop out of playoff position. So, they are far from out of the woods just yet.
Kings In Striking Distance
Now, when we look at the current standings as of Tuesday, the second seed only has a six-point lead over the sixth seed, and now, with the news of Draisaitl out for the rest of the year, Los Angeles needs to take advantage of that.
The Kings and Kraken are both tied for the fourth seed in the division, sitting just four points back of the Oilers, and are better equipped now to surpass a wounded Oilers squad.
Edmonton has a brutal seven-game stretch starting today against San Jose, Florida, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vegas, Anaheim, and Seattle; all of these teams are fighting for playoff positions.
Without their star forward, the Oilers can very well drop to the bottom of the playoff picture by next week, and that can benefit the Kings to rise if they take care of business.
Under D.J. Smith, the Kings have built their identity under defensive discipline and balanced scoring from their depth. While they might not have the same offensive power as the Oilers, they still have a good chance with Edmonton not fully healthy.
Now, with the Oilers suddenly looking vulnerable, even before the injury to Draisaitl, they were playing average hockey coming out of the break, going 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Los Angeles will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching over the next few weeks to help position them for a playoff spot.
Opportunity Knocks for Los Angeles
All season, Los Angeles has struggled, consistently losing games they're supposed to win and failing to establish itself as a playoff contender.
Now, they may control their own destiny, with this opportunity of a key injury to a division rival opening the door, and it's up to them to walk through it and do their job.
Los Angeles has the easiest schedule remaining in the entire league, so there's no excuse for them not to make the playoffs or climb past an injured Oilers team, which faces a much stiffer schedule.
If they can maintain their recent level of play and capitalize on Edmonton’s setback, they could not only climb the standings but also potentially secure home-ice advantage in the first round, something that was out of the question a few weeks ago.
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