Eighty-two games have become 29 as the Kings stare down a trail that should lead them back to the playoffs for a second consecutive season and afford them an opportunity to advance in the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade.
They sit in a points tie for first place in the Pacific Division after going 13-6-1 in their past 21 games, tying for the best points total in the Western Conference during that span. Only Boston, which the Kings defeated to start their run, and Carolina, which rallied from three goals down to saddle the Kings with an overtime loss heading into the All-Star break, have owned better marks in the past quarter of the NHL schedule.
But the Kings will need to stay sharp given that the three teams within three or fewer points of the Kings all have at least three games in hand on them. The developments to date and a glimpse ahead show a team with tremendous potential, but also indicate some possible pitfalls as temperatures rise and the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup intensifies.
Reaching this point
Initially, Coach Todd McLellan described his roster as one striving for an identity, then as one that miscast itself as a run-and-gun roster, then as one that was part of the majority of teams seeking consistency and, lately, as a group that’s begun to find itself and sustain its efficacy for longer periods.
The Kings’ current position is an enviable but precarious one, perhaps most succinctly evidenced by their goal differential. Of the top 19 teams by record at the break, the Kings are the only one with a negative goal differential. The other four teams sitting atop their division have goal differentials ranging from plus-26 (Seattle) to plus-81 (Boston), with the Kings’ negative-10 differential placing them among the also-rans, 22nd in the league.
By McLellan’s own assessment, the season so far would receive a grade of incomplete. From their own netfront to the locales where they have prospects playing around the world, the…
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