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The Kings are 6-0-2 in their last eight games, which is of course reason for much rejoicing. I've detected, in the commentosphere, a certain frustration -- actually, Jim Fox even voiced this last night after the game -- that with so many teams in action last night, the Kings were going to lose ground in the playoff race yet again, despite their current run.
Don't fall for this.
Here's how to cut some money from your Tums budget. Don't look at the official standings. Look only at points-blown.
Q
OFF.
PTS
W%
PRJ
PB
+/-
to95
GR
R/OTW
R/OT/SO
1
1
VAN
81
0.7232
118.6
31
16
6-18-2
26
34
32-11/2-4/2-5
2
2
DET
70
0.6481
106.3
38
9
11-14-3
28
30
23-16/7-4/2-2
3
3
DAL
68
0.6182
101.4
42
5
12-12-3
27
26
22-18/4-2/5-4
4
4
NAS
67
0.5982
98.1
45
2
13-11-2
26
24
24-19/0-4/6-3
5
8
MIN
65
0.5909
96.9
45
2
14-11-2
27
28
24-20/4-1/2-4
6
7
SJS
66
0.5893
96.6
46
1
13-10-3
26
27
25-20/2-4/3-2
7
6
ANA
66
0.5893
96.6
46
1
13-10-3
26
27
24-21/3-2/4-2
8
5
PHX
67
0.5877
96.4
47
0
13-10-2
25
26
25-19/1-6/3-3
9
10
LAK
63
0.5727
93.9
47
0
15-10-2
27
24
23-22/1-2/6-1
10
11
CHI
62
0.5536
90.8
50
-3
15-8-3
26
25
23-22/2-2/3-4
11
12
CBJ
59
0.5364
88.0
51
-4
17-8-2
27
23
19-23/4-3/4-2
12
13
STL
57
0.5278
86.6
51
-4
18-8-2
28
21
19-21/2-4/3-5
13
9
CGY
64
0.5517
90.5
52
-5
14-7-3
24
22
20-22/2-3/6-5
14
14
COL
56
0.5000
82.0
56
-9
18-5-3
26
22
17-25/5-6/3-0
15
15
EDM
40
0.3636
59.6
70
-23
n/a
27
15
13-31/2-1/1-7
My points-blown explanation is here. All I will add to it is that, as points-blown is tied to games-played, it all evens out in the end (since we all play 82 games). NSH, MIN, SJS, ANA, PHX and LAK all have 45-47 points-blown. They are all, within the margin of error, tied. Look at the records each of these teams needs to get to 95 points. 13-11-2 at the top, 15-10-2 at the bottom. And the Kings play those teams 10 times in their remaining 27 games. So, really, it's okay.
And if you don't believe me, just focus on this: 15-10-2. That's the record the Kings are very likely to need to get into the playoffs. [OH. FAIRLY BIG NOTE: I CHANGED THE PRESUMED PLAYOFF THRESHOLD TO 95 POINTS, UP FROM 94. That's because I use Sportsclubstats.com's 100,000,000 daily simulations to find the number where the Kings have a 90% or better chance of making the playoffs. The 90% threshold had been crossed between 93 and 94 points. Now it's between 94 and 95 points. In the simulations, in which the outcomes of games are decided by a virtual coin-flip, the Kings make the playoffs at 95 points 95.5% of the time. It's somewhere in the 80s at 94 points, and below that you take your life into your own hands.]
So, seriously, watch the scoreboard, but -- for your sanity -- focus on rooting for the Kings to win and our immediate rivals to lose in regulation. I personally feel comfortable rooting for VAN, DET, DAL and COL to win at the expense of everyone else but us. Though it's entirely possible DAL will come back into the pack and then we can re-evaluate (same with COL, if they start to look like they're going to turn it around -- which at this point seems unlikely).