Okay, okay, we know that success in the National Hockey League is measured in Stanley Cups and nothing more. Having said that, we’ve got a lot of numbers to get through in this countdown, and thus we’re going to have to measure LA’s success in a number of other ways. Today’s will focus on a metric that’s a little kinder to teams who haven’t won the big prize: Stanley Cup Playoff wins.
The Los Angeles Kings have a total of 46 playoff wins in this decade. Why are we only using this decade? For one, the Kings broke a long playoff drought in 2010, so it makes them look good! We’re not just cheating, though. The “Team of the Decade” debate is a fun rainy day conversation to have, and with only three more playoff campaigns to go, it’s worth seeing if LA has any shot at being the Team of the 2010s’.
(Then again, I don’t know if anyone ever decided whether the New Jersey Devils or the Detroit Red Wings were the team of the prior decade.)
Here are the top ten teams in terms of playoff wins since 2010, along with their winning percentage in the playoffs.
As expected, the Chicago Blackhawks come out on top with 67 wins and a .626 winning percentage. Despite only winning the big prize once, Boston sneaks in ahead of LA, and Pittsburgh (the only other team with a Cup in the 2010’s) are in fourth. Then, the bridesmaids: three Cup Finals losers take the next three spots. (Missing: Vancouver and New Jersey, who followed up long playoff runs with a whole lot of nothing.)
The Kings almost certainly would need a couple extended runs and another Stanley Cup to overtake the Hawks, and given the new playoff system, they can’t help themselves out too much in that regard. Even with two years of minimal postseason success, though, the Kings are clearly in the upper echelon of NHL playoff teams in the decade.