LA Kings Are Playoff Bound

The real postseason push begins now as the team has a lot of unfinished business to complete. Here’s a quick look at the rest of their season and potential playoff matchups.

Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over the struggling Calgary Flames sealed the Los Angeles Kings’ postseason bid, officially clinching a berth in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. In true Kings fashion, it took a little extra longer than would’ve been comfortable, nearly coming down to the wire unlike years past when they had a little more cushion. But two years after a somewhat surprising entry into the postseason, expectations have never been higher for the team.

Led by the likes of Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, fans are hoping for and anticipating a deep run, especially considering the splashy trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois over the summer and how much talent is on this roster. Combine that with all of the cap constraints that led General Manager Rob Blake to stay put at the trade deadline this year and the expectations for going far in the playoffs is at an all-time high. It’s not quite Cup or Bust, but not getting past their new nemesis Edmonton Oilers and / or the first round is no longer acceptable.

But inconsistent play across the board, even from shift to shift, is a worrisome little worm gnawing away at optimistic feelings.

Health and Depth

Injuries and illness happen. Of the team’s regular players, only about half of them have not missed time this season. That list includes Doughty, Trevor Moore, Kevian Fiala, Trevor Lewis, Pierre-Luc Dubois and newcomers Cam Talbot and Andreas Englund. On the bright side, rookie Alex Laferriere has been scratched only once this season and Quentin Byfield missed two games in January due to illness but has been otherwise healthy and both have been impactful in the lineup.

Depth was a serious concern at the trade deadline when it seemed like all the best players from the Ontario Reign had already been recalled and some of the most important players (like Adrian Kempe, Mikey Anderson, and Viktor Arvidsson) were hurt. Now is the time of year when guys are “banged up” and having a healthy roster heading into the playoffs will be a huge part of their success. The loss of Arvidsson during the 2022 playoffs was huge. His ability to get open and create plays cannot be understated. Despite losing in six games, he was an integral part of the matches being as close as they were last year. He led the Kings in both individual corsi-for and scoring-chances-for per 60. If he manages to stay healthy, Hiller and the coaching staff will lean heavily on him to help generate offense.

But there’s one significant name missing from the depth discussion.

The Curious Case of Arthur Kaliyev

Even amidst of the injury rash that plagued the Kings a few months ago, Arthur Kaliyev somehow lost his spot in the lineup to the point that interim head coach Jim Hiller decided to play 11 forwards and 7 defensemen instead of dressing Kaliyev. It’s interesting because on paper, Kaliyev is a hockey statistic come to life. That is, he’s basically a corsi demi-god. Among NHLers who have played at least 200 minutes (which equates to roughly 1/4 of the season), Kaliyev’s 19.84 individual corsi-for per 60 is 12th in the league. The next best King on the list is Carl Grundström at 14 followed by Adrian Kempe who is 26th. That is to say, he’s a shooting machine, something that should be badly wanted on the Kings.

However, neither Hiller nor former head coach Todd McLellan really seemed to know what to do with the Uzbekistan native. With the addition of Dubois and the emergence of Laferriere, it appears as though Kaliyev has been pushed out of the lineup. Somehow this 22-year-old with skills to get open and attempt nearly 20 shots every 60 minutes of playing time is not the right fit for L.A. all while his minutes in the games he does dress in often don’t break double digits. In his last game, an April 3rd victory over the Seattle Kraken, Kaliyev played just 2:32 total. Before that, an April 1 loss to Winnipeg, he played 3:29 with zero special teams time.

In the three seasons he’s been in the NHL, Kaliyev appears to have struggled to find a place in the lineup. Playing in the bottom-six hasn’t helped him much but there’s no room for him in the top-six. If it’s all hands on deck in the playoffs, it’ll be interesting to see what Hiller does, especially if anyone gets injured.

Possible Playoff Scenarios

As of Saturday, April 13, there are several different scenarios in which the Kings can face the Vancouver Canucks, the Dallas Stars, or the Edmonton Oilers. But here’s the gist: L.A. can finish with a maximum of 101 points but could end up third in the division or as a wild card.

For top spot in the western conference, Vancouver currently has 107 points with two games remaining and Dallas has 111 points with one game remaining. Currently in second place, Edmonton has 102 points and three games remaining.

Here’s where it gets really interesting: if the Nashville Predators lose Monday’s game in regulation against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’ll top out at 99 points. Should the Kings only collect two points in their next two matches, they have the regulation win tiebreaker. This only matters if the Vegas Golden Knights (WC2, 94 points) win out their last three games as the most they can get is 100 points.

Per NHL.com, here’s how the tiebreaker works:

With only four days left in the NHL schedule, postseason matchups seem to change by the hour. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to which opponent the Kings will face. And who’s to say which rival would be best? Edmonton has Connor McDavid and can outscore their problems. Dallas’s speed always gives L.A. fits and Jake Oettinger lives for big games. Vancouver has a solid roster up and down the lineup and should get Thatcher Demko back in time for playoffs. None of these teams would make for an easy series for Los Angeles.

TL;DR: playoff picture = 🤷‍♀️