This Week in Kings (3/30/15)
Much better than last week, but still no playoff spot.
I'm short on time (writing this late night Sunday and I have work Monday morning, as I'm suddenly a normal human being) so it's a (Mostly) No Text TWIK. Just know that things went well, the Devils game was fun live, but we're still not in a playoff spot. Sadness, tears, etc.
This Week in Games
(here's all the games involving the Pacific Division from this past week. we'll talk about the LA Kings' games in great detail, while the rest will mostly just be scores, unless there's something that really stood out about them. you'll also get links to Eric/Cole's awesome recaps which will expand on everything I'm saying in much greater detail if you missed any of them.)
Monday, March 23rd
-Los Angeles Kings 3, New Jersey Devils 1: (recap) (gamethread)
-Ottawa Senators 5, San Jose Sharks 2
-Calgary Flames 3, Colorado Avalanche 2
-Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 1
Tuesday, March 24th
-Los Angeles Kings 4, New York Rangers 2- (recap) (gamethread)
-Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Anaheim Ducks 3
-Arizona Coyotes 5, Detroit Red Wings 4 (OT)
-Vancouver Canucks 5, Winnipeg Jets 2
Wednesday, March 25th
-Edmonton Oilers 4, Colorado Avalanche 3
-Dallas Stars 4, Calgary Flames 3 (SO)
Thursday, March 26th
-Anaheim Ducks 3, Boston Bruins 2 (OT)
-Arizona Coyotes 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 (OT)
-Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 2: (recap) (gamethread)
-San Jose Sharks 6, Detroit Red Wings 4
-Colorado Avalanche 4, Vancouver Canucks 1
Friday, March 27th
-Minnesota Wild 4, Calgary Flames 2
-Edmonton Oilers 4, Dallas Stars 0
Saturday, March 28th
-Anaheim Ducks 3, New York Islanders 2
-San Jose Sharks 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (SO)
-Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Arizona Coyotes 2
-Minnesota Wild 4, Los Angeles Kings 1: (recap) (gamethread)
-Dallas Stars 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT)
Sunday, March 29th
-Calgary Flames 5, Nashville Predators 2
-Anaheim Ducks 2, New Jersey Devils 1
-Pittsburgh Penguins 3, San Jose Sharks 2 (SO)
This Week in Standings
(5v5 SAC% = score-adjusted Corsi percentage at even strength)
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Points | ROW | GF | GA | Diff | Home | Away | Last Week | 5v5 SAC% |
| 1. Anaheim | 78 | 49 | 22 | 7 | 105 | 41 | 227 | 216 | +11 | 25-10-3 | 24-12-4 | 3-1-0 | 51.4% |
| 2. Vancouver | 75 | 43 | 27 | 5 | 91 | 39 | 215 | 203 | +12 | 21-15-2 | 22-12-3 | 1-1-1 | 50.0% |
| 3. Calgary | 76 | 41 | 28 | 7 | 89 | 37 | 224 | 201 | +23 | 21-13-5 | 20-15-2 | 2-1-1 | 44.2% |
| 4. Los Angeles | 75 | 37 | 24 | 14 | 88 | 35 | 200 | 188 | +12 | 22-9-7 | 15-15-7 | 3-1-0 | 55.5% |
| 5. San Jose | 76 | 37 | 30 | 9 | 83 | 33 | 212 | 215 | -3 | 17-16-5 | 20-14-4 | 2-1-1 | 51.1% |
| 6. Edmonton [E] | 75 | 22 | 40 | 13 | 57 | 17 | 181 | 254 | -73 | 14-21-3 | 8-19-10 | 2-1-0 | 47.4% |
| 7. Arizona [E] | 76 | 23 | 45 | 8 | 54 | 18 | 160 | 252 | -92 | 10-23-5 | 13-22-3 | 2-1-0 | 47.7% |
[E]: Mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Obviously you'll never complain about a 3-1-0 week, but as you can see here it hasn't gotten the Kings back into the playoffs just yet. Though they were briefly in the 3rd seed in the Pacific, Calgary leapfrogged back over them with their win over Nashville today. On the bright side, the Kings are just one point behind the Flames, and do have a game-in-hand.
Below you'll see the Wild Card standings.
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Points | ROW | GF | GA | Diff | Home | Away | Last Week | 5v5 SAC% |
| 1. Minnesota (C) | 76 | 44 | 25 | 7 | 95 | 40 | 219 | 186 | +33 | 22-11-5 | 22-14-2 | 4-0-0 | 51.7% |
| 2. Winnipeg (C) | 76 | 39 | 25 | 12 | 90 | 32 | 215 | 201 | +14 | 21-12-5 | 18-13-7 | 2-2-0 | 53.2% |
| 3. Los Angeles (P) | 75 | 37 | 24 | 14 | 88 | 35 | 200 | 188 | +12 | 22-9-7 | 15-15-7 | 3-1-0 | 55.5% |
| 4. Dallas (C) | 76 | 37 | 29 | 10 | 84 | 33 | 236 | 243 | -7 | 16-14-8 | 21-15-2 | 3-1-0 | 52.0% |
| 5. San Jose (P) | 76 | 37 | 30 | 9 | 83 | 33 | 212 | 215 | -3 | 17-16-5 | 20-14-4 | 2-1-1 | 51.1% |
| 6. Colorado (C) | 75 | 35 | 28 | 12 | 82 | 26 | 205 | 209 | -4 | 20-14-3 | 15-14-9 | 2-2-0 | 43.3% |
| 7. Edmonton (P) [E] | 75 | 22 | 40 | 13 | 57 | 17 | 181 | 254 | -73 | 14-21-3 | 8-19-10 | 2-1-0 | 47.4% |
| 8. Arizona (P) [E] | 76 | 23 | 45 | 8 | 54 | 18 | 160 | 252 | -92 | 10-23-5 | 13-22-3 | 2-1-0 | 47.7% |
If there's a bright side for the Kings today, it's that the Jets look more vulnerable than they have in a while. The Kings are now only two points behind them, with a game-in-hand, and unlike with Calgary and others they do have the ROW tiebreaker on them. So if they can't catch the Flames, catching the Jets for the second Wild Card at least looks realistic for the first time in a while.
This Week in #fancystats
(all stats are total attempts, not percentages. thanks to extra skater war-on-ice.)
Kings 3, Devils 1
Corsi: Kings 59-Devils 44 (overall), Kings 43-Devils 36 (5v5), Kings 13-Devils 6 (5v5 tied)
Fenwick: Kings 47-Devils 33 (overall), Kings 35-Devils 26 (5v5), Kings 10-Devils 4 (5v5 tied)
LA Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Doughty (+10), Muzzin (+9), Williams (+4). Worst: Martinez (-3), Greene (-2), Sekera/Regehr/Nolan (tied, even)
NJ Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Elias (+7), Greene (+6), Henrique (+3). Worst: Gelinas/Fraser (tied, -11), Zajac/Cammalleri (tied, -8)
Kings 4, Rangers 2
Corsi: Kings 62-Rangers 56 (overall), Kings 59-Rangers 51 (5v5), Kings 28-Rangers 14 (5v5 tied)
Fenwick: Kings 47-Rangers 45 (overall), Kings 46-Rangers 42 (5v5), Kings 25-Rangers 12 (5v5 tied)
LA Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Sekera (+12), Lewis (+10), King (+8). Worst: Richards/Clifford (-10), Nolan (-9)
NYR Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: McDonagh (+8), Hagelin (+6), Hayes/Fast (tied, +5). Worst: Staal (-12), Boyle (-10), Kreider (-7)
Kings 3, Islanders 2
Corsi: Kings 65-Islanders 56 (overall), Kings 59-Islanders 43 (5v5), Kings 55-Islanders 34 (5v5 tied)
Fenwick: King 44-Islanders 35 (overall), Kings 40-Islanders 28 (5v5), Kings 37-Islanders 22 (5v5 tied)
LA Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Williams/Sekera (tied, +15), Gaborik (+13). Worst: Lewis (-5), Brown (-4), Shore (-3)
NYI Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Strome (+2), Nielsen (-1), Bailey (-2). Worst: Tavares/Okposo (tied, -9), Leddy/Boychuk (tied, -8)
Wild 4, Kings 1
Corsi: Kings 73-Wild 34 (overall), Kings 59-Wild 30 (5v5), Wild 2-Kings 1 (5v5 tied)
Fenwick: Kings 49-Wild 27 (overall), Kings 38-Wild 23 (5v5), Wild 2-Kings 1 (5v5 tied)
LA Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Lewis (+20), Sekera/Brown (tied, +15). Worst: Richards (-5), Clifford (-2), Nolan (-1)
MIN Indv. Player Corsi 5v5- Best: Dumba (+2), Leopold (even), Schroeder/Haula (tied, -3). Worst: Brodin (-24), Suter (-19), Coyle (-14)
Next Week in the Pacific
(this is exactly what it sounds like: the next week's schedule for all 7 Pacific Division teams. all times are pacific because, um, duh.)
| Team | 3/30 | 3/31 | 4/1 | 4/2 | 4/3 | 4/4 | 4/5 |
| LA | @CHI (5:30) | - | - | vs.EDM (7:30) | - | vs.COL (7:00) | - |
| ANA | - | - | vs.EDM (7:00) | - | vs.COL (7:00) | - | - |
| VAN | @STL (5:00) | @NSH (5:00) | - | @CHI (5:30) | - | @WPG (Noon) | - |
| CGY | @DAL (5:30) | - | - | @STL (5:00) | - | @EDM (7:00) | - |
| SJ | - | - | vs.COL (7:30) | - | vs.ARI (7:00) | @ARI (6:00) | - |
| EDM | @COL (6:00) | - | @ANA (7:00) | @LA (7:30) | - | vs.CGY (7:00) | - |
| ARI | vs.BUF (7:00) | - | - | - | @SJ (7:00) | vs.SJ (6:00) | - |
This is a big week for the Kings, obviously. They have a chance to finish up their tough 5-game road trip 4-1-0 tonight in Chicago. And then they get two of the worst teams in the NHL, both at home, AND both playing their second night of a back-to-back. I hate it when people say "must-win games" about games that aren't actually must-win, but if such a thing actually exists, those two games are probably about as close to it as you can get. Those are four easy points the Kings simply cannot afford to let slip away.
We'll see you next week. No Jewelcast tonight since the Kings-Blackhawks game is at an awkward time (5:30 pacific/8:30 eastern) but we'll try again next Monday!
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