The LA Kings are in the sky, on their way from Los Angeles to St. Louis to begin what could be a defining, six-game trip for this team.
Feels like we had a much-less serious version of that headline before.
After six games, the Kings were 1-3-2, heading to St. Louis to begin a five-game trip back in October. Was a rough start. The Kings went into Missouri and put in a grinding performance to earn a 2-1 overtime over the Blues, as they began a five-game trip that ultimately ended at 4-0-1.
When the Kings hit the ice tomorrow evening against the Blues, it’ll be their 50th game of the season. Same building, but much deeper into the season. The troubling part is, they’re in need of the same kind of spark. When they finish the trip in Carolina, it’ll be game 55. If you also factor in the two games on the West Coast before the Olympic break, the Kings will have just 25 games remaining when they enter the Olympic break.
Now, if things go the way they have until this point, the Kings will go 2-2-2, neither making up ground in the playoff picture or losing any. That’s just the way things have gone. The Kings have done just enough to pick up just enough points to remain in the mix. Until they change that, it’s what the expectations are.
They enter this trip tied for the second wild-card spot, two points out of a spot in the Pacific Division with a game in hand and five points out of home-ice advantage in Round 1 with three games in hand. The Kings are a five-win trip away from seeing themselves in a top-two spot in the Pacific Division, maybe even pushing for the division lead. They’re also a one-win trip away from having decent odds at winning a top draft pick. They’re five points behind second place in the division and five points ahead of the fifth-best odds in the draft lottery. Says it all right there.
That’s what could make this trip defining.
If the Kings finally get on that run, the one they’ve felt has been coming for two months now, it’s an opportunity to finally break out of the mushy middle in the standings. You go on this trip and collect nine or ten points, it could vault this team pretty significantly. If it goes the other way, the disappointment would be palpable, but perhaps that situation would put things into focus that this just isn’t going to be the year. Even a 2-2-2 trip would be defining, in that it just might be the season we’re in for. One that comes down perhaps as far as Game 82 to determine playoff positioning, but one that will be frustrating the entire way through.
Playing that way for the rest of the season might get the Kings into the playoffs but it won’t inspire any hope of winning once they get there. The reason there was so much optimism last season was because this team found itself down the stretch, winning 17 of 21 to close out their 82 games. The reason the 2024 postseason felt almost like a formality was because the Kings just never pushed out of that middle area for pretty much the entire second half of the season. The path to winning last season was based on things that had happen and could happen again. The path the year before was about hoping things that hadn’t happened until that point would suddenly change.
Getting into the playoffs isn’t easy but qualifying for the playoffs just to make up the numbers doesn’t have much value for an organization that has stated it’s ready for more than that. Making the playoffs with a legitimate chance to win advance does something. There’s been very little to this point to inspire hope in that department. If the Kings are to change that narrative, this trip could be a defining opportunity with six games in nine days. No way you could say they’re in the place they want to be in right now, but if you look at this trip from the bigger picture, it should be an opportunity to finally get going. Take this trip on, win your games, and start winning.
So, how do you win six games at the same time?
You don’t. You go and beat St. Louis tomorrow and move on from there.
There’s cliches for days there, certainly, but there was an acknowledgement from a couple of guys yesterday on how important these games are for the team on the larger scale. They understand that they have not met expectations this season and they understand that every game that goes by is a game they won’t get back later in the season. You want to change that feeling? Go win these games. Seemed to be an understanding of that in the room yesterday as the team prepared for the six-game swing to come. They’ll maintain the “one game at a time” mentality, because all you can do is win the game in front of you. But everyone knows what this trip brings.
The Blues play tonight in Dallas before coming home to play tomorrow night against Los Angeles. None of these games are must wins. But like I wrote before the Rangers game, if you’re a serious team, you go and win this game. The Rangers are a team that publicly stated its intentions to move veteran players for future assets. Can’t imagine what that kind of thing does to a team’s mentality, especially for a team that has several experienced and pretty good veterans. If you’re the Kings, you just had to go out and win that game. And they did. It’s not quite the same in St. Louis, but I think it’s the same mentality. You just have to go in there and win that game, against a team below you in the standings that played and traveled a good ways the night before.
Today, the Kings hit the road with a full complement of players on the team plane. Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore are both traveling, while Drew Doughty and Darcy Kuemper are both good to go after missing or leaving early against the Rangers. Unknown whether or not Kopitar or Moore will be options tomorrow or potentially at a later moment on this trip. Could be, but definitely to be determined. When those players are back, the Kings will have everyone available to play and that couldn’t come at a better time. You want to go on a run? Now’s the time.