Kings One Point Away from Playoffs

(Featured photo by AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The playoff race: brought to you by Pepto Bismol! With three games left in the regular season going into the contest, both the Kings and Avalanche are fighting for their place in the postseason. 1 point separated them and thanks to several recent overtime games, no one was getting help from anyone else. A week out and still only three teams had clinched a spot in the West. Each team’s destiny is still in their hands. In fact, a regulation win from the Kings would mean they only needed one point in their last two games to clinch a spot. A regulation loss for the Avalanche would take their destiny out of their hands, requiring them to win their next two games and for the Blues to lose at least one of their next three, possibly two depending on the tiebreaker.

It wasn’t the start Colorado wanted, especially considering they were up 3-1 against Anaheim last night going into the third then only had 2 shots on goal in the entire third period and ended up losing in overtime. Speaking of few shots on goal, the two teams combined for only 12 shots in the first, 7 of which came in the last half and 3 of those came in the final minute on an Avalanche power play. It looked to be a slow start by all accounts. Kings were out hitting Colorado by a large margin, 7-1 in the first half and 16-7 by the end of the first. Unfortunately, they also had 8 giveaways to 3, and despite Varlamov’s season-ending injury a few games ago, Colorado could easily be a ‘trap’ team. Derek Forbert left the game after taking a hard hit, looked like a leg issue, so the Kings were down a defenseman. And while Jonathan Quick looked good, he occasionally did not know where the puck was. It was Thompson and Mitchell who broke through, Thompson taking the shot that rebounded awkwardly to Jonathan Bernier‘s right, and Mitchell cleaning it up at an equally awkward angle that had Bernier literally jumping as the puck somehow ended up behind him. It was an odd sequence but it put the Kings on the board! And speaking of boards, Dion Phaneuf cleaned up tikka Rantanen along the boards, leading to a center ice fight between him and Zadarov. Fight is a generous term; they danced around while occasionally throwing fists. Later as Christian Folin found his way into the box too, Dustin Brown became our new hero when his shorthanded breakaway (thanks to linemate Anze Kopitar) became a shorthanded goal. Bernier barely saw it coming. Even another Phaneuf penalty to close out the period couldn’t help the Avalanche, as the Kings top-ranked penalty killers killed off their 22nd straight, going 33 for 34 in their most recent stretch.

Of course, not 3 minutes into the second period the Kings took another penalty and failed to kill it off. Unable to clear, Kerfoot took advantage and got his 19th goal of the season 4:31 in. The Avs were back in it and it barely looked difficult for them. Once again the Kings called upon Brown, who drew a tripping penalty 7:01 in, upsetting the momentum of the Avalanche and allowed them a slight surge. They had several good shifts in their offensive zone in a row, showing great puck movement and lots of good looks on Bernier. It didn’t last too long, however, as the Avalanche tried to claw their way back into the game, and the end of the second period came as a relief to the Kings. Exactly 2 minutes into the third, however, Kyle Clifford all but sealed the deal for the Kings with a gorgeous wraparound goal Bernier couldn’t get his pad back to cover. It was well finessed by a player not usually known for such and seemed to deflate the Avalanche significantly. (Again their third periods haven’t been great.) The shots may have been even but the Kings were outhitting them 33-16, and the wear of that and being on the second night of a back to back was getting to Colorado. They tried to grind something out, even pulling Bernier with 2:57 remaining (which sadly the Kings couldn’t capitalize on), but it was to no avail. Quick self them off to bring the Kings within 1 point of a playoff spot.

As the game closed, the Kings still held their playoff destiny in their hands. The Sharks and Wild both clinched the Sharks without even having to play. Third place in the Pacific is still up for grabs; the Kings would need to win both their games to take it and the Ducks would have to lose at least one of their next three games. If the Kings do win their remaining two games they’ll hit 100 points in the season. It’s still too early to tell who they’ll play, with 3 teams competing for 4 spots and too much up in the air (which considering where we are in the season that’s a little crazy). In other game notes, Kopitar’s 91 points (35, 56) are the most by a King in a season since Gretzky in 93/94 (38-92, 130). Alec Martinez logged 32:11 in the game, largely due to the loss of fellow left defenseman Forbert and Phaneuf in the box for a major and part of a minor. Forbert left on crutches and is not expected in the next game. Muzzin and Iafallo are still out too. But given the way everyone stepped up tonight, it might not matter. Two games left Kings fans! Can you make it?