After a tremendous momentum streak plated by wins centered around victories against the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights, the Los Angeles Kings have lost four games in a row. The team had a winless road trip, being outscored 15-4.
The only silver lining about this time frame? The rest of the Division is also currently in a blunder-type mode, with Anaheim being the best team over the last ten, going 6-3-1. The Kings are second in their last ten, tied with the Golden Knights, going 5-3-2. So, while the team is putting up alarming and catastrophic results in the interim, the rest of the Division is putting out fires in sync.
The Kings have matched the Knights step for step, but the Edmonton Oilers have gone 3-7-0 in their last ten and have lost six out of their last seven. This downward spiral for the Oilers was punctuated by a recent 6-2 thumping by the Ducks in their own arena. Unfortunately for the Kings, they have not made up the amount of ground rarely provided by a team as good as the Oilers.
Pacific Division
Last 10 Games6-3-1 Ducks
5-3-2 Kings
5-3-2 Golden Knights
4-4-2 Flames
4-5-1 Canucks
4-5-1 Kraken
3-7-0 Oilers
2-5-3 Sharks— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) March 5, 2025
In a division where every team is experiencing a form of ‘flat tire,’ particularly the top four teams, the Kings have also turned into a pit stop and have taken a lunch break while finding the tires to switch out. Poor timing? I think so.
The Oilers made noise this week, acquiring Trent Frederic and Max Jones, priming the Pacific Division for what should be an entertaining week. I believe the Oilers will absolutely turn it around in that scope. That leaves the Kings in a position where they must succeed in their last 24 games, with 16 being at home.
As mentioned, the Oilers have the talent and ability to turn it around rapidly. The Golden Knights will do the same. This leaves the Kings in the awkward position of ramping up their game more efficiently and with more gusto than their Pacific counterparts, whom they trail. The team teams they trail have the better firepower to do so, and with the Kings relying on defensive structure first, the challenge becomes even more difficult.
With two games in hand on each team, there is a slight buffer, and they will also have to rely on their astute and league-best home record to take any form of consolation out of the current speed bump they have yet to break free of.
That comes in the form of the St. Louis Blues, who recently beat the Kings during their abysmal road trip. A quick back-to-back game against the same opponent, separated by two days, represents a potential launching pad at home, despite a mini playoff-esque masquerade to which the Blues currently have the Kings on the ropes.
Can the Kings, openly operating at a cold engine on a sunny day, overcome this speed bump? Is it all for naught while the teams ahead of them actually have superstar talent and are stacking up to position themselves for postseason success?
I have some serious doubts, and there might be seams showing that could contaminate that sparkly 19-3-3 home record. If that fails, we could be looking at a wildcard team.
A lot of character or lack thereof, will be revealed in this ‘mini’ playoff series.
