If the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings have any hope of saving their season and creeping back into the playoff race, they need to start by defeating the Calgary Flames at home on Thursday night.
Puck drop from the Staples Center is set for 10:30 p.m. ET and it’s as close to a do or die regular season game as the Kings have had since their 2012 Stanley Cup championship season when they snuck into the playoffs through the back door on the final weekend of the season.
Truculent Flames won’t make it Easy
Calgary is the proverbial pest that just will not go away. The Flames hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a five point lead over the resurgent Minnesota Wild and the inconsistent Kings. Calgary also just happens to be playing their best hockey of the season with seven wins in their last 10 games. The Flames are starting to show some quality as a unit with improved metrics of 11th in the NHL for goal scoring and 10th for goals against.
Although they missed the playoffs last year, head coach Bob Hartley set a new tone in which the Flames would be the toughest out in the NHL. The seeds of a work ethic that is the best in the game have now blossomed into a playoff contending team with talent that is now beginning to flourish. Defenseman Mark Giordano is the team’s leading scorer and a Norris Trophy candidate. Rookie of the year candidate Johnny Gaudreau has 15 goals from left wing, which is second on the Flames behind center Sean Monahan who has 17. While Jonas Hiller has not been dominant in goal, he has at least been competent. Calgary has been a pesky road team with a mark of 14-10-1.
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Fall from the Throne
Los Angeles has lost seven out of their last nine games and it’s not an accident. The Kings rank 19th in the NHL for goal scoring and just 15th for goals against.
Los Angeles is woefully thin on defense, which was their ultimate strength as a champion. The strain of additional time on ice is beginning to wear thin on Drew Doughty, who has had to carry too much of the load on the blue line. The lack of defensive depth has hurt goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has had to face a higher quality of shots as a result. Quick has tried to compensate for the Kings thin blue line with more aggressive play that has proven to be counterproductive. Quick has gone from a dominant goaltender that is now struggling with a subpar save percentage of .910.
The Kings have lost their last four games against the Flames. A fifth would be deadly.
