Is LA Good Enough in the Western Conference?
The Western Conference this season is looking like a gauntlet that is no joke and is going to be very tough for Los Angeles to compete against in the postseason.
Dallas, Vegas, Edmonton, Colorado, and even Anaheim have established themselves as the top contenders in the Western Conference, with elite scoring, a strong power play, and balanced defense.
The Kings, meanwhile, even though they sit in third place in the Pacific Division, just two points back of Anaheim for the first seed, you get the feeling that doesn’t matter. Fans saw the Kings finish second in the division last season with home-ice advantage and still couldn’t get past the first round against the Oilers for the fourth consecutive season.
With the season already in the second half, questions about general manager Ken Holland and coach Jim Hiller's plans for roster changes should leave fans curious and eager to see what's next for the team.
Los Angeles’s window isn’t closed, but it’s not wide open either.
The Weakness Holding the Kings Back
This is where the separation from the true West contenders becomes clear.
1. A Poor Home Record (4-6-3)
Crypto.com Arena has been a frustration this season. After possessing the best home record last season, the Kings are now the third-worst team at home behind Vancouver and the Rangers.
LA plays tight at home with struggles to generate any offense, and can’t dictate tempo or rhythm the way top teams are supposed to do at home. Now, the flip side is they're very good on the road with a 10-2-4 record, proving they can compete with any team in the playoffs, but they also have to be consistent at home, not just on the road.
2. Power-Play Problems
This has been the biggest weakness:
- Slow puck movement
- Predictable
- Struggles entering the zone
- Lacks a true scoring threat
3. Slow Starts
The Kings often take too long to be aggressive and get going offensively and defensively early in games. In almost all of their games this season, LA has gone down early, clawed its way back, then forced overtime just to lose in a shootout.
It gets tiring, and the Kings go cold when overtime hits for trying so hard in the end, when they need to focus on playing that way early in regulation.
How the Kings Stack Up Against the West’s Best
1. Colorado Avalanche - Top-End Talent and should be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup right now with their strong start. The Avs will be too dominant on offense and defense, both areas where LA struggles.
2. Dallas Stars - The Stars have won a great many of their games this season; they are second in the NHL standings behind the juggernaut Avs. This will be another team that the Kings won’t be able to beat in a seven-game series.
3. Vegas Golden Knights - Vegas has been a strong contender in the Western Conference for years now, winning its first cup in 2023 and sweeping the Kings the last time they faced in the postseason back in 2018, but it is still considered a better team with its defense and strong center depth.
4. Edmonton Oilers - Despite the slow start, the Oilers are always a team that can’t be judged for its results in the early part of the regular season. Especially against the Kings, the Oilers have dominated LA time and time again, serving as their biggest roadblock over the last few years.
5. Anaheim Ducks - The Ducks might be a team that the Kings could beat because they’re a young team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2018, but they’re big, fast, young, and have the hunger to go deep in the playoffs.
While probably the easiest team for the Kings to match up with in the postseason, it will still be a tough series for Los Angeles to win.
So… Are the Kings Built to Beat the Western Elite?
Right now? No, they’re not better than several of those teams mentioned above in the Western Conference. At Best, the Kings are the fifth- or sixth-best team in the West, which makes them a bottom wild-card team.
They remain in the middle, but near the bottom against the top contenders in the west if they go head-to-head against them. If the Kings make changes to their roster during the trade deadline that fill their holes and weaknesses, then we can have a conversation about them being a true contender, but now they remain a good team, not a great team in the West.
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