Not only are the Kings not a playoff team, but they are 12th in the West, five points out of a playoff spot.
Is it time to worry?
Should anyone ever worry about the Kings?
For the second year in a row, the Kings are sleepwalking through a regular season. In 2013-14, at around the 58-game mark, they began a reign of terror. They closed the regular season 16-6-2, and then won an additional 16 games in the postseason for a second Stanley Cup in three seasons.
When the Kings won the Cup in 2012 as a No. 8 seed, they were 27-22-12 through 61 games before finishing 13-5-3 and bludgeoning the opposition in a 16-4 postseason run.
Through 50 games this season, the Kings are 21-17-12 and have lost six of seven.
"We’re definitely cutting it close," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "We have not been playing well lately this season. We put ourselves in a hole. We’re out of a playoff spot. We need a lot of wins to get back in there and to climb in the standings."
Those Doughty comments are from the All-Star break; since then, the Kings have lost three of four.
Because of their track record of breaking late like a well-trained thoroughbred, the Kings are at least getting the benefit of the doubt, even after a 4-0 throttling at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
Are these feelings of confidence justified? Are the Kings just repeating the script that brought them a championship last year? Let's compare last season's team to this one to determine if another turnaround can be expected.
1. The underlying numbers
Here's a look at the Kings through 50 games this season and 58 games last season.
Already there's reason for optimism, as the numbers aren't all that different. The Kings contro...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
