Can The Kings Delay The Sharks From Passing Them In The Battle For California Supremacy?
The Anaheim Ducks are the only Californian NHL team in a playoff spot at the moment, but the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are in the battle for a wild-card spot. Could the rebuilding Sharks pass the Kings?
As the NHL regular season draws to a close, the battle for the second wild-card spot in the West is coming down to a few teams. Two of them – the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks – are trying to join their California rival, the Anaheim Ducks , in a playoff spot. Ahead of Wednesday's results, the Kings sit one point behind the Nashville Predators for the wild-card spot with a game in hand.
The Sharks, which play Wednesday, are three points behind Nashville with two games in hand. So after last year, when the Kings were the only Californian NHL team in a playoff spot and continued their four-year post-season streak, they're not only at risk of missing out but even of finishing third among the three squads in the state. In the big picture, there's a different type of battle at play between the Sharks and Kings.
The ascendant Sharks are on the verge of overtaking the Kings and challenging the Ducks for hockey supremacy in California in the next generation. This isn't to say the Kings are on the verge of flatlining for the next decade. They've got players – including star wingers Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala – who are going to be excellent for the foreseeable future.
And Kings GM Ken Holland's addition of veteran star left winger Artemi Panarin has panned out about as well as could be hoped, as he's posted 23 points in 21 games since coming over from the New York Rangers . Western Conference Standings Watch: The Final Week Will the Los Angeles Kings climb the standings in the final week as the teams around them continue to stumble? But ask yourself this – if you had to pick either the Kings roster or the Sharks roster for the next 10 years, which one would you choose?