L.A. Kings playoff push could be on thin ice?

By: Nick Hamilton

The Los Angeles Kings have transformed hockey in Southern California to be a major important sport in the past five years. With two Stanley Cup titles, multiple playoff appearances, it appears the sky is the limit for the team. The past two seasons have fared well for Los Angeles, in 2014-15 season they missed the playoffs and in the 2015-16 season were defeated in the first round by the rival San Jose Sharks.

They looked discombobulated and out of sync, far from the team we had seen in recent years. One of the Kings biggest problems at the time was depth at the defensemen position, so the Kings had some serious question marks surrounding them heading into 2016-17 season.

It's also a magical year for the team as they celebrate their 50th anniversary, and hopefully some of that magic can rub off on the team as they look to make another Stanley Cup playoff run.

Currently (16-13-2) and are in 5th place in the Pacific Division. The Kings also are in the second Wild Card position by only a point over the Dallas Stars. Los Angeles hasn't been consistent this season which poses a problem down the stretch. Yet they could come on strong in 2017, as we look at their 9-4-1 record since Nov. 15.

With their top goalie Jonathan Quick out until late Feburary due to a lower body injury suffered earlier in the season, Peter Budaj has been assigned the task of filling in until Quick's return. Budaj has some big skates fill, however has done a good job at goal and currently has three game shutouts. This could prove to be valuable come playoff time if he is needed. Quick has always been the goalie to rise to the occasion, especially in the playoffs and has had masterful performance's in the Kings two Stanley Cups wins.

"You need good goaltending to win hockey games,” Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said earlier this season.

L.A. is ninth in the league with a 2.44 goals against average with Budaj and Jeff Zatkoff handling majority of the responsibilities at goalie It leaves hope on how much better would the Kings be right if they had a healthy Quick in the line up.

In addition to that the Kings when they engage in 5-on-5 competition, they account for almost 54% of the shot attempts in the league behind the Boston Bruins. Even though they're build for the 3-on-3 overtime, the Kings have to continue to put winning streaks together in order to make a strong playoff run and ultimately bring back the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles.

With one of the best defensemen in the league, and a solid coaching staff led by Sutter, Los Angeles needs to get their heads focused on the rest of the season now. Since Drew Doughty can pair with any player as he did last season with Brayden McNabb, Sutter is able to stretch the Kings thin line by playing him with rookie Derek Forbort, and then form a dynamic duo in Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez to round out the balance.

With a difficult schedule ahead, it's not impossible for them to string together victories that will help them in playoff seeding. Thanks to GM Dean Lombardi, the team has been built to compete for the Cup, but with the Blackhawks, Capitals, Ducks, Canadiens, and Wild all excelling ahead, it's time for Los Angeles to step up or step out of the way.