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Breakdown of a breakdown: Numbers from the Kings’ disastrous homestand

kingshomestand

James O’Brien

There’s one more game left in the Los Angeles Kings’ eight-game homestand, but even if they bludgeon the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, it’s still safe to say that it’s been a disastrous span of games for the playoff hopefuls.

Assuming they beat the Oilers - which isn’t a small assumption, based on the Kings’ recent play and the way Edmonton beat the San Jose Sharks last night - Los Angeles will only pull four out of a possible 16 points out of that trip. In those first seven games, the Kings are a pitiful 1-6-0.

Let’s take a stats-based look at their seven games of struggles in an attempt to identify trends in that set of games. If nothing else, this could prove entertaining fodder for people who dislike the Kings. (The heaviest populations, one would assume, reside in Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas, Phoenix ... and Toronto because many Maple Leafs fans haven’t let the Gretzky high stick on Gilmour go.)

Note: there might be some “big picture” stats, too.


  • They’ve been outscored 18-27 in that seven game span, which actually isn’t that bad considering the fact that they lost six times (all in regulation) in that frame. They’re not getting blown out regularly, at least.
  • Then again, they hold a league-low in charity points with only one overtime/shootout loss, so it seems like they either win in regulation or overtime or don’t get a point at all.
  • The Kings have allowed a stunning 4.5 goals per game in that span while averaging 3 goals of their own.
  • Jonathan Quick is the only Kings goalie with a win in this span (1-4) while Jonathan Bernier went 0-2. Quick allowed 15 goals in five games while Bernier was even worse, allowing 12 in only two.
  • Ryan Smyth has been one of the team’s best players in the span, with five goals and three assists for eight points. Jack Johnson has also been strong, with one goal and six assists for seven points. Meanwhile, Anze Kopitar has five assists and Drew Doughty has four assists.

So, what’s next for the Kings? Here’s a look at their biggest remaining stretches of home and away games.

Biggest home stretches: A six-game stretch from February 24-March 5th and a five-game stretch from March 17-26th.

Biggest road stretches: 10 consecutive road games from February 1-19th and a four-game stretch from March 9-15th.

Overall, the Kings have 18 games at home and 21 games remaining on the road. Things certainly look rough for Los Angeles, but ultimately, it all comes down to the Kings surviving that crazy stretch in February. It should be interesting to watch.