Quietly but surely, the LA Kings are showing that they are a strong team in the Pacific Division

Don’t look now, but the Los Angeles Kings are quietly moving up in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference in general. The Kings earned a point in the overtime/shootout standings with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday and are now just four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific.

LA is 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, and their home record of 10-2-1 is one of the best in the NHL. The Kings have a lot to be happy about and things could soon get even better.

That means star defenseman Drew Doughty is still not in the lineup and is listed on a month-to-month basis. Doughty suffered a broken ankle in late September, but healthy Kings defensemen have stepped up in his absence, and LA is now the NHL’s third-best team defensively with a 2.55 goals-against average. And when Doughty comes back, the Kings will be much better off.

This is great work by LA GM Rob Blake in assembling a stronger Kings roster. And then there’s Kings coach Jim Hiller, who probably doesn’t get enough credit for what he accomplished with this Los Angeles team. But if he keeps it up, Hiller should get a lot of support when it comes to the Jack Adams Award as the best NHL coach. (Of course, there will be other Jack Adams contenders, but Hiller has already led the Kings into the spotlight and given LA a strong start to the first third of the season.)

To be honest, after a few years of believing in the Kings, we went to “show me, don’t tell” with this organization. But LA has shown they can beat almost anyone. They have picked up victories over Minnesota, Dallas, Ottawa and Winnipeg in the last month or so and have done their business with wins against weaker teams like Anaheim, Philadelphia, the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers. More importantly, they haven’t lost two games or more in a row since November 11th and 13th – and even then, they’ve only lost two games in a row in that short span.

The Kings are still a mixed bag – their power play is 28th overall in the league at 14.9 percent efficiency, but their penalty kill is eighth overall at 82.5 percent. Their goaltending is also mixed, with starter Darcy Kuemper (2.40 goals against average, .911 save percentage) and backup David Rittich (.890 SP and 10-7-0 record) sharing goaltending duties.

Los Angeles may not have the most talented teams of the generation, but with stars like Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and captain Anze Kopitar – the latter is on a pace of more than a point per game (27 assists and 37 points in 33 games) – the Kings have enough talent to be at least a playoff team, if not a Stanley Cup contender. And somehow, this Kings team has proven to be greater than the sum of its parts.

In a relatively easier Pacific Division, LA has a great chance to secure home-field advantage in next spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kings are finding ways to win and sooner than later people will have the Kings on their radar. And when that spotlight hits the Kings, it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure.

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