Kings are enjoying view from the top of standings

Here’s a novelty: Instead of chasing Pacific Division rivals most of the season and being forced to make a late bid to secure a playoff spot — as they did successfully in 2012 and 2014 and not so successfully last season — the Kings are leading their division.

They held a nine-point lead over second-place San Jose before the Sharks faced Ottawa on Friday night, giving them a different perspective when they look at the standings.

“It feels good. Usually we’re in a dogfight,” defenseman Jake Muzzin said Friday after the Kings practiced in Brossard, a suburb of Montreal, and traveled to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday. “But we can’t get complacent about where we are. We still have to push to win games. We’ve got to continue getting better.”

Over the course of their franchise history, the Kings have won more Cup championships (two) than division titles (one), that lonely banner a souvenir of having finished atop the Smythe Division in 1990-91. This season has a long way to go, but the Kings have built a nice cushion with a 3-1-1 record on a trip that ends Saturday.

“When you look at the standings, it’s a lot better to see us on top than chasing the team in front of us,” said center Anze Kopitar, who has shaken off a slow start and has a goal and four points in his last four games. “It doesn’t feel different. We still have to win our games and just take care of our own business.

“We haven’t played a lot of division games and those are coming up and they’re going to be huge. If we can have as much of a cushion as possible going into those games, we’ll take it.”

The Kings are 4-4-0 against Pacific foes. They haven’t played a division game since Dec. 1 but will play five straight starting Tuesday at home against San Jose.

As could be expected, Coach Darryl Sutter wasn’t inclined to discuss his team’s first-place status. “We’re trying to make the playoffs, end of story. That’s it,” he said. “The goal is the very same as it was at the start of the year. Make the playoffs.”

Reunited

Friday’s practice featured a reunion of “That 70s Line” of Tanner Pearson (No. 70), Jeff Carter (77) and Tyler Toffoli (73). The trio was sizzling during the 2014 playoffs and early last season but was split up for good when Pearson broke his leg last January.

Sutter is trying to get more production from his left wings. The four left wings in Friday’s practice had a combined 16 goals, including 10 from Milan Lucic. The other lines were Lucic-Kopitar-Marian Gaborik, Michael Mersch-Trevor Lewis-Dustin Brown, and Andy Andreoff-Nick Shore-Jordan Nolan.

“Hopefully we can create the kind of chemistry that we had to start off last year and at the end of the year and create chances and hopefully capitalize on those chances,” said Pearson, who has four goals in 31 games this season.

KINGS NEXT UP

AT TORONTO

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. PST.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.

Update: Jonathan Quick is expected to start in goal again after his 45-save shutout win Thursday at Montreal. With 39 career shutouts, he ranks third in that category among American goalies, one behind Frankie Brimsek and John Vanbiesbrouck. The Maple Leafs lost goaltender Garret Sparks to a lower-body injury Thursday during a 5-4 overtime loss to San Jose, and goalie James Reimer (groin) has been plagued by a groin injury. They have no choice but to stick with former Kings backup Jonathan Bernier, who is 0-8-3 this season with a 3.46 goals-against average and .883 save percentage.

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter: @helenenothelen