Berth in Playoffs Is Clinched on Day Off

In November, when they were in danger of falling hopelessly out of contention, Coach Andy Murray told the Kings that they would need 93 points to reach the playoffs.

As it turned out, he was right.

The Kings clinched a playoff berth with 93 points Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Calgary Flames, 2-0, at Edmonton, Canada, putting the Kings out of the Oilers’ reach in the playoff race.

But that doesn’t mean that the Kings’ last two games of the regular season, today against the San Jose Sharks at the Compaq Center and Sunday against the Mighty Ducks at Staples Center, are meaningless.

The Kings are tied with Phoenix for sixth but could finish anywhere from fourth in the Western Conference, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first round, to eighth, which would give them a first-round rematch against the Detroit Red Wings.

Also possible: A first-round series against the Sharks, who have clinched the Pacific Division championship but still figure to be highly motivated against the visitors today. They are 0-4 against the Kings.

The Kings earned their 92nd and 93rd points Monday night with a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars, then sweated out the last few days.

“Never has a team missed the playoffs with 93 points, but it looked like that might not be enough,” Murray said. “Now we want to improve our standing these last two games and go into the playoffs playing the way we want.”

On Tuesday, a regulation loss by the Vancouver Canucks against the Colorado Avalanche would have put them in the playoffs, but the Canucks won.

On Wednesday, a tie or loss by the Oilers against the Phoenix Coyotes would have clinched a playoff berth for the Kings, but the Oilers won.

Then, on Thursday night, the Kings could have taken care of business themselves with a tie or overtime loss against the Canucks, but they lost in regulation.

“So many times this year we’ve milked the cow and kicked over the bucket,” defenseman Mathieu Schneider said. “We’ve put ourselves in bad situations, but that’s when we play our best hockey, for whatever reason.”

Jerry Crowe