NHL Playoff Preview: L.A. Kings Will Benefit from Being the 8th Seed

The L.A. Kings' overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in the final game of the regular season put the Kings into the eighth and final playoff seed. While the Kings now have the eighth seed, they will have more success than if they had finished with the seventh seed.

Going into the final game of the season, the Kings were tied with the Sharks. The winner of the final game would take the seventh seed, and the loser would get the eighth seed.

The Kings had a 2-0 lead for the majority of the game, but the Sharks had a third-period comeback that resulted in Dan Boyle’s overtime game winner for the Sharks.

The Sharks won the game, and for their efforts, they are rewarded with a first-round matchup with the St. Louis Blues.

The Kings lost the game and because of the loss will face the Vancouver Canucks in the first round.

The Canucks are the top seed, but finishing lower and facing the Canucks is better for the Kings than finishing higher and playing the Blues.

The Kings are a hard team to score against and have the second lowest goals-against-average in the league. Such a low goals-against-average is an advantage against any team for the Kings, except for the Blues, who are the only team with a lower goals-against-average than the Kings.

Vancouver is still a strong defensive team; they rank near the top of the league in goals-against-average. While Vancouver is strong, they are not as strong as St. Louis.

Vancouver is a good team, and they earned the top seed by scoring a lot of goals. The Canucks are among the highest scoring teams in the league, which should help the Kings. Jonathan Quick and the Kings' defense have been able to shut opponent’s offence down when they needed.

The Kings have been limited by their scoring all season.

Any playoff series for the Kings will be decided by their ability to put the puck in the net. The Kings will have their best chance of scoring against the Canucks.

The Canucks will have Roberto Luongo in net, and it is possible for Luongo to have a mental collapse in the playoffs. If Luongo has a breakdown, the Canucks will switch to Cory Schneider. Schneider is a top level backup and would be a challenge to score against, but having Luongo pulled would be great for the Kings.

The seventh or eighth seed is a difficult spot for any team to play out of. For the Kings, getting Vancouver instead of St. Louis in the first round is the best thing in a bad situation. While either series would be a challenge to win, Vancouver gives the Kings the best chance of winning.