The Los Angeles Kings haven’t made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since they were winning Cups in the early 2010s. They are virtually guaranteed to make it this year, after ending a four-year drought last season. They haven’t made it past the first round since they won the Cup in 2014 though, and with the way things are going now, losing in Round 1 would be a big disappointment. There are a lot of players that will be key to the team going on a deep run, but we’ll look at arguably the three most important.

Kevin Fiala

The Kings’ move to acquire Kevin Fiala has paid off handsomely in his first season with the team. He still leads the team in points with 68, despite missing the last five games. He has also been versatile, playing roles on the first and third lines. Lately, he’s slotted in nicely on the third line, which has allowed the first line to excel. He has also made the Kings’ power play one of the best in the league. They rank fourth in goals per 60 minutes this season on the power play, after being the fifth-worst team in that category last year.

Fiala has been a reliable and productive player over the past four years. He had over 20 goals in his first two seasons after being traded to the Minnesota Wild, and both of those seasons were shortened by COVID-19. When he got to play a full 82 games last season, he exploded for 33 goals and 85 points. The thing that has been missing for him has been playoff production. In his last two seasons in Minnesota, he had just one goal and five points in 13 playoff games. He wasn’t always relied upon to score like he was in those last two seasons, but a career postseason scoring record of 15 points in 35 games is not anything to write home about.

The Kings will absolutely need Fiala to produce in the playoffs. He gives the lineup depth and is key to the power play. They went 3/24 with the man advantage in the seven-game series against the Edmonton Oilers last year. A better power play could have made a difference in that series, and it certainly could be the difference between winning and losing a round in the playoffs this season.

Pheonix Copley

There always seems to be one or two teams headed into the playoffs that can be summed up in one statement. That statement is “if they can get average goaltending, look out”. This definitely describes the Kings this season, and has all year long. Goal scoring did not look like it would be a problem, but the questions over whether or not Jonathan Quick would regress after his renaissance season and if Cal Petersen had found his game. The Kings were left in a bind when it seemed like neither of those goalies was going to work out.