Kings lose to Wild, jeopardizing their chances of finishing third in t…
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The Kings lost a game they needed to win Monday, falling to the Minnesota Wild 3-1 at Crypto.com Arena to muddy the team’s playoff outlook with one game left in the regular season.
The loss, the Kings’ first at home in nine games, leaves them with a one-point lead over Vegas for third place in the Pacific Division. If the Golden Knights defeat the struggling Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday and the Ducks on Thursday, the Kings would fall to the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and meet the conference’s top-seeded team in the playoffs.
As of Monday, the Dallas Stars — a team the Kings haven’t beaten in three tries this season and been outscored 13-3 — were first in the West.
“I don’t think it matters who we play,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “Obviously anyone that’s making postseason is a really good team. Whoever it is, we need to be ready to play, probably with a little more intensity than we had today.”
Read more: Analysis: As Kings shift focus to another challenging playoff series, Ducks search for answers
The Kings (43-27-11) started in control of their own fate: win their final two games and they would finish third, giving them a chance at home-ice advantage if they survived a likely first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Kings entered Monday with the NHL’s best home record since the All-Star break and the league’s top penalty kill at home. Both those marks took a beating in a poor performance against Minnesota.
“You can describe it a bunch of different ways,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. “Not enough intensity, not enough emotion, not competitive. A bunch of words. And they all mean the same thing. We didn’t have it.
“I don’t like it. It’s not like we didn’t talk about it. It’s not like they…
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