March 13, 2026; El Monte, New York, USA; Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore (12) skates the puck behind the net defended by New York Islanders defenseman Carson Souci (4) in the third quarter at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Image It took almost six weeks, there were many ups and downs and even a change in coaching. But the Los Angeles Kings are back in playoff position when they face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
Thanks to Friday’s 3-2 win over the New York Islanders, the Kings have jumped into the Western Conference’s second wild card spot with 17 regular season games remaining.
Los Angeles last clinched a playoff spot on Feb. 1.
“I think everyone is feeling pretty good,” forward Alex Turcotte told lakingsinsider.com. “We know where we are in the standings and it’s not exactly where we want to be, but I think we’ve been playing the right way pretty consistently over the last few games since (interim coach DJ Smith) took over. So, yeah, there’s a good vibe and good energy.”
The Kings, playing in their fourth outing of a five-game road trip, are on a 4-2-1 run to pull themselves out of free fall.
They took a three-goal lead and hung on to beat an Islanders team in a tough playoff battle of their own.
“We’re starting to believe we’re a team that can make plays,” Smith said. “We can hold on to the puck. Even guys who aren’t scoring are scoring. We’re blocking shots. There’s a lot of desperation in our game.”
Kings captain Anze Kopitar, who scored against the Islanders, is one point shy of tying Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne with a franchise-record 1,307 points.
Coming into the Devils game, Kings forward Adrian Kempe was on a seven-game scoring streak, recording five goals and four assists during that span.
While the Kings look to continue their climb up the standings, the Devils will be looking to bounce back from Thursday’s disappointing 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames.
With 12 points in the playoffs, the Devils had a dominant performance against a Flames team ranked 31st overall in the league.
Calgary jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and a 5-2 lead before scoring twice in the second half to give the hosts some decent points.
“It was a tough game for us because we gave up five points and dug ourselves a big hole,” said forward Jack Hughes, who had a goal and an assist. “I know my line was on for the first four goals, so that’s on us. It just wasn’t a good night.”
The Devils have lost two games in a row since going on a four-game winning streak. Their playoff hopes are almost mathematically impossible, but New Jersey has higher expectations, especially on home ice.
Moreover, porous defensive play cannot form a habit.
“We went too hard on offense and lost on defense,” said forward Jesper Bratt, who collected a pair of assists while on the line with Hughes and Connor Brown. “We take full responsibility for that. We’re a line that strives to be the best line for our team every night. … It wasn’t a good game at all.”
New Jersey won its other contest of the season with a 4-1 win on Nov. 1, and the Devils opened the season with 13 wins in their first 18 games (13-4-1) before their season fell apart.
–Field level media
