Can the Kings make a playoff run?

Do the Kings have a chance to make a post-Christmas run to the playoffs? Yes, but recent history says it won’t be easy. Since three-point games were instituted, post-lockout, teams that are in the top eight in their respective conferences on Dec. 25 generally stay there, even though 3 1/2 months remain in the season. Last season, two Western Confeence teams (Phoenix and Nashville) and one Eastern Conference team (Buffalo) got into the top eight after being out on the outside looking in on Dec. 25.

Since the start of the 2005-06 season, teams outside the top eight on Dec. 25 have made the playoffs at a rate of 28.4 percent. So, purely statistically, the Kings have slightly better than a one in four chance of making the playoffs. Those odds get better if you factor in where the Kings are right now, which is 11th place in the West. Teams that have been 9th, 10th or 11th on Dec. 25 have made the playoffs at a rate of 30.6 percent, or slightly under a 1 in 3 chance. Recent history would also tell us that if you’re more than eight points out of a playoff spot on Dec. 25, you aren’t making the playoffs (it hasn’t happened in the post-lockout era). The Kings, right now, are three points behind eighth-place Nashville. Click below for a recap of how teams have fared after Dec. 25…

OUT OF PLAYOFFS ON DEC. 25, BUT MADE IT

2010-11
Western Conference
Nashville, 9th place to 5th place
Phoenix, 12th place (three points out) to 6th place
Eastern Conference
Buffalo, 12th place (eight points out) to 7th place

2009-10
Western Conference
Vancouver, 9th place to 3rd place
Detroit, 10th place (two points out) to 5th place
Eastern Conference
Montreal, 9th place to 8th place
Philadelphia, 13th place (five points out) to 7th place (reached Cup Finals)

2008-09
Western Conference
Columbus, 14th place to 7th place
St. Louis, 15th place (seven points out) to 6th place
Eastern Conference
Carolina, 9th place (tied for 8th) to 6th place

2007-08
Western Conference
Nashville, 14th place (seven points out) to 8th place
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia, 13th place to 6th place
Washington, 15th place (eight points out) to 3rd place

2006–07
Western Conference
Calgary, 9th place to 8th place
Vancouver, 10th place (three points out) to 3rd place
Eastern Conference
Ottawa, 10th place to 4th place (reached Cup Finals)
Tampa Bay, 12th place to 7th place
Pittsburgh, 13th place (three points out) to 5th place

2005-06
Western Conference
Anaheim, 10th place to 6th place
San Jose, 11th place (four points out) to 5th place
Eastern Conference
New Jersey, 10th place (four points out) to 3rd place