What will be the magic number?

Get ready for seven hours of Western Conference playoff-race hockey. At 4 p.m. (Pacific time), New Jersey hosts eighth-place Colorado. At 6 p.m., 10th-place Calgary hosts seventh-place Phoenix. At 7:30 p.m., ninth-place San Jose hosts fifth-place Nashville.

Colorado is in eighth place now, but technically, given the teams’ number of games played, San Jose has the edge. The Sharks are on pace to finish eighth, with 93 points, strictly on terms of current point-per-game projection. The Kings, Avalanche and Flames are on pace for 91 points. What will it take to make the playoffs, and can the Kings get to that number?

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