During the past five seasons, the Kings have been eliminated in the first round. From these five seasons, this is how the teams rank from worst to best.
Number Five: 2026
Coming in last place is the Kings team from just this past season, who had an unproductive offense. Los Angeles tallied 2.68 goals per game, which was the fourth worst in the entire league.
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Yet, the offense still wasn’t the biggest weakness for the Kings. The special teams were even worse. Los Angeles had 17% power-play, which was the fifth worst in the league. The Kings also recorded a 74.6% penalty kill, which was third worst.
A bottom-five offense along with a three penalty kill and a bottom five power play was a recipe for disaster. Especially going up against the Presidents Cup winner Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
It was clear that the Avalanche would make quick work of the Kings, as they proceeded to do in a four-game sweep. Throughout the entire season, it was a question about whether they would even make the playoffs. So it was no surprise the Kings couldn’t even win a single playoff game.
Number Four: 2024
Unlike the 2026 team, the Kings were actually effective on special teams in 2024. Los Angeles held an 84.6% penalty kill, the second-best penalty kill in the league. The Kings also held a 22.6 power-play, the eleventh best in the NHL.
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Despite the quality of special teams play, the Kings were far from looking like a contender. What really held this team back was the lack of offensive firepower to keep up with elite teams. The Kings had the sixteenth ranked offense with only 3.10 goals per game.
In the first round, this pedestrian offense would go up against the explosive Edmonton Oilers. Superstars Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were the backbone of the offense, as they both recorded over 105 points throughout the season.
Not only did the Oilers have two players in the 100 point category, they had Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman hit over 75 points. Edmonton had four players who recorded more than the highest point leader for the Kings. The Oilers had too much firepower and dismantled the Kings in five games.
Number Three: 2023
The biggest anomaly from the past five seasons, was the 2023 Kings, since the style of playing was so different. The Kings identity is usually defense first, but this season the offense was actually better.
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After acquiring Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild, the Kings’ scoring took another level. Los Angeles recorded 3.34 goals per game, which ranked in the top 10. It also ranked as the highest goal average of the Kings in the 2020s.
While the offense was at its best in 2023, the tradeoff was the goaltending and defense was worse. Los Angeles had the bottom five goaltending with a .892 save percentage and a mediocre defense. The Kings gave up 3.10 goals per game. This ranked outside the top 15 in goals allowed.
Lack of defense and goaltending would be put to the test against the Oilers, who held the best offense this season. Edmonton and Los Angeles went firepower for firepower and the Oilers had the better offense. The Kings were eliminated in six games in the first round once again by the Oilers.
Number Two: 2022
Finally making their first playoff appearance since 2018, the Kings had something together. Los Angeles racked up a top 10 defense that allowed 2.79 goals per game.
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Come playoff time, this was actually the closest the Kings had gotten to making the second round these last five years. The Kings were up 3-2 in the first round against the Oilers and just one win away.
However, Edmonton stormed back to take games 6 and 7, to eliminate Los Angeles. While the Kings had good team defense, all their weaknesses were exploited against the Oilers.
Save percentage, goaltending, power-plays, and penalty kills were all categories that the Kings ranked outside the top 15. There were too many foundational flaws with the Kings to secure a spot in the second round.
Number One: 2025
There was one team that had a real shot at making a deep run in the playoffs, and they completely blew it. The 2025 Kings were by far the most talented and complete team they had in this five-year stretch.
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Defensively, the Kings were elite, allowing 2.48 goals per game, the second-fewest in the league. Darcy Kuemper was also rock solid with a .922 save percentage, the third highest amongst all goaltenders. Kuemper also allowed 2.02 goals per game, which was the second-fewest.
Los Angeles initially seemed equipped to make a playoff run as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the Oilers. As everything seemed to go the Kings way, coaching completely got in their way.
In Game 3, there was a controversial challenge for goalie interference. The challenge was unsuccessful. This allowed the Oilers to score on the power-play and shift momentum in the series. In game 4, the Kings gave up a goal to Evan Bouchard in the last 30 seconds, which led to an Oilers’ victory in overtime.
Then the most interesting sequence was for the Kings to get outplayed on the forecheck. The Oilers pressured in their Ozone, while the Kings sat back on defense. This allowed the Oilers speed and offense to collect more shots on goal.
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Edmonton went on to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating Los Angeles in six games. The Kings actually put up a closer series against the Oilers than both the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. Both of those teams lost to the Oilers in five games. This means the Kings could’ve won the next two rounds and make the Stanley Cup Finals.
For what could’ve been a run to the Stanley Cup Finals instead ended up as a first-round exit for the Kings. The 2025 season was still the best Kings team during this stretch and a missed opportunity for a deep playoff run.
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