The playoffs are here!
As was confirmed Sunday evening, the Kings will match-up with the San Jose Sharks for the fourth time in six postseasons, the teams' Western Conference Quarerfinal series set to begin Thursday night at STAPLES Center.
The first slew of games on the playoff schedule will take place Wednesday night. ESPN prepared for the imminent return of postseason hockey by releasing their Experts’ picks for the opening round on Monday morning.
Via ESPN:
As seen in the table above, six of the network’s nine analysts selected the Kings to win the opening series over San Jose, four of them predicting the Kings winning the match-up in a decisive Game 7, two of them in six games, including Barry Melrose, who predicted the Kings to win their third Stanley Cup in five seasons back in October.