The battle for playoff spots has begun, with the Los Angeles Kings (20-13-5, second Pacific) and San Jose Sharks (20-17-2, fourth Pacific) occupying the grey area of a potential Wild Card spot. The Pacific Division is notoriously wide-open, and the Kings and Sharks have been trading wins and losses back and forth to crawl up the standings, leap-frogging over each other every week.
Currently, the Kings have a slight edge in the standings over the Sharks, with just four points separating the two teams.
The Kings started the season at a more sedate pace, but as the season has been progressing, so have their wins.