LA Kings Clinch 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff Berth

The LA Kings have officially qualified for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs following a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
The Kings, with 100 points and a 45-22-10 record, became the third team in the Western Conference and ninth team in the NHL to secure a playoff berth to compete for the Stanley Cup. With five regular-season games remaining, the team's 100 points already rank tied for fifth-most all-time in franchise history. This year's Kings are the second-fastest team in franchise history to reach the 100-point plateau (77 games), trailing only the 1974-75 team (76 games). Earlier this year, the team tied the 1990-91 Kings as the third-fastest team in franchise history to reach the 40-win mark in a single season, doing so in 69 games.
The 2023 postseason appearance marks their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and 32nd postseason berth in franchise history. It is the first time the Kings have reached the playoffs in back-to-back years since qualifying five-straight years (2010-14), during which time current captain Anze Kopitar and alternate captain Drew Doughty helped the Kings capture the first two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014) in franchise history. During the 2014 championship run, Kopitar led the NHL in playoff scoring with 26 points (5-21=26) in 26 games.

In addition to Kopitar and Doughty, head coach Todd McLellan captured the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings (2008). A year ago, McLellan guided the Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2018, which saw 10 different Kings (Mikey Anderson, Quinton Byfield, Sean Durzi, Carl Grundstrom, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Roy, Jordan Spence and Gabriel Vilardi) make their postseason debuts. Eight of those debuts came in Game One, which tied for the third most in franchise history in a single game (also 1974 and 2010). In total, 15 players from last year's Kings playoff roster return, including the team's leading playoff scorer Adrian Kempe (2-4=6), who has established back-to-back career-high seasons in goals scored (37 in 2022-23; 36 in 2021-22). Kempe's 37 goals this season are the most by a King since Ziggy Palffy tallied 37 in 2002-03.
The Kings first round opponent and schedule are to be determined and will be announced at a later date. The Kings will announce their postseason broadcast schedule once it is finalized.
The 2023 LA Kings postseason is presented by Toyota, Yaamava' Resort & Casino at San Manuel, and Jameson. Tickets for First Round home games at Crypto.com Arena are on sale now and are available for purchase by visiting
lakings.com/playoffs
or
axs.com/lakings
. Season Ticket Memberships for the 2023-24 season are also on sale, with new Members guaranteed playoff ticket access.