Kings have little room to spare, in standings and on the ice

If the Kings are going to make it to the postseason, they’re likely to do it by the thinnest of margins. So it makes sense that the games have been going down to the wire as well.

In fact, seven of the team’s last nine games have been decided by a goal, with three of those games going to overtime. The Kings have won only two of those seven, though, one reason why they’ve fallen three points behind St. Louis in the race for the Western Conference’s final wild-card berth.

“Just score one more goal here and there,� Coach Darryl Sutter, whose team is 15-14 in one-goal games this season, told reporters Wednesday. “They’re all really close games, obviously.�

That’s one reason why the team landed goaltender Ben Bishop at last week’s deadline. But now the Kings are finally starting to get a little offensive help from some expected places.

Captain Anze Kopitar, who stumbled through the first five months of the season, has goals in his last two games and five points in his last five starts. And Tanner Pearson, having his most productive NHL season, has three goals and six assists in the last five games.

That left Kopitar lamenting the timing of the team’s four-day break this week.

“Well, it’s kind of like a sweet-sour thing,� he said after the team’s most recent game, a 4-3 loss to Vancouver on Saturday. “You’d like to get back at it and obviously correct what we didn’t do. But at the same time, I think now we’ll take these four days to prepare ourselves obviously for the final stretch.�

That would be the home stretch, with the team having only 17 games left to close the gap on St. Louis while holding off Winnipeg, Dallas and Vancouver, all of whom are within four points of the Kings. At least the team is getting a break from the schedule-maker: The next five games — and seven of the next nine — are at Staples Center, where the Kings are 17-12-1. Eleven of their final 17 games are at home.

Morning report

The Kings held an extended practice session Wednesday morning, followed by some conditioning skate work. Nick Shore and Jordan Nolan, who are dealing with injuries, did not take the ice with the rest of the team.

NEXT UP

VS. NASHVILLE

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.

Update: Like the Kings, Nashville (32-24-10) is keeping an eye on the Blues, becuase the Predators lead St. Louis by three points in the race for the Central Division’s third guaranteed playoff spot. The Predators are in a slump, though, having lost three in a row for the first time since December. Still, Nashville has averaged nearly four goals in its last nine games with center Filip Forsberg scoring four times and adding two assists in the last five games. The Kings have scored four goals in a game only twice in the last month.

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