What we learned from the Kings’ 4-1 victory on Wednesday at Calgary

Reporting from Calgary, Canada â€”  There’s life in them yet

After the game Coach Darryl Sutter said he thought the Kings would be eliminated from playoff contention if the St. Louis Blues won Wednesday night, but that wasn’t the case, even though the Blues won. With 79 points and a possible maximum of 91 if they win their remaining six games, the Kings can still catch Nashville, which has 89 points with six games left, and Calgary, which has 90 points with five games left.

Calgary actually has a tough schedule remaining with two games against the Sharks, two against the Ducks and one against the Kings at Staples Center. The Kings will face two non-playoff teams — Vancouver on Friday and Arizona next week — as well as Edmonton, Calgary, Chicago and the Ducks. It’s still a stretch to think the Kings will get in, but there’s a spark of life yet. “We’ve got to be focused on our game and keep getting wins and see what happens,� center Anze Kopitar said.

There’s life left in Jarome Iginla, too

He’s 39 and in the past few weeks has fought two heavyweights, Edmonton’s Patrick Maroon and Calgary’s Deryk Engelland, and lived to tell the tale. Taking on Engelland on Wednesday after Engelland had hit Kopitar behind the net was a character move and part of a memorable night in which Iginla had the Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, and assist and a fighting major. “I’m sure he had a couple of those games before, in this building. It’s great,� Kopitar said. “He comes to the rink every day, gives it his all.�

Iginla played 1,219 games for the Flames over 16 seasons, and he remains a huge favorite in Calgary. Given that he will be 40 this summer and his contract is up after this season, Wednesday’s game might have been his farewell appearance in Calgary. He said he’s not sure, but if it was his finale, it was a splendid one. “This was one we all played hard and it went the right way and we feel good,� he said.

The numbers aren’t good

As mentioned above, the Kings’ playoff chances are very slim, and one of the reasons they’re in this mess is their weak record within the Pacific Division. They’re only 10-12-2 in division games, tied with Arizona for the fewest wins within the division. That will have to change if they want to keep those hopes alive because they have five division games left. “We’ve had a really tough time in our division this year. Good to win a game on the road in our division,� Sutter said.

Asked if the team can build off the win in Calgary — with another division game looming Friday in Vancouver— Sutter was noncommittal. “I’m just looking at, we’ve got a lot of division games left. I think we’ve got some players that we have to find out if they can play,� he said. “We’ve played them against teams in our division. We have to find out if they can win against teams in our division. That’s the challenge.�

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