Kings, Panthers, Lightning clinch playoff spots

The Los Angeles Kings got some help from a divisional rival to book a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thanks to the Vegas Golden Knights’ 3-2 overtime win over the Calgary Flames, the Kings officially punched their ticket to the post-season for the fourth straight season.

In the previous three years, the Kings were ousted by the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1. They very well might get a chance at redemption this season.

The Kings are second in the Pacific Division, four points up on the third-place Oilers. If the standings hold, the Kings and Oilers would match up in the first round for a fourth time in as many years.

The Kings are the fifth team to clinch in the West, as the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Golden Knights also hold berths.

The Kings were the third team in the league to lock up a spot Saturday, following the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

The Lightning entered the day with multiple paths to clinch a berth, with one of them being if the New York Rangers did not beat the Devils in regulation.

Thanks to the Devils’ 4-0 victory, the Lightning got in before losing in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres at night.

It’s the eighth straight year Tampa Bay has reached the playoffs and 11th in 12 seasons.

The team won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021 and reached a third consecutive final in 2022, but lost to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Panthers also got some help.

The reigning Stanley Cup champs booked their ticket when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets. That result, along with the Rangers’ loss, pushed Florida in, despite the Panthers’ loss to Ottawa earlier in the day.

The Panthers are third in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and four ahead of Ottawa.

In the East, the Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes also are assured of playoff spots.