Jonathan Quick

The odds were on Vancouver's side, but the fates favored the Kings.

After winning the President's Trophy for the second year in a row, it seemed possible for the Canucks to make another deep Cup run. After all, they were 60 minutes from taking it all last year, losing 5-2 in the Cup Final vs. the Bruins.

The Canucks made some trades and decisions over the summer that made the difference in the late season. German defenseman Christian Ehrhoff - who put up 50 points for Vancouver in 2010-11 - was allowed to become a UFA last summer; he signed with the Buffalo Sabres. The Canucks also traded away Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm to the Florida Panthers, and rec...

It may be difficult for some fans to acknowledge but Detroit is faltering in the late stages of the season and are looking less and less like a true playoff contender. Detroit is 2-6-2 in its last 10 games and has not regained its form since the return of Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Franzen and Howard.

The Nashville Predators beat Detroit easily 4-1 Friday night thanks to the strong play of Pekka Rinne and production from their recent additions. The Red Wings quickly lost their outside chance to catch the St. Louis Blues and take the Central Division title for themselves and are now one point behind Nashville and tied with Chicago, however the Wings do have a game in hand. Detroit is 2-3 aga...

Anze Kopitar and the Kings win their fifth straight for the first time this year. (photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Needless to say, the Kings offense is certainly clicking at the right time. With a 5-2 win over division rival San Jose Tuesday night, Los Angeles improved their record to 9-3 since the addition of Jeff Carter and vaulted themselves back into the playoff picture for the first time in over a week. With nine games left in the season, the Kings are tied with Phoenix for the eighth seed with eighty-four points.

Mike Richards (who, after an extended post-Christmas slump) netted his third goal of the month...

Last time the Detroit Red Wings played the Los Angeles Kings, things ultimately went their way.

After being down 3-2 in the 2nd period, the Wings turned it up and got some late game heroics from Valterri Filppula and Darren Helm. On home ice, that seems to be the way the Wings get things done.

Now, the the 4th ranked Red Wings (Western conference) have to perform on the road, a task that has been less than stellar all season. The Kings will be looking to capitalize on the opportunity.

The Wings are not hopeless though, as they will have their all-star goalie Jimmy Howard back in net, after being out with an injured finger. Howard is third in the NHL in wins.

The Ki...