LOS ANGELES — Since returning to the playoffs in 2021-22, the Kings have amassed 407 points in the NHL standings, the highest total for any four-year stretch in a franchise history that dates back to 1967.

Even so, they haven’t even placed in the top 10 league-wide during that span — the Kings rank 12th, 32 points behind the top-rated Carolina Hurricanes — and all 11 teams ahead of them have at least been to the second round in that period. Eight have reached the conference finals, five have secured a berth in the Stanley Cup Final and three have won a championship.

The Kings, on the other hand, have gone 11 campaigns without exiting the first round, missing the playoffs five times in the process.

Here are four searing queries that could define the year ahead and their chances of finall

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