Now that we have the 4th locked with Montoya, how likely is the LA 4th? What's their magic number? Thanks in advance.
I believe the goal is 97 points.
It's a really tight race. While LA wins, some teams need to lose or else it may go down on the final day of the season. The good news is that Calgary has kind of fallen back a bit having lost 3 in a row. They're now 6 points behind and have played 74 games to Kings' 73.
It's Anaheim that LA have to most worry about. Both are tied at 86 points and both have played 73 games. However, LA holds the advantage with 40 wins to Ducks' 37. And also, LA have 38 ROW to Ducks' 33. Before LA's win against the Wild last night, they were in a Wild Card spot and Anaheim 3rd in the Pacific. After LA finally won, they moved to 3rd. Next time Anaheim plays and wins, they might knock Kings off that 3rd spot. It changes daily.
Sharks are 2nd in the Division and up by 3 points and a game in hand on LA. So that's not unattainable for LA. Though San Jose has held that 2nd spot for a long time.
This is why LA needs to also keep an eye out on the Wild Card race. Dallas, Colorado, and St. Louis also have to lose so in case LA does get knocked off the Top-3 of the Division, they need to be ahead of at least 2 of them to ensure they have a Wild Card spot.