The Kings staged their annual Fan Appreciation Night on Thursday, four days after the team was eliminated from contention for a playoff berth, something the fans really would have appreciated.
Instead they got a team that was simply playing out the string, giving up three second-period goals in a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.
The game meant little to the Kings in the standings, but it was important for slumping Calgary, which needed a win to keep pace with victorious Nashville in the race for the Western Conference’s top wild-card berth.
“We certainly realize that we can be the spoilers of the seeding or whatever,” captain Anze Kopitar said of the Kings, who finish the season with Chicago and the Ducks, two other teams battling for playoff positioning.