The Kings have resisted calling their current seven-game trip, their longest of the season, a make-or-break journey. But given the tight playoff race in the Pacific Division, where four teams are separated by only three points behind front-running Vegas, the East Coast swing can go a long way toward determining where the Kings finish in that race.
And given those stakes, the trip couldn't have begun much better for the Kings, who got two goals from their fourth line and 35 saves from goalie Jonathan Quick on Friday in a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers.
"It was a big start for us," said Nick Shore, who scored one of those fourth-line goals.