The race is on

Obviously, every game is big for the Kings these days, but tonight they face a Vancouver team that has been very strong of late (12-2-1 since Feb. 1) and a goalie, Roberto Luongo, who has been particularly successful at Staples Center. Luongo has won four consecutive games in L.A., with a 1.25 goals-against average, including a 4-0 victory on Oct. 30. That was the teams’ only meeting so far this season. They will play again on Friday in Vancouver.

The Kings enter the night in 13th place, five points out of the two-way tie for seventh. Here’s how things look in the West:

6. Columbus, 72 points (33 wins, 16 games remaining)
7. Edmonton, 70 points (32, 17)
8. Nashville, 70 points (33, 16)
9. Dallas, 70 points (31, 16)
10. Minnesota, 69 points (32, 17)
11. Ducks, 68 points (31, 15)
12. St. Louis, 66 points (29, 17)
13. Kings, 65 points (28, 17)

And here’s what Terry Murray had to say about the tight playoff race…

MURRAY: “It’s fun. This is fun. This is a wonderful time to be a player here, on this team, to go through this and experience what this is all about. I don’t think it will ever go away, in the league. The parity seems to be getting stronger every year. That’s the fun part about it, is playing at this time of the year in order to figure out how you need to play and how to win and how to battle, and all those cliches we often throw out. You can talk about it as a coach in front of your team, but you really need to get on the ice and feel the excitement of the moment, and go through it and execute. It’s a great, great time. It’s a great race right now.”

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