There's a quiet urgency around this Kings team that anyone paying attention can feel. Kopitar isn't doing this forever and the roster around him has been built to maximize whatever years are left - not in a panicked way, but in a purposeful way. He's still one of the most complete two-way centers in the game even at this stage, which is remarkable, and watching him play in meaningful games in March at Crypto.com Arena is one of those things you want to have experienced.

Adrian Kempe has been the offensive secondary production that this team needed - his skating and his finishing have made him one of the more dangerous complementary scorers in the Pacific. David Rittich or whoever is in net has had to be solid enough to keep the Kings in games on nights when the offense goes quiet, which happens. The defense when healthy has been good enough but the Kings have had to manage some absences that put pressure on everyone.

The Pacific Division race has kept every game relevant in a way that was not guaranteed coming into this year. Tickets to a Kings home game right now are worth it - this is a serious hockey market and the building gets into it when the stakes are clear. We're past the phase where we're evaluating this team's potential. We're in the part where they either prove it or they don't. Every game from here is that conversation.