There's not a single non-wildcard-team in the West I think the Kings would beat in a series. They've looked lame/limp vs. all of them. Just don't have the attention to detail, the desire, the dig-in to win a hard game. Their high end talent is lower, and their will/checking is lower. They can get by on talent vs. the non playoff teams but that's it. Once THOSE teams decide to play defense you end up with games like the one vs. Seattle.
When the checking gets tighter the Kings just hang around wherever they won't get hit and fire shots at people and pray they'll get out of the way. They desperately need a bulldozer.
Not optimistic. Same recipe, same cake as the last few years. Just a few more decorations on top. They'll finish with more points, and they'll exit exactly as quickly, and that's the peak of the mountain for this group. Wonder how many years we'll get of blackholing after.