For the second time in three years, the Los Angeles Kings will hit the links in early April. This comes after a three-year stretch in which they won two Stanley Cups. So what went so wrong so quickly?

The fingers will first be pointed at a lackluster offense, which ranks fifth-worst in goals per game. While goal-scoring was certainly an issue, head coach Darryl Sutter doesn't believe it's the sole reason.

"It's our play in the Pacific Division that is holding us back," Sutter told Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period.

He certainly isn't wrong. The Kings have put together a record of just 11-13-2 against fellow Pacific Division opponents. Though Anaheim, Edmonton, San Jose, and Calgary are all playoff bound, they're a combined 4-4-1 against the bottom-feeding Canucks and Coyotes.

Failing to beat up on two potential lottery teams will destroy your playoff hopes every time. In those nine games versus Arizona and Vancouver, the Kings averaged just 2.55 goals per game, bringing us back to their inability to put the puck in the net.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Jeff Carter has been the lone catalyst on offense, with 32 goals and 30 assists. Nobody else on the team has 50 points - even Anze Kopitar, who had 74 last season.

Tyler Toffoli had an injury-riddled campaign, Tanner Pearson has failed to make significant strides, and you can safely stick a fork in Marian Gaborik.

A last-ditch effort to trade for 39-year-old Jarome Iginla at the deadline couldn't spark the offense. Iginla has his limitations at this point of his career, so not much could have been expected, but why didn't the Kings do a better job addressing their goal-scoring issue at the deadline?

General manager Dean Lombardi didn't exactly have a lot of trade bait on his hands. According to Hockey's Future, the Kings only have two "B" rated prospects: Adrian Kempe and Michael Mersch.

In today's salary-cap era, a poor farm system is a recipe for failure.

Does this mean the Kings could slowly rebuild? Or even retool, for that matter?

Given that they're one of the slowest teams in the NHL, this might not be the worst idea. Their tough, rugged style of play was successful from 2011-2014, but more and more teams are putting a higher precedent on speed and skill. Take the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example.

Lombardi will have to take a long look in the mirror and decide if he can once again win with this roster, which is one of the oldest in the league. It will be an interesting offseason for the Kings, to say the least.

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theScore's new series, "The Noise," is published every Monday. It kicks off each week with a quick look at five teams or players making headlines, good or bad.

Battling in the Pacific

A busy weekend saw 26 games spread over three days, with two of those contests coming as the Anaheim Ducks toured through Alberta.

Picking up a point in an overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers before capturing a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames a night later, the Ducks have secured points in 11 straight contests (8-0-3), leaving just three points on the table in the process.

That performance has pushed the Ducks to the top of the Pacific, where their 99 points stands two ahead of the Oilers. A division win would mark five in a row for Anaheim.

Better yet? Saturday saw the return of starter John Gibson, who has been limited to one game since mid-February due to a complicated lower-body injury. Gibson turned aside 34 of 37 shots against Edmonton.

Weekend at Bergeron's

A pair of weekend wins will likely see the Boston Bruins avoid three straight playoff misses, as Boston captured key wins over the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Bruins missed the playoffs the past two campaigns, and have only missed three straight once in franchise history - an eight-year drought from 1960-68. But it does't appear the Bruins will be on the outside this spring.

In a tight divisional race, the Bruins sit second in the Atlantic with 92 points, with three games left on the season. Credit center Patrice Bergeron, who was the team's most valuable player on Saturday and Sunday, leading the way with two goals.

Rewriting the record books

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear playoff bound, and can thank the kids for that. The trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander all scored in Saturday's crucial 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings, marking just the second time this season all three have tallied in the same contest.

Matthews scored twice, pushing his total to 38 on the year to tie Peter Ihnacak for the franchise record for goals by a freshman. How does Matthews stack up all-time? Just 19 players in league history have scored more in their first season. Matthews will have the chance for goal No. 39 Monday against the Buffalo Sabres.

As for the Maple Leafs, the squad has five games remaining and sits third in the Atlantic with 91 points. Toronto last made the postseason in 2013, while an appearance this spring would mark just their second in the past 12 seasons.

Phenomenal point streak

A three-point outing for Connor McDavid against the Ducks on Saturday pushed the Oilers captain to 94 points on the season, as he now carries a seven-point lead on Patrick Kane for the top spot in the scoring race.

Saturday's performance extended McDavid's point streak to 10 games, a stretch that has seen the phenom put up six goals and 13 assists. Even more impressive? Teammate Leon Draisaitl has been nearly as dominant over the same stretch, with 18 points to his credit.

The Art Ross may not be the only hardware McDavid takes home this season. Already clinching a postseason berth, the Oilers will make their first playoff appearance since 2006, snapping a 10-year drought. Returning the Oilers to relevancy should put McDavid in the conversation for Hart Trophy honors as well.

Late surge in Tampa

A last minute playoff bid by the Tampa Bay Lightning could soon become even more interesting with captain Steven Stamkos on the verge of returning to the lineup.

Stamkos has been sidelined for the past four months following a devastating knee injury, and his return could be the perfect boost to push the Lightning into the playoff picture. Tampa Bay sits three points back of the Ottawa Senators for the East's second wild-card seed.

The Lightning helped themselves by capturing three of four points over the weekend, grabbing a point Saturday in an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, followed up by a 6-3 smashing of the Dallas Stars on Sunday. The team is back in action Tuesday against the Bruins, and may have Stamkos in the mix. Still, the Lightning will have their work cut out for them, with just four games remaining and a three-point gap to make up.

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Matt Murray became the first rookie goaltender in Pittsburgh Penguins history to reach the 30-win mark after his team defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Sunday.

Even Pittsburgh goaltenders such as Johan Hedberg, Patrick Lalime, and Marc-Andre Fleury failed to accomplish this feat in their rookie seasons.

It's easy to forget Murray is still considered a rookie after backstopping the Penguins to a Stanley Cup last spring. However, since he played fewer than 25 regular-season games a year ago, he holds onto his rookie status.

The 22-year-old netminder has posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average along with his 30-10-4 record. If this season's rookie class wasn't one of the greatest in recent memory, those numbers would make him a favorite for the Calder Trophy.

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The Western Conference's eight playoff teams are decided. All that's left to determine is seeding and matchups.

The Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from postseason contention after a 2-1 home-ice loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, and that means the Nashville Predators are officially in.

The Kings' hopes were as slim as they could possibly get, and they arguably deserved a better fate Sunday night, outshooting Arizona 35-15. But the hockey gods care not for Corsi.

It's a disappointing end to a disappointing season for Los Angeles, and the Kings' offense is to blame. Despite being without Jonathan Quick for most of the season, L.A. went into Sunday's game ranked third in the NHL in goals against, allowing only 2.40 per game. And in that respect, the company the Kings were keeping was stellar:

That Los Angeles could only manage one goal versus Arizona - a dump-in that banked in off a Coyote, at that - in a must-win game at home perfectly encapsulates their season.

For Nashville, this spring marks the Predators' third straight in the playoffs and the franchise's 10th appearance overall.

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It wasn't the kind of history the Flyers were hoping to make.

Philadelphia was eliminated from postseason contention Sunday night after losing to the Rangers in New York, and if missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons - and three times in five, while being knocked out in the first round twice - wasn't bad enough, here's the gut punch:

The Flyers reeled off 10 straight wins from Nov. 27 through Dec. 14, and they beat some tough opponents - eventual playoff teams - in the process:

• Flames
• Bruins
• Senators
• Blackhawks
• Predators
• Oilers

That streak, though, feels like it came a lifetime ago.

However, even down 4-1 on Sunday with only 10 minutes to play, and knowing what a loss meant, the Flyers still had hope.

"When we made it 4-2, we actually believed we were gonna come back," captain Claude Giroux said, according to the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac. "The attitude of the guys on the team, it's great. The character ... I'll play with those guys any day."

Giroux's down season is partly to blame for the Flyers' woes. He went into Sunday's game averaging 0.73 points per game, his lowest mark since 2009-10.

"Any team can look back and say coulda, woulds, shoulda," added Brayden Schenn. "We've just been, as a team, we've been inconsistent. This league if you win one, lose one or can't put a streak together you're not gonna make up any ground. That's what happened from kind of December on."

While there are some young players to genuinely be excited about in Philadelphia, in the end, it's a disappointing season for a team that certainly expected to be one of the top 16 in the NHL.

And that means it's going to be an interesting summer in the City of Brotherly Love.

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Hockey history was made Sunday in Victoria, British Columbia, as the Everett Silvertips defeated the Victoria Royals 3-2 in a record-setting fifth overtime period, with the sudden-death winner ending the longest game in the history of the Canadian Hockey League.

Silvertips forward Cal Babych finally ended things after 151:36 of play, somehow finding the legs to finish a breakaway in the eighth period.

To make matters more impressive, the goal clinched the series, sending the Silvertips to the second round of the WHL playoffs.

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Quick save and a beauty.

On Sunday night, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made one of the finer pad/kick saves you're ever going to see. Arizona Coyotes forward Peter Holland was the victim. Spare a thought or two for him.

With the Kings on life support in the Western Conference playoff race, literally every save matters. And there won't be many prettier than that this season.

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