Pacific Division Power Rankings

Photo Credit: Hockey Royalty

The Flames sweep their road trip, the Canucks fight to stay in it, and a brutal week leaves the LA Kings on the playoff bubble.

8. Seattle Kraken (23-43-6)

Last week: 8

Playoff odds: 0%

In between dropping 4-1 decisions to the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames last week was a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Philipp Grubauer made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and Jordan Eberle scored his 18th goal of the year.

In their first season, Kraken fans are already getting to experience something that Vegas Golden Knights fans never have yet: Being conflicted about winning games. Seattle would currently have the third-best odds in the draft lottery, sitting one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and three up on the Arizona Coyotes.

This week: @ CGY, @ WPG, VS NJ

7. San Jose Sharks (29-33-9)

Last week: 7

Playoff odds: 0%

It’s the end of an era in San Jose. Doug Wilson is stepping down as general manager to focus on his health after 18 seasons at the helm. Up until the last few years, the Sharks had been consistent contenders under Wilson, but couldn’t find a way to take that last step and win a Stanley Cup.

Meanwhile, the Sharks dropped all three games they played last week, running their winless streak to five. The next GM is going to have their work cut out for them. At least they know Tomáš Hertl is sticking around forever?

This week: @ NSH, @ CHI, @ DAL, @ MIN

6. Anaheim Ducks (29-33-12)

Last week: 6

Playoff odds: 0%

The Ducks dropped games to a pair of division leaders in Calgary and the Carolina Hurricanes last week, but did take a winnable match-up 5-3 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

The team may not be any good yet, but I remain extremely jealous that they have Trevor Zegras.

It’s the end of an era in Anaheim as well. Long-time captain Ryan Getzlaf announced that he’s calling it a career at the end of the season. Getzlaf spent all 17 of his NHL seasons with the Ducks and will leave as franchise’s all-time leader in points, assists, and games played. He was also the final remaining remember from the team’s lone Stanley Cup winning team in 2006-07.

This week: @ FLA, @ TB, VS CBJ

5. Vancouver Canucks (35-28-10)

Last week: 5

Playoff odds: 5.4%

Just when you’re ready to write off the Canucks, they push themselves back into the mix. They won all three games they played last week to move themselves to within four points of the Golden Knights for the second Wild Card. That streak started with a huge 5-1 win in Vegas before a 5-1 win in Arizona and a 4-2 win over San Jose.

Elias Pettersson scored three goals and added four assists in those three games. After a tough start to the season, he’s now just three goals and 10 points away from his career highs.

This week: VS VGK, VS ARI

4. LA Kings (38-26-10)

Last week: 2

Playoff odds: 77.8%

Sorry, LA Kings fans, but things just got a lot more stressful.

The Kings failed to pick up a single point last week. After starting the week with tough 3-2 losses to the Flames and Edmonton Oilers, the Kings turned a 3-0 lead over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday into a 6-3 loss.

They’re now just two points up on the Golden Knights, who have a game in hand and the regulation win tiebreaker. If the Knights catch the Kings, LA would fall out of the playoffs entirely. They’d be tied with Dallas for the second Wild Card, and the Stars have two games in hand.

The silver lining? Aside from Wednesday’s upcoming game against the Colorado Avalanche, LA couldn’t have asked for a much easier remaining schedule.

They have two games left against the Ducks, two against the Blackhawks, one against the Columbus Blue Jackets, one against the Kraken, and one against the Canucks. The only one of those teams that still has anything left to play for is Vancouver, and that will be the final game of the regular season, so they may not have anything to play for by then. The difference in strength of schedule is presumably a big reason why the Kings still have much higher playoff odds than the Golden Knights.

This week: @ CHI, @ COL, VS CBJ

3. Vegas Golden Knights (40-29-4)

Last week: 4

Playoff odds: 40.9%

After an ugly loss to the Canucks, the Golden Knights took our their frustrations on the Coyotes in a 6-1 stomping.

Max Pacioretty has been in and out of the lineup with injuries all season long, but he returned from a month-long absence on Saturday to score his 16th goal in just 30 games. If he can stay healthy, he’s a huge addition to the Vegas lineup for their playoff push.

This week: @ VAN, @ CGY, @ EDM

2. Edmonton Oilers (42-25-6)

Last week: 3

Playoff odds: 98.4%

Despite only scoring five regulation goals in three games last week, the Oilers managed to come away with five of six possible points. They came back to take a 2-1 overtime win over the Sharks without Leon Draisaitl in the lineup before an enormous 3-2 win over the Kings and a 2-1 shootout loss to the Avalanche.

Edmonton’s now in the driver’s seed for the second seed in the Pacific and home-ice advantage in the first round. They’re four points up on LA with a game in hand and six points clear of Vegas.

This week: @ MIN, @ NSH, VS VGK

1. Calgary Flames (44-19-9)

Last week: 1

Playoff odds: 100%

A perfect road trip for the Flames, who took care of business against the Kings, Ducks, Sharks, and Kraken. They’re seven points clear of the Oilers for first place and own a game in hand.

Elias Lindholm scored four goals on the four-game trip, including a two-goal effort in San Jose, extending his team-leading total to 38.

This week: VS SEA, VS VGK, VS ARI

(Main photo credit: Hockey Royalty)

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *