Playoff spot big mountain to climb for most teams in Pacific Division
Last week, we noted the importance of where a team was in the standings at American Thanksgiving to their playoff hopes.
The Canucks were on the outside looking in at that point.
But now, looking at the rest of the race in the Pacific Division, we can see what a challenge making the playoffs will be for the Canucks, who have played more games than all their opponents have.
Given how they ’ve been playing, the smart money is on both the Flames and the Sharks being in the playoffs at the end of the season. And with how the Golden Knights have been playing of late, they look to be getting back toward the form that took them to the Stanley Cup final in their inaugural season (the Canucks and their fans will get a look at Vegas tonight).
Last week, we saw a battered and bruised Ducks squad do just enough to beat the Canucks, and while they do have some serious firepower up front and one day, they’ll get their strong defence corps back together, they’re still icing plenty of AHL talent, meaning they are far from a guaranteed solid opponent on any given night. The Oilers may have the game’s best player, but they’re a mess of roster construction, so who knows how they do over the coming 58 games?
The Coyotes may have the most games to play out of all this bunch and are playing pretty solid twoway hockey, but they’re also the Coyotes.
And at the bottom, there’s the Kings, who still have good players in their lineup, but they ’re old and as we’ve seen over the past week, aren’t terribly exciting to watch.
Add it all up and there are a lot of teams in the mix, which is good for all the teams involved, but also bad for all the teams involved.
There’s one spot up for grabs for sure.
There’s a wild-card spot too, but then you start having to factor in the Central Division race. At the moment, the fourth-place team in the Central, is, surprisingly, the Jets. They’re chasing the Avalanche and Wild. Behind the Jets are the Stars (who the Canucks host Saturday).
That’s a big list of teams to fight through for a Pacific Division team, hoping to grab a playoff spot.
This enormous mountain can be presented as a motivator, of course. (It’s also potential marketing fodder: you know, “every game counts,” that sort of thing.)
One thing ’s for sure: If the Canucks do find a way to make the playoffs, bet on the tightness of the race itself being held up as having been a first-class motivator.