At the start of the week last week, it looked like the Edmonton Oilers were going to be in good shape and have a good chance of passing the Vancouver Canucks and taking over first in the Pacific Division, those dreams have since faded after back-to-back losses, one in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes and then the real backbreaker to the Canucks last night.
If we take a look at the standings now the Canucks are now 5 points ahead of the Oilers, while the Oilers do have a game in hand 5 points is quite the hill to climb with only 3 games left on their schedule. The Oilers would need to win all 3 and have the Canucks not win a single game for the Oilers to take first place, which is very unlikely.
Team | Points | Games Remaining |
|---|---|---|
Vancouver Canucks | 107 | 2 |
Edmonton Oilers | 102 | 3 |
Los Angeles Kings | 97 | 2 |
Vegas Golden Knights | 94 | 3 |
As we look at the above standings and the amount of games left it looks like this is going to be the final standings of the Pacific Division. The only way something changes is if one of these teams completely falls apart and loses all their remaining games.
This would mean that in the first round, the Canucks would face the Nashville Predators, the Oilers would face the Los Angeles Kings for the 3rd year in a row and the Golden Knights would face the Dallas Stars. All three should be very exciting series to watch.
Kings Vs Oilers Round 3
If I was to look at this series in a vacuum I would pick the Edmonton Oilers to win this series without a doubt. The problem is that with these teams playing each other the last two seasons in the first round the thought is in my head that "the Kings can't lose 3 times in a row, right?' grows in my head, even though the Oilers are the better team.
If I look at this series I would say the Oilers are better than the Kings in all three of the major parts of the line-up. The Oilers offence is clearly better with the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl. Their defence is better on the back of Ekholm and Nurse. Between the pipes, I would definitely take Stuart Skinner over Talbot or Rittich.
When the Edmonton Oilers get closer to the playoffs we will do a much deep dive into who their opponent will be in the first round till then, I will hope that the Canucks fall apart and the Oilers get hot and can overtake them in the Pacific Division.